A Primer on Virtue

Boys to Men: The Transforming Power of VirtueBoys to Men: The Transforming Power of Virtue by Tim Gray
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I read this book as part of a morning men’s group. For that purpose, it definitely had a lot of value, but I probably would not pick this book up to read it again for my own edification. Having said that, I think that my complaints about this book may be unique to me.

So, good things first: it covers the four cardinal virtues and the three theological virtues. It addresses each carefully and in accordance with the tradition of the Catholic Church. It encourages the reader to pursue each virtue in his life, to strive to attain these virtues, not only for his own benefit, but for the benefit of everyone around him. The discussion questions provide both further reading (throughout Scripture) and further thought (on both practical and theoretical levels). Definitely a solid book for anyone new to theology or the virtues.

My problem is that I’m not new to those things. For me personally, much of this book was treading water–covering old ground–reviewing things I already knew. It still had value–it provided the backdrop for discussing issues in the men’s group, and it provided practical reminders on how to move forward in my pursuit of virtue–but I wanted to go deeper, really dig into the details, which is appropriate for my level of education.

Definitely recommend for anyone with little or no foundation in theology or the study of virtues. It’s also just fine for the fully-initiated who are involved in a discussion group–but for such a one reading it on his own, it may not add much to your knowledge.

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