3 comments about St. Andrews Seven.

1. The St. Andrews Seven chronicles the rise of an emphasis on overseas missions among several students at St. Andrews and their Professor. Then, as now, there were those who felt that the Christian faith was not academically respectable, yet these students were both accomplished scholars and men of faith. Their effects on the establishment of overseas missions and colleges, especially in India, and the rigors of student life, faith and politics at St. Andrews in the 18th century are an inspiration for students even today.



2. A pastor friend gave me this book a year ago. I started reading it on a recent trip and couldn't put it down. God used this book to challenge me to excellence in my study of the Bible, communicating God's Word to people around me, and the power of prayer. Don't miss another key point in this book: these believers studied, prayed, discussed and served together. Not only will St. Andrews Seven give you a snapshot of early Scottish Missions, it will also challenge you to live all out for Christ in fulfilling His Great Commission at the start of the new millennium. I highly recommend it and other biographies published by Banner of Truth (look it up on the web)and sold by Amazon!



3. I just received this book a month ago for my birthday and have already read it twice! It has easily shot to number two behind Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret on my list of Ridiculously Awesome Books on the Missionary Task.
   
   "Seven" is the story of six young students and their professor who were at the forefront of a season of missionary zeal in Scotland in the early 1800's. The book tells their story compellingly and succinctly, letting the profound testimony of these students lives leave you speechless. To give you a hint at the caliber of these students, one of them dies at the young age of 18... and the biography his friends write of him takes two volumes. How many of us at 18 had accomplished enough for a chapter in a biography, let alone a volume, let alone two volumes???
   
   Here's some quotes that hit me in the gut... maybe they'll whet your appetite and you'll go buy this book, read it, get convicted, and become a missionary:
   
   "They are a rebuke to those who never get past dabbling with the world-wide mission of the Church."
   
   "They also saw that faith must be personal, but its practice should not be private."
   
   "Our response to Christ's commands should be determined by what we can do in His strength, not by what we might fail to do in ours."
   
   "It is by dint of steady labour - it is by giving enough of application to the work, and having enough of time for the doing of it - it is by regular painstaking and the constant assiduities - it is by these, and not by any process of legerdemain, that we secure the strength and the staple of real execellence."
   
   "From seven to nine in the evening I am engaged with J. Urquhart in collecting, under specific heads, all possible information on the subject of missions, both from Scriptures, under the titles of precepts - prophecies - promises and examples, and from all other books whatever we can lay our hands on; the object of this is, with our united prayers, to seek a sober determination of the enquiry, whether or not we ought to embark on this enterprise." (From the journal of one of the students, John Adam)
   
   "Only one thing seemed to matter: to discover God's will and do it."

No comments about The She-Apostle: The Extraordinary Life and Death of Luisa de Carvajal.

1 comments about The Complete Idiot's Guide to Jesus.

1. i've read over a thousand christian commentaries. this is one of the better. a few parts are dry but mostly an overall pretty good read.

3 comments about Take the Dimness of My Soul Away: Healing After a Loved One's Suicide.

1. Although Reverend Ritter bases his book on sermons given after his son committed suicide, his words are relevant for anyone who is experiencing the agony of loss and at any stage of the journey. This small book is honest, powerful, comforting, and hopeful.



2. This book has been very helpful to my family since my brother's suicide, in fact so helpful my mother and stepfather ordered multiple copies for the extended family and I have ordered copies for church and friends. Having lived through the suicide death of his son, the author is able to put into words the horrible grief such a loss generates.This is a spiritual, not a clinical, perspective on suicide. Rev. Ritter is very open and honest in sharing his feelings and thoughts. I found comfort and hope for healing in this book.Between us we have read several books and the consensus is this is the best.



3. We lost our son to suicide and I found this a very comforting book. You can read it in one night but the message is great. All I can say it can happen to any family.

5 comments about Saint Therese of Lisieux (Penguin Lives).

