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Tomáš Halík: A new voice for an American audience

In this volume, best-selling Czech author, priest, and theologian Tomáš Halík examines the connection between faith and love, meditating on a statement attributed to St. Augustine—amo, volo ut sis, “I love you: I want you to be”—and its importance for contemporary Christian practice.
Tomáš Halík: A new voice for an American audience
Religion News LLC

The University of Notre Dame Press is proud to release I WANT YOU TO BE: On the God of Love by Tomáš Halík, translated by Gerald Turner. In this volume, best-selling Czech author, priest, and theologian Tomáš Halík examines the connection between faith and love, meditating on a statement attributed to St. Augustine—amo, volo ut sis, “I love you: I want you to be”—and its importance for contemporary Christian practice. Halík suggests that because God is not an object, love for him must be expressed through love of human beings. He calls for Christians to avoid isolating themselves from secular modernity and recommends instead that they embrace an active and loving engagement with nonbelievers through acts of servitude. At the same time, Halík critiques the drive for mere material success and suggests that love must become more than a private virtue in contemporary society. I Want You to Be considers the future of Western society, with its strong division between Christian and secular traditions, and recommends that Christians think of themselves as partners with nonbelievers.

Halik, whose books have been translated into 18 languages, has developed an extraordinarily broad community of readers in Europe and his books have awakened interest in theological themes across the boundaries of different disciplines and even among unbelievers. This is a book reflecting a new voice for an American audience.

“Seldom have I read a book that prompted me to think about the mystery of God’s love in such surprising and delightful new ways. By turns profound, challenging, and unsettling, Tomáš Halík’s new book is also a rarity in theological and spiritual discourse in that it is beautifully written, clearly articulated, and wonderfully inviting.” —James Martin, SJ, author of Jesus: A Pilgrimage


Tomáš Halík is professor of sociology of religion at Charles University in Prague, the pastor to the Academic Parish, and the President of the Czech Christian Academy. He received several awards, including Cardinal König Prize (2003), Romano Guardini Prize (2010), and the Templeton Prize (2014). Read more.

I WANT YOU TO BE: On the God of Love

Tomáš Halík

Translated by Gerald Turner

August 2016 publication

ISBN 978-0-268-10072-8

200 pages

hardback edition ($25.00)

Digital editions include Kindle, Nook, Kobo, and Apple iBooks

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