Giacomo Biffi
Linee Di Escatologia Cristiana

THE REVIEW

The book in question deals with Theology, specifically Escatology. Yes, because "Linee Di Escatologia Cristiana", written by the now famous Giacomo Biffi in 1984 and published by the publishing house Jaca Book (which, let's be honest, is "biased," dealing almost exclusively with Christian religious topics), already suggests its content from the title. Lines: the outline is just sketched and the discourse, although complete, is extremely concise - Of Eschatology: it refers to what theology treats as "immortal life beyond earthly being" - Christian: the reflection is conducted among Christians in the light of biblical and evangelical teaching, placing Christ as the protagonist and mainstay of the narrative.

It must be said that this handy pocket book, of just 111 pages (it can be read comfortably in an hour or two) does not tell a story, does not aim to be compelling, rather simple, clear, and concise, dealing with immense topics beyond the knowledge of the average person, which can, however, help the latter approach them, precisely because of their coherence and straightforwardness.

The book, after a brief introduction aimed at rightly explaining the meaning of the text and helping the reader enter its religious context, begins to address the previously described topics in a correct and easy-to-assimilate way; it then comes to answer some frequently asked questions that people ponder, the classic ones about the existence of God, of life after death, etc.

Obviously, the main topic remains the "afterward", so dark and obscure, which we can only fantasize about, and to which we can at most approximate by reasoning logically. Christ is the key to solving the aforementioned dilemmas, but the treatise is not a way to convince the reader to come closer to Christianity, rather to calmly explain the Christian view of things, and this is different; the book concludes with a brief one-page summary, ideal for providing a general idea of what has been explained in the previous pages.

A book, therefore, that apart from being handy due to its small size and easy to read, is also not difficult to understand: indeed, it is as clear and concise as possible, so as to help even those less knowledgeable in the subject. I recommend it to all enthusiasts of the genre, who will find it pleasant and simple, perhaps useful to pass some time, and also to all those Christians who, perhaps, are sometimes a bit lost in religious difficulty, and with this little book can take a small step towards understanding religion. Recommended also, if I may, to atheists and agnostics, not to convert them or anything like that, but to help them in their path of religious refusal, so that they can base their arguments against religions on something solid.