1. Unfortunately this was the only biography of Therese in my local public library. All biographies are to some extent seeing the subject thru a lens, but this lens filters out much of what is of the most value in Therese's writings in my opinion. This biographer seems unable to dive into or convey much of Therese's spirituality, due to a lack of understanding or excessive skepticism of spiritual experience. Biographer doesn't seem to be convinced that spiritual experiences are real. She continuously suggests that Therese's spirituality may be just neuroses and offers up superficial pop-psychological comments for every spiritual experience. Its like a biography of a mountaineer but the biographer is not at all sure that mountains really even exist at all, and they may be a figment of the fevered imagination. Biographer thinks this point of view is attuned to what "contemporary readers" expect but it just ends up missing most of whats there spiritually.



2. Kathryn Harrison writes triumphantly about Therese Martin the Saint of Lisieux. Her biography captures the historical character from childhood to her death at age 24 years. Harrison portrays the life of Therese amidst the context of the late 19th Century. The focus of the book is on the family life and the convent life of Therese and her seemingly constant struggle to rest in perfect devotion to God to whom she had sacrificed her life.
   
   Harrison writes exquisitely of Therese, but she writes at times from a freudian, humanistic point of view, somehow missing or misunderstanding the mysticism of Therese's life that is the one characteristic that makes her life remarkable. I think this comes from the writer discounting the reality of Therese's constant communion with God.
   
   I recommend this book because it illustrates the power of a quiet life lived in the love and service of God. Harrison successfully shows the effect of one life lived fully for God unselfishly and sacrificially. The final pages offer a brief glimpse of the enormous impact Therese has had on people since the time immediately following her death.
   
   Craig Stephans, author of Shakespeare On Spirituality: Life-Changing Wisdom from Shakespeare's Plays



3. Harrison shows us a Therese who often wept but who also had a gift for restraining her emotions; who's self-understanding was influenced by her dreams, even while she discounted the value of dreams; who had an unusual preadolescent disorder involving involuntary muscular movements which sometimes even threw her out of her bed; and who longed for purgation by spiritual fire. And Harrison did it with literary flair. I loved it. Now I'm reading The Kiss.



4. "Saint Therese of Lisieux" is a short story of a short life. Drawn largely from Therese's own writings and the recollections and testimony of acquaintances, it provides an up close view of a holy life.
   
   Therese is a saint who pursued sanctity by seeking "nothingness" within the Carmel of Lisieux and yet became the patroness of missionaries and one of the most popular saints of the past century.
   
   This book provides an introduction to the spiritual life of late 19th Century France, in which religious life was at its greatest popularity, and the particular environment of her convent. It also gives an insight into the attraction of Therese to the world since her death. I find the popularity of Therese and St. Francis of Assisi to be puzzling. Our world generally esteems those who give their lives in service to others, not in those who seek self mortification as their road to salvation, but in their cases, this is the model which the world embraces. The book alludes to Therese's writings, but really does not, in my estimation, make the case for her immense popularity. This book is a good introduction to her life, but I am left searching for her charism.



5. I read Saint Therese of Lisieux (A Penguin Lives book) this week. The style and subject are appropriate for the series, and I appreciate the author's presenting a story to a public that may not generally be interested in haggiography and knows little about St. Therese. However, the saint's brief life troubles me, as it calls into question the process of cannonization itself. Ms Harrison repeatedly turns to Therese's abandonment by mother figures as an explanation of decisions that readers of Penguin LIVES books may not understand. In the saint's illness, though, it becomes increasingly evident that the church and religious community fed the young woman's mortifications to the point of cruelty -- from which they soon profited both financially and by reputation as the convent of a saint.
   
   Therese's younger sister Celine's role especially interests me. Her photos documented not only a life, but also a way of living that was of interest, but largely unknown, to those outside. In the nineteenth century, particularly, storytelling through photos must have been a radical form of art. In truth, the photo of St. Therese on the cover of the book is what caught my attention when I was browsing the general section in a bookstore. As I understand it from Harrison's account, Celine's calling to the religious life was not a clear one from God. To be charitable, Therese "mediated" the message; "coercion" is another word that might be used.
   
