I often say that the intellectual tradition of the church is what attracts me the most to the Catholic faith, and this tradition was on display in all its glory on 60 Minutes this week, with a tour of the Vatican library.
This piece reminds me of something Rick Steves, the tour book writer known for his European guidebooks, told us in an interview with him (coming up in the June issue). Though he's been recently lecturing about traveling throughout the developing world, Steves said that there's something special about going to the Vatican, even if he is a Lutheran.
"This was just the greatest that people could do to honor and glorify God in the era that it was built, and in that context, it is a beautiful, beautiful thing—the greatest church in Christendom," he said.
While he was referring to the actual building, his quote resonates with me when I look at these ancient Bibles and other texts. Take a look yourself:
