Who needs God? Barbara Stöckl in Conversation with Christoph Cardinal Schönborn

by Christoph Schönborn, Barbara Stöckl

We are experiencing a dramatic social upheaval in today's world, a breakdown of our living conditions and values. A non-stop No one can stop it, and we find no place to stop in it. Political boundaries become less important; social structures seem to disintegrate�all is subordinated to cash flow and profit maximization. With growing individualism, the concept of the good and proper life has been lost. Whether one is faithful or unfaithful, fair or unfair, honest or dishonest seems to have less importance. Freedom and prosperity are the magic words. We live flexibly and without commitment, go where we wish, when we wish. This does not produce living conditions that facilitate belief in God and contact with God, as one perhaps had during childhood. The longing for old values such as faith and deeper spiritual meaning has consequently been reawakened. What repercussions does this development have on society, children, the elderly, the ill? Whom do people allow first to be God? Who is our pilot? Is it the coach, the psychologist, the investment counselor? Who is supposed to support man in the future through his crisis, whether public or private? Who needs God? What does God provide? Can we truly live without faith or the Church? Why does the Church so often seem not to understand us and our needs? These and many other questions posed to Christoph Cardinal Sch�nborn in this book are the questions asked today by many people who are searching for God and want to live the experience of faith. "When people stop believing in God, they don't believe in nothing�they believe in anything."
� G. K. Chesterton

Genres: Religion

200 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Christoph Maria Michael Hugo Damian Peter Adalbert Graf von Schönborn, O.P.
is a Bohemian-born Austrian Dominican friar and theologian, who is a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He serves as the Archbishop of Vienna and President of the Austrian Bishops' Conference. He was elevated to the cardinalate in 1998. He is also the chaplain of the Order of the Golden Fleece (Austrian branch), of which he has been a member since 1961. He is a member of the formerly sovereign princely House of Schönborn, several members of which held high offices of the Holy Roman Empire and the Catholic Church.

Reviews

[Connie]

Very thought provoking.

[Davis Haguma]

Good one

[Richard]

A wide range of topics related to western society and culture are covered in this interesting book. There are a lot of challenging ideas. Here is an example:

"Parental authority that is not also a source of friction is no authority at all. And a Church that is not also a source of friction is of no interest. Giving one's blessing to anything and everything can be better done by society than the Church." -Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn, pg. 123