A Testimonial to Grace: and Reflections on a Theological Journey

by Avery Dulles

DullesO account, written in 1946, of his conversion to the Catholic Church. This special 50th Anniversary Edition contains a newly penned OafterwordO in which the author details his fifty-year journey from conversion to priesthood to theologian. Dulles describes the mentors and the experiences that shaped his perspective as a theologian.

Genres: Religion, Biography

156 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1996

About the author

Avery Robert Dulles, S.J. (1918-2008) was a Jesuit priest, theologian, cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and served as the Laurence J. McGinley Professor of Religion and Society at Fordham University from 1988 to 2008. He was an internationally known author and lecturer.

Dulles was born in Auburn, New York, the son of future U.S. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles (for whom Washington Dulles International Airport is named) and Janet Pomeroy Avery Dulles. His uncle was Director of Central Intelligence Allen Welsh Dulles. Both his great-grandfather John W. Foster and great-uncle Robert Lansing also served as U.S. Secretary of State.

He received his primary school education in New York City at the St. Bernard's School and attended secondary schools in Switzerland and The Choate School (now Choate Rosemary Hall) in Wallingford, Connecticut.

Dulles was raised a Presbyterian but had become an agnostic by the time he began college at Harvard in 1936. His religious doubts were diminished during a personally profound moment when he stepped out into a rainy day and saw a tree beginning to flower along the Charles River; after that moment he never again "doubted the existence of an all-good and omnipotent God." He noted how his theism turned toward conversion to Catholicism: "The more I examined, the more I was impressed with the consistency and sublimity of Catholic doctrine." He converted to Catholicism in the fall of 1940.

After graduating from Harvard College in 1940, he spent a year and a half in Harvard Law School, where he also founded the "St. Benedict Center" (which would become well-known due to the controversial Fr. Leonard Feeney S.J.), before serving in the United States Navy, emerging with the rank of Lieutenant. For his liaison work with the French Navy, he was awarded the French Croix de guerre.

Reviews

[Amber Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great autobiography!

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cardinal Avery Dulles' A Testimonial to Grace is a marvelous, well written and succinct spiritual autobiography of his conversion to the Catholic Church. The book traces point by point the philosophical and theological arguments he wrestled with which collectively brought him from atheism to Catholicism. I would recommend the book most especially to those interested in the philosophical disputes between theists and atheists, as well as those interested in the theological disputes between Catholics and Protestants, but noting that the treatment of these arguments are broadly presented rather than scrupulously explained. In this sense it serves as a brief, though significant and staunch, survey and defense of Catholicism. The book is quotable and written in a lucid prose that should be accessible to even the high school student or those not trained in philosophy or theology.

[Maura Mctague]

If only I could find this book!