God or Nothing

An excellent interview-style book reminiscent of Peter Seewald's interview books with Cardinal Ratzinger, who became Pope Benedict XVI. With his refreshingly blunt style, Cardinal Sarah reminds me of another plain-spoken African Cardinal, Francis Cardinal Arinze. The book is timely. Here is Cardinal Sarah on why ideology always fails:"Every extremist ideological project bears within it its own failure ... All ideologies end up disappearing, like Communism. Thus the fall of ideologies is inevitable as they are but mere products of man without God. But at what cost! ... Without God, man builds his hell on earth. ... Since we claim to have celebrated God's funeral, how can we be surprised that a godless world has become a hell on earth? Morality, freedom, love, technology, and science are nothing without God's presence. Man can devise the most magnificent works, but they will be mere sand castles and shifting illusions unless they are related to God." (PP.164, 190, 191, 170)Cardinal Sarah is beautiful and even mystical in talking of the sufferings of St. John Paul II:"This pope shows the glory of suffering. His pontificate was prodigious and at the same time crucified. ... God conformed this pope to the suffering of his Son. The lance that pierced Christ and the nails of his crucifixion went to the heart of John Paul II. The pope showed that there is no pastoral success without suffering. I admire his extreme courage in facing all the storms he weathered throughout his life. His last struggle with the illness that was consuming him was heroic. ... The pope was carrying the Gospel in his broken body, which was more luminous than ever. ... The body of John Paul II bore Christ's message for mankind. ... John Paul .. wanted to be totally configured to Christ and to live in profound communion with his sufferings. ... (As) Saint Bernard (said): 'The faithful soldier does not feel his wounds when he lovingly contemplates the wounds of his King.'" (PP. 93-95)I have barely scratched the surface of all the interesting topics Cardinal Sarah discusses in this book which also include, the modern popes, gender theory, the homosexual person, abortion and attacks against human life, science, technology, relativism, secularism, the natural law, priestly celibacy, the Mass, true vs. false freedom, Satan, the Mystery of Iniquity, God's Mercy, and on and on. In a letter on the back cover of the book, Pope Emeritus Benedict, who made Robert Sarah a Cardinal in 2010, says of the book:"I have read 'God or Nothing' with great spiritual profit, joy and gratitude. Your witness to the Church in Africa, your suffering during the time of Marxism, and the whole spiritual life is moving and has great importance for the Church, which is a bit spiritually tired in the West. All that you have written regarding the centrality of God, the celebration of the liturgy, the moral life of Christians is especially relevant and profound. Your courageous answers to the problems of gender theory clear up in a nebulous world a fundamental anthropological question."

Compelling, quite a different Cardinal Sarah than the one portrayed by Frederic Martel. I believe that the opposition to this man is largely ideological, but when progressives oppose him, they use racist tropes. This man is a profound thinker with an authentic story of witness. God or Nothing is a well-encapsulated title for his life story. The narration is vivid enough to imagine his childhood and early life in the clergy. Enlightening and even entertaining - recommended to every Catholic, even if you are not an ideological supporter of Sarah. Also, recommended to European progressives who want to understand a wide-range of thought voiced by actual Africans, instead of those who claim to be speaking for them.

You will need a highlighter and a pencil. Cardinal Sarah's writing is accessible to the average reader but he packs so much in it, you will want to take notes.I especially liked his biographical references, the Church in Africa is not for the faint hearted. In the West we complain about the air conditioning; in Africa, being a Catholic priest or layman could come with a death sentence.Very insightful.

