Christianity Interpreted? A critical re-reading of Ratzinger's Introduction to Christianity

Ratzinger's early work Introduction to Christianity presents an attempt at rational understanding of what theology considers to be crucial for Christianity and what should be thought over in the context of the (then) new challenges. The open character of the book can be understood in light of the fact that anthropological discourse was already well established in post-Council theology. For Ratzinger, this seems to be connected with a necessity to outline clear contours for Christianity. The book is one of the author's significant works with a wide impact, and which also represents Ratzinger's way of thinking in its relation to philosophical thought. The title of this contribution is also its point: Ratzinger's book oilers a certain interpretation of Christianity and provides at the same time a sort of defence of Christianity against a never-ending chain of interpretations. It is just that which should be subjected to interpretation.