   Towards the end of the book, Harrison describes the historical context of Therese's writing .. the vocation of "invalid" against a backdrop of changing roles for women. I find this "vocation" sad, today, in light of what I have seen and read. I'd either like to see additional annecdotal and statistical evidence, or I'd like to see a comparison between the process of canonization for St Therese vs. the same process in a Post-Vatican II age.
   
   It surprises me that there was such a huge showing of the faithful during the 1999 showings of St Therese's reliquary. (1.1 million people saw it in 106 cities.) I can understand a contemporary interest in the photographs, but a new justification of the process of canonization is called for, not adoration of the victim. I pity her and have sympathy for her blood sisters and the nuns of her convent who were trapped in the process.
   
   Her life is a sobering lesson.
   
   Shirley McKee +

1 comments about Robert B. Thieme, Jr. - His Ancestry, His Life.

1. A very interesting book that was quite an eye opener. It is filled with all sorts of information that kind of explodes some things that Thieme asserted about himself and his studies/credentials. This book sheds a lot of light on a lot of Things regarding R. B. Thieme and his ministry. I would recommend this book; it is a short, interesting read.

2 comments about Tormented: 8 Years and Back.

1. Peggy shares her story of becoming entangled in mental illness as a result of demonic oppression and the long journey she went through to find the answer to her problem. She does not glorify the devil or sensationalize her story; it is very practical and she gives excellent instruction on how to renew your mind and stay free. This book is helpful for those who need more freedom in their lives and for people who work in the area of deliverance. I found myself glued to her story and couldn't put the book down! This is one of the best books I've read on the areas of deliverance and renewing the mind. Peggy glorifies Jesus and the Word of God.



2. I truly enjoyed reading this book.It pointed out spiritual pitfalls that A spiritually naive person may get into without knowing where to go for help. The story came from the author's personal life experiences.Excellent.

3 comments about Entering the Silence: Becoming a Monk and a Writer (The Journals of Thomas Merton, V. 2).

1. The second of Merton's private journals in a series of seven, editor John Montaldo brings out the struggle that Thomas Merton, already a noted writer and critic, endured during his earliest monastic days (1940-early 1950s). Merton tackles a sort-of internal battle between the man who writes in the wee hours, and communicates with his New York society friends (among them was poet Mark van Doren!), and the monk who seeks to live out the Rule of St. Benedict to its fullest extent. First time Merton readers might be lost, but Montaldo skillfully fills in the details so that all readers will be able to focus on the struggle between man and Creator. Seasoned Merton fans will be given a deeper appreciation for the writer and devout monastic that emerged as a result of that internal confrontation. Not something to pass over!



2. When Thomas Merton retreated from the civilized mainstream to enter the Trappist Monastery at Gethsemani, an unknowing observer might view his spiritual struggle as ending, becoming completely lost in the routine of monastic life, its repetition and overt acceptance of spiritual discipline. The battle against personal desire versus group obedience to higher powers beyond flesh and blood one would assume to have been a forgone conclusion. Merton brilliantly shows us, however, that within the souls of men the battle still rages. And it is how he dealt with that struggle that makes this book so marvelous. His caring and loving approach to life and others is tempered with griping about the choir's proficiency, the demands of writing within the monastic framework, the lack of understanding by superiors and comrades in spiritual arms concerning his shifting spiritual needs, for solitude, quiet and letting God sort things out for him, vice pushing his own, highly tempered will into the whirling mixture that made up this complex, brilliant man. The writing is first rate, his descriptions of the surrounding countryside are marvelously genuine as is his analyis of himself and his motives. (like to move onto a more strict, Carthusian order to reach the apotheosis of perfect contemplation). This book is a good building block for future reading of this author and I would recommend reading the entire biography/journals before even wandering into the not so clearly written efforts of Merton's theological books. Many thanks to the publisher for finally making such great writing available!!