Thank you, Robert Cardinal Sarah, for this wonderful gift to the Church. The Church owes you a debt of gratitude for taking the time and trouble to share your insights gained from a lifetime of following Christ and working in his vineyard.Thank you in particular for your witness to the Christian faith and to the missionary work of the Holy Ghost (Spiritan) fathers. As a spiritual son of the Holy Ghost fathers myself, Icannot but affirm everything you said about their warmth, kindness,,friendship, deep and abiding love of God and genuine care for and interest in those among whom they worked. These traits no doubt contributed, along with the working of the Holy Spirit, to whatever success they were able to achieve, often in the midst of great difficulties. I trust that all interested in the spiritual life and in pastoral and missionary work will find, as I did, the insights shared in this memoir beneficial

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This is a book every Catholic and Christian should read. I simply could not set it aside. Of all the books that I have read, God or Nothing jumps to the top of the list of great reads. I not only recommend it but encourage anyone who desires to grow closer to God to get this book. It is that good.Cardinal Sarah's journey of faith is in and of itself compelling and well worth reading but it is his deep faith in God, thoughtful insights and thorough understanding of the magisterial teachings of the Catholic Church, and his strong belief in the power of prayer that will hold you from beginning to the end. Unafraid to tackle the most pressing and controversial issues of the day, Cardinal Sarah addresses all with refreshing candor, sincere humility, and a wisdom far beyond his years.

This is exactly the kind of book you would expect from Cardinal Sarah; a solid theologian with a clear head and a devout heart for the Faith. I found his insights on his homeland especially interesting and educational. My only complaint is that I found the interview format a bit confusing when a new question was sometimes presented that seemed unrelated to the previous topic. Otherwise, it is a very worthwhile read.

This book was fantastic: All the history, the scriptures, & the thoughts of Cardinal Sarah will stay with you for a long time. Our next pope?

This is a very balanced, yet spirited work. Throughout these pages, we are guided into the personal life of the discreet and deeply spiritual man who, coming from a rural place in Guinea, went on to take important missions on behalf of the Catholic Church, in great proximity with the Pope, in Rome, where he understood the breadth of her charitable works and the need for constant and crescent evangelization.This book is definitely a must-read for all Catholics who wish to know more about the universal missionary calling as a sure way to heaven. Seminarians, especially, will greatly benefit from the humility and bold testimony of the great figure of Cardinal Sarah and the great personal passages he tells about the Popes he had contact with. It is one of the best in this genre I have ever come across!

I bought this book to give to a friend who has no religious faith but who has an open, enquiring mind. He had come across Cardinal Sarah's writings on the internet and expressed an interest to me. As this was the first book written by the Cardinal that I read - and was deeply impressed by - I decided to pass it on to this man, in the hope that it would strike a deeper chord in his thoughts. Written as a 'conversation' - or 'interview' - with a French journalist, it allows the reader to savour Cardinal Sarah's thoughts in discrete excerpts. What one discovers on reading is that the author is a man of true holiness. This holiness is very rare. There are many good and conscientious priests and men of God; some very devout men and women religious; many ordinary men and women who love their Faith and try to live by its demanding tenets. (And, alas, some ambitious clerics who see their supposed calling in simply careerist terms). The Cardinal writes: "In heaven we will be judged on love, as St John of the Cross used to say." Christian love, as the Cardinal knows, means the merciful love of God that instantly forgives us when, like the Prodigal Son, one of the most beautiful of all the Parables in the New Testament, we return to him in repentance for our transgressions. I would encourage anyone who wants to learn more about Faith, the Church and how to live a Christian life to read this profound book.

I had a narrow minded view of Cardinal Sarah and this book was a required text for a course. Imagine my surprise, when in the final pages, I was wishing it would continue. It pleases me that there is still much to learn from conservatives in many places in The Church.

Muy buen libro de actualidad del catolicismo

Thank you Cardinal Robert for your inspiring book. I copied many of the parts I liked most, and their number is “legion”. The Catholic Church in Australia is suffering. 90% of baptised “Catholics” don’t attend Mass, and many that do are divorced, unmarried and living together. Sin and hell are almost never mentioned. Children are being baptised, but the parents of 95% of them are never bringing them to Mass. Catholic schools are popular, but the vast majority of their teachers aren’t practising Catholics. I cannot imagine how they teach them the Ten Commandments.Your book firmly and clearly states and affirms Catholic doctrine. And how it is seriously being attacked and challenged not just by secular forces but by increasing numbers of Catholic clergy and laity.Thanks you for your inspiring words. They give me hope.