Janet Smith has written a good defense of Christopher West, as has Michael Waldstein, who recently finished a full translation in a coherent style of John Paul II’s Theology of the Body.
I think Mr. West is doing awesome work and that the criticisms of him need to be put in a proper perspective. There may be some areas where he hasn’t found the perfect words to use that are both intelligible to those who most need to hear it and acceptable by those who have already embraced it wholeheartedly–perhaps such words do not even exist in the English language–but overall his crafting of the Theology of the Body is brilliant and makes it understandable to all.
My first exposure to the TOB was through West’s tapes and one of his books. By God’s grace, the TOB strengthened me in my fight against impurity and helped me grow in the virtue of chastity by leaps and bounds. Ultimately I read the entire original TOB (unfortunately Waldstein’s was not yet finished, but the piece-wise translation still gets the points across) as well as various commentaries, summaries, etc., and I think that, like me, many others start with West’s distillations and then move deeper into either other of West’s works or others’ or to JPII’s opus itself.
Hopefully we can continue to encourage West and faithful Catholics like him to keep spreading this awesome truth while also benefitting from constructive criticism as to method, delivery, etc.
Thanks for this post, Devin. I highly respect Michael Waldstein, knowing him personally as a first rate scholar and deeply faithful man. I am also very struck by the Janet Smith article, and appreciate one of her points in particular, namely that Christopher West tailors his message to his audience, namely those formed in a culture of lust, voyeurism, and androgyny.
Reading her article helped me to understand the change in my response to West, from wild acclaim in college, when I was part of the culturally formed masses who was hearing the good news of my femininity for the first time, to discomfort and blushing now, when I more formed in the virtue of modesty and no longer need to have a message offered to me in such a bold manner. I remember that I LOVED Christopher West in college; I was a senior who had received my conversion only two years before and was still unsure what to do about my body. I had flaunted it as an unconverted freshmen, and, after my conversion, had sort of condemned myself; I stopped wearing makeup, wore lots of long skirts, and generally tried to avoid looking attractive. West’s exposition of the theology of the body in his “Naked Without Shame” audio series was an explosion for me. I could hardly believe such good news. I spoke about the theology with everyone who would listen and, desiring to delve deeper, organized a directed readings of Pope John Paul II’s original text that spring semester with a professor who became a dear friend, Adrian Reimers. As Devin mentioned, the Pope’s theology is more dense and even more beautiful than West’s explication, but I still felt deeply grateful to West for his ministry.
Only now, six years after that senior year, do I find myself at times embarrassed by the words West uses. Janet Smith is right. I used to be his target audience; I am not now, but I should appreciate the gift I received through his ministry.
Thanks, well said.