3. Thomas Merton's journals take up here in the momonastery in Gethsemani abbey in Kentucky in the 1940"s. An expurgated version of these entries has previously been published as THE SIGN OF JONAS,my personal favorite before the publication in the late 1990's of these unexpurgated diaries.Here we see the dutiful young monk, full of the zeal of the newly converted, seeing all of his brothers as "signs of God's wonder and Mercy." Needless to say, the tomne shifts slightly as the aura of conversion wears a bit, and Merton is given time to write. One of his most famous pieces done while he was on watch in the abbeys fire tower is included here, without the editing. Firewatch in and of itself is worth the price of the book. We begin to see here Mertons wish for a life of more seclusion, and here he mentions the Carthusians and the camaldolese as possible places he could find that solitude.{a wish that he held,apparantly until the end of his life]Merton's insaitable curiousity,his honesty in dealing with himself and his foibles, and his crystaline perceptions on the life of the spirit are being formed here in this volume. Indispensible for Merton fans, and welcomed to any who seek the path trod by a spiritual giant, and a very honest man.

5 comments about Miyamoto Musashi: His Life and Writings.

1. Once I started reading 'Miyamoto Musashi: His Life and Writings' I could not put it down and found myself reading until the next morning... This is a well written informative and detailed account of Miyamoto Musashi's life, his training, his teaching, his paintings and his writings. Various sources are cited and comparative analysis is rendered. We are given more than a glimpse into Musashi the warrior, the father, the artist and the man. I place this book on the top of the list of books regarding Miyamoto Musashi and his writing on Strategy as presented in Go Rin no Sho. It is a must for every military professional and devoted martial artists.



2. Well, I read one book on the subject and thought that I knew everything about the man... I was wrong.
   I especially like this book because the author tries his best to show the different points of view and include sometimes contradicting documents. Also he included much needed (for me at least) background data that helped to better understand the realities of that time.
   It definitely cured me from my "I know everything" attitude.



3. Having come to this book without any prior knowledge of Musashi, I was deeply impressed by this work, especially the biographical part. It also includes the Book of Five Rings which certainly adds weight to this addition, although I would've given the book 5 stars anyway if it only included the biographical/historical parts.



4. It's an excellent biography, it told me everthing I needed to know. It also includes a copy of the Book of Five Rings, which is nice, although I didn't notice and had already bought a copy, but having two different translations of a book is nice.
   
   Overall, a nicely organized book full of useful info and such-not.



5. This is perhaps the most complete review of the Gorin no Sho. Tokitsu not only offers a very well thought out and complete translation, he also gives an unbelievably in depth view of the Master's life. The notations for the translation are, to say the very least, quite thorough and very well written. Tokitsu used the two original existing copies to create his english translation, along with adding every known work that the Master is known to have written himself. The first section covers the Master's life and duels. The second is the translations of his writing, covering more than just the Gorin no Sho (however the full documents are not fully translated, only the parts which differ in tone or line from the Gorin no Sho). The final section of the book contains an amazing look at modern kendo, as well as other Japanese martial arts, and how Musashi's specific art can be related to them. Included in this are several observations of early 20th century kendo matches, in which the level of control and ability documented have yet to occur again. The sheer amount of research and sources cited, with the differing views and conflicting arguments make for a fascinating read from a fair and balanced point of view. For any individual who studies any martial art, or is interested in Japanese history, this book should considered to be essential.

1 comments about Nothing to Fear.

1. Hello. I recently sent this book to a friend who was preparing to go into surgery to remove cancer from his colon. Needless to say he was very apprehensive about the procedure and actually felt like his time on this earth had come to its natural end.
   
   Last night, I got the great news that the surgery went well and my friend is resting comfortably. His brother told me this book helped tremendously and gave my friend the hope and inspiration he needed as he prepared for this dreadful cancer removal procedure.
   
   There's nothing like direct, positive feedback. God bless my friend and here's too many more years of good living!