Have read several times.

Fantastic.

In some respects this book is still the author's magnum opus; it belongs to its era, but in his opinion it needs no updating. He has a valid point, for updating would clearly display the lack of ecumenical progress, and the failure of the Roman Catholic Church to fully implement the conclusions of the Second Vatican Council or to effect for the reforms in church polity or ethics. But, apart from these matters, we have a theologian who challenges all by his radicalism, who refutes errors, who res...

The very first book I ever added to my "To Read" list in Goodreads, I finally made it to (and made my way through) On Being a Christian. This book was not a page-turner for me. Rather, it proved to be more of a pilgrim's slow progress, during which I read 10-20 pages each weekend for several months. Reading it more quickly would likely have blunted my appreciation, and reduced my understanding.Writing in the 1970's, Kung, a German Catholic theologian, offers up a Christian apologetic that will m...

Currently rereading Hans Kung's brilliant work. Read it in late 1970's while onboard a US Naval ship. Yes, I was in the Navy.At the time, I found the sentences laborious to read being translated from the German into English. I was able to plow thru the tedium due to research skills from my science background at Auburn University. To this day the Old Testament, Kung, Edward Schillebeeckx and the many sentences of St. Paul are some of the hardest reading one can do.(After rereading this classic wo...

Returning to this book in 2015 after first reading it shortly after its initial publication, I was amazed by its continuing relevance. This is without question the best introduction to Christianity that a thoughtful contemporary seeker could encounter. Kung is a fine writer and the work is ably rendered into English by his translator. It is not necessary to agree with each and every one of Kung's arguments nor do I think that the author expects that from his readers. The great achievement of the...

I first read this in 1975, soon after the Eng. translation came out. I found it to be an amazing and serious liberal R.C. exploration of the major questions of christian theology. Certainly it should be considered on the same level as many of the great protestant theologians (e.g. Tillich, Bonhoeffer, Bultmann, Kierkegaard). Considering this and many of his other works, it is no surprise that both Karol Wojtyła and Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger strongly opposed Kung’s relatively radical views. Re-re...

I was drawn to read this book by reading a magazine article. What the author of the article said regarding the views of the author were intriguing to me. I found that I wrote in the margins often and for several reasons. One reason was for the usual, in that I did not want to forget where in the book something was at. A second reason was I agreed with what the author said. A third was I didn't partially or fully agree with what the author said. And perhaps finally, what was said gave me pause to...

I have read and been inspired by many modern German and Swiss theologians: Jurgen Moltmann, Wolfhart Pannenberg, and Hans Urs von Balthasar, among others. But reading their books, though ultimately rewarding, has always been hard work. I often feel that their arguments are too carefully made, repititive to the extreme, in an attempt to hermetically seal their theses against criticism from other theologians, who seem to be their primary audience. They are often more reliant on obscure points of p...

I'm reading this book 47 years after original publication. The book was written in the wake of Vatican II & within recent memory of the global changes of 1968. The book has lost much relevance and is one of those works of the 70s/80s that is now too dated & should be set aside. Scholarship since his time has nearly totally changed the picture & has proven much of the work false. The kind of "Spirit of Vatican II" crowd is dying off, and it's clear that their vision was a failure & that Kung will...

Hans Küng (born 1928) is a Swiss Catholic priest, theologian, and author, who was famously censured by the Vatican in 1979 and declared no longer authorized to teach "Catholic theology," though he remains a priest in good standing. He has written many other books, such as Does God Exist?: An Answer for Today, Eternal Life?: Life After Death as a Medical, Philosophical, and Theological Problem, etc.He wrote in the Introduction to this 1974 book, "This book is written for all those who, for any re...

My absolute favorite devotional book. You can spend a day contemplating the meaning of each paragraph. For a while during the decade after its 1st publication, I was pressing copies onto everyone I thought might be interested. The author himself regarded it as his magnum opus. A Book-of-the-Month Club selection (1976).

If I had read this before getting my degree in Religious Studies, I would have been the Hermione Granger of the class. Perhaps it's for the best that I read it later; it was an excellent review of everything I learned, and then some. Not only is it intellectually enlightening, it's been good for my personal faith as well.

One of the hardest books I can recall reading. But, it was very, very informative, enlightening, comforting and meaningful.

On Being a Christian will not satisfy the dogmatically inclined, nor the cynical existentialist, but it will help those seeking a middle way to religious understanding. It does not presume to champion Christianity, but explains clearly what makes the members of the Church unique. The chapters are arranged logically, and may be read in any order. In fact, Mr. Kung advises readers to skip certain passages depending on their views. His plausible explanations for some of the more controversial eleme...

I finally finished this mammoth of a book -- but I suppose it's short compared to the Summa Theologica or Church Dogmatics! Kung presents a complete Christian theology for the intelligent, critical, modern mind. It does not gloss over the many errors of the Church, but instead points to the reasons for his continued faith and his optimism for the future of the Church and creation. As Kung says, everyone has to make a choice about their faith: even the decision to NOT make a choice is a choice! I...

Simply excellent, illuminating. It provides a vision of Christianity that really should have a bigger echo. It helped me really a lot.

A Catholic theologian that can hold his own with most social scientists. Read the second chapter for sure!

I do not agree with the author on many points. I read it because it was referenced in one of Brenden Manning's books. I stuck with it because I appreciated that He doesn't take anything for granted and I wanted to expand my view as a seeker of truth. He does not seem to see the Bible as God's Word, but analyzes it from a historical and sociological perspective. He sees the miracles of Jesus as stories or exaggerations, yet, amusingly, he still comes to many of the same conclusions in terms of wh...

A voluminous and scholarly work that is alternately highly engaging and dreadfully dull. I read this with the hope that it might provide some meangingful terms on which I could accept the possibility of Christianity as a viable personal worldview. It did not succeed.