October 7 was the release date for a new book by Dr. Christiaan Kappes, a member of the adjunct faculty of Saint Vincent Seminary, serving as a lecturer in sacred liturgy and sacramental theology. Dr. Kappes is also academic dean and professor at Saints Cyril and Methodius Byzantine Catholic Seminary, Pittsburgh.
Entitled Mary Among the Evangelists, The Definitive Guide for Solving Biblical Questions About Mary, the book was co-authored by William Albrecht, an international debater and speaker, best known from the website www.reasonandtheology.com.
The book’s description notes that: “Some books hope to persuade the reader by reasoned arguments that might stand up to scrutiny. Conversely, this work simply reveals the meaning of Scripture to its lover and provides every Christian with a straightforward and irrefutable key to understand Mary’s role and dignity in salvation history according to the Evangelists in their Gospels. After seeing the evidence organized in an easy-to-read way, arcane arguments, long dividing Christians, simply become irrelevant as the reader experiences the Scriptures revealing themselves in their fullness. Who are Jesus’s brothers and sisters? Who are his family members who opposed his ministry? Does Scripture teach Mary’s perpetual virginity? What is Joseph’s family tree? Why do Jesus and Mary sometimes appear to be at odds in the New Testament? Each and every question does not require a torturously reasoned argument to some purportedly probable conclusion. Rather, each question is plainly answered by reading the Scriptures through their own dependence on prior Scripture as key to their meaning and interpretation.”
Endorsements for the book include several well-known authors and academics.
Dr. Scott Hahn, holder of the Father Michael Scanlan, T.O.R.,Chair of Biblical Theology and the New Evangelization at Franciscan University of Steubenville, where he has taught since 1990, wrote:
“The mystery of the Virgin Mary is integral to the Gospels, not added. The earliest Christians knew this. I’m very pleased that someone has finally taken up the task of undoing the damage wreaked by generations of misdirected academics. A systematic study of the gospels and the patristic sources, like this one, is long overdue. Tradition is vindicated in these pages.”
Dr. Sebastian Brock, one of the foremost and most influential academics in the field of Syriac language today wrote: “A very impressive and insightful close reading of the New Testament passages concerning Mary using the good Jewish and Patristic principle of interpreting Scripture by means of Scripture. This book should prove very helpful to many readers and I hope it will be widely read.”