Christopher West and the Theology of the Body

We use him extensively in our marriage preparation program. His works are not perfect but they are pretty darn good. He has made a bit of clarification to one point (which I welcomed) in response to some of von Hildebrand's comments.

He has helped to take the "dirty" out of the sometimes heard Catholic bias against marital relations.

Agree, our Priests use his works in Pre Cana marriage prep for those very reasons.  

Scott Hahn's value is in his scholarship and his acceptance and credibility with the non-Catholics.
People love a genuine conversion story.

Right. Hahn can be deep, but Matthew Kelly is Catholic light, LOL
People who are lukewarmish love him. Very easy read, nothing controversial, just love and mercy in big heaps.

His style is very appealing to young people. You don't change the message to suit your audience, but you do have to engage them. And sometimes, people an turn off rather quickly. If his style works for his intended audience, good for him.

I know this thread is old and cold, but I was just reading a fairly critical review of Christopher West, so I thought I'd post it here:

maryvictrix.com/2009/10/30/a-response-to-christopher-west/

I also recall watching a Youtube vid once, in which West was having a discussion with an RC priest. The discussion was about what a man should do when he accidentally sees a woman's exposed breast. West's take was that the best would be to look, but without feeling any lust. The priest's view was that the man should look away in modesty always (even if he didn't feel lust). I personally totally agree with the priest, and seeing that discussion put me off West. West has also said strange things about how it would be okay (or even good) to depict or sculpt the BVM in in a more "motherly" shape. Made me uncomfortable.

I know it would. But then, psychology has never been a friend of religion. If we leave it up to psychologists, all of religion is "collective delusion" or whatever fancy term they have for it, and behavior in accordance with the tenets of one's religion would be labeled "neurosis" or OCD.



It's not a matter of panic or not. I don't panic when I see a female breast, nor am I particularly worried that I might feel lust. It's about whether or not modesty and continence are intrinsically virtuous, or that they are only a means for a weak man to control himself. Pope JP2 clearly taught the former; in other words, to look away from nudity is virtuous in and of itself. I agree with that.

In addition there's the circumstantial (but nevertheless important) argument that the woman who is caught with her breast exposed, is protected from much embarassment and confusion if the man looks away. If he just continues to look at her exposed chest "without lust", that leaves her to wonder awkwardly what his motive was for not turning away.