5 comments about Confessions of a 'Sixties Priest: But Probably Not What You're Thinking!.

1. A fun and thought-provoking book about learning to be honest with yourself - and definitely not what you think a priest might confess. Jim O'Brien has written an intriguing second volume of his memoir. Following his graduation from the seminary and his ordination, he is assigned a succession of posts in and around the diocese of Rockford, Illinois. His recollections are again funny and touching, and sometimes very surprising. Why would a bishop in Rockford assign a young priest to study for a Master's degree in Broadcasting, for example. But in this volume, O'Brien writes of his increasing frustration and confusion in his new role. Between the laughs, you find yourself wondering how the young priest will find a way out of the trap he seems to have set for himself. I was reminded of the first verse of the Talking Heads hit, "Once in a Lifetime":
   
   "And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack
   And you may find yourself in another part of the world
   And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile
   And you may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful
   Wife
   And you may ask yourself-well...how did I get here?"



2. O'Brien traces his priestly career through an increasingly turbulent decade with self-deprecating humor and occasional irony. Alternately promoted, demoted and remoted, he encounters the famous, the almost famous and the yet-to-be famous. As the author himself notes, "I might have misremembered but I didn't make it up." Tabbed by his bishop for journalism, his liberal views relegate him to the boonies. Tabbed again for a graduate degree in television, he finds himself chaplaining a congregation of girls and women religious, not the best possible choice for the young celibate. Along with many others in his time, as the cultural revolution dissolves in a chaos of drugs and protests, O'Brien joins many others in leaving the priestly ministry.



3. Reviewed for Reader Views by Richard R. Blake (7/08)
   
   James M. O'Brien continues his memoirs in "Confessions of a `Sixties Priest." Ordained to the priesthood in 196l, after completing his seminary training at St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore, Father James O'Brien's first assignment was at St. Patrick's Church in Rockford, Illinois.
   
   Eager to make an impact, blind to his own ambition, O'Brien eagerly assumed his role as the youngest priest in the parish. He also served in the role as teacher of religion at Boylan Central High School. His success with promoting and publishing the parish bulletin led to assignment as staff writer for The Observer, the weekly newspaper for the Catholic diocese of Rockford which included twelve counties in northwestern Illinois.
   
   The regular column in The Observer gave O'Brien the chance to express topics on liturgy, the church, the Bible or any of his current liberal causes. Six months later he was appointed as Assistant Managing Editor of the paper.
   
   This was an era when the Catholic Church was on the threshold of liberalization of Vatican II and the civil rights movement was gaining momentum under the leadership of Martin Luther King. John F. Kennedy, America's first Catholic president had taken office. Rock and roll energized the music scene. The anti-war effort and anti-poverty programs were being birthed regularly. A cultural revolution was taking place throughout every sector of our society. O'Brien soon became intricately involved in many of these causes.
   
   O'Brien's journey took a new twist when after a year he was relieved of his journalistic endeavors, transferred to St. Joseph's Rectory. His assignment included teaching classes at Aquin High School in Freeport, Illinois.
   
   In June of 1966 O'Brien was given opportunity to take a year of year of graduate work at Northwestern University in the field of Communications with a special reference in television. During this time, he also served a residency at the St. John Brebeuf church in Niles, Illinois.



4. In CONFESSIONS OF A SIXTIES PRIEST, the second volume of James O'Brien's memoirs, we see how a young, idealistic priest loses his vocation and his faith in his first decade out of the seminary. O'Brien's movement away from the Church probably would have occurred anyway, but since the decade in question was the 1960s, his re-examination of his life and his resolve to make radical changes in it were probably accelerated by the forces that were changing American society during that time.
   
   As in his first volume, O'Brien gives us a look into a strange and now largely vanished world, that of American Catholic priests. On the one hand, the lives these men chose to lead, first in the seminary and then out in the world, strikes us as odd now, full of senseless restrictions and empty rituals. On the other hand, O'Brien shows us a group of characters that, as a group, is not odd at all. That is, some men in it are clever, honest , and interesting, while others are slow-witted, shady and dull. They could be accountants or stockbrokers; they do not seem holy. Perhaps this added to O'Brien's disillusionment, but he is not explicit on this point. Indeed, he is never clear on just what led him to reject his vocation, and that may be because it was not one thing, but a slow realization that his faith had disappeared.
   
   Unlike some authors who have broken with the Church, O'Brien writes about it without being harsh or bitter. He is able to express some nostalgia for it; we can see why the religious life once might have been attractive, while at the same time he makes clear the many failings of the Church (especially its leaders) and why many people raised as Catholics are now alienated from the religion.
   
   It is not, of course, O'Brien's purpose to explain the decline of the Catholicism in America. This is a memoir, and in it we see how one man changed in a changing society. O'Brien tells his story with good humor and admirable self-detachment.



5. The sixties were a time of change for everyone - even Catholic priests. "Confessions of a 'Sixties Priest: But Probably Not What You're Thinking" is the author's tale of becoming ordained when everyone else his age was pushing a cultural revolution and pioneering the music of rock 'n' roll. A tale of ambitions and learning about the world outside one's own sheltered upbringing, "Confessions of a 'Sixties Priest: But Probably Not What You're Thinking" is an intriguing piece of writing indeed, and a top pick for community library memoir collections.

5 comments about Letters to Gabriel.

1. This book is nothing but pro-life propaganda from the Santorums. That a tragedy like this would be used for political gain is disgusting.



2. I lost four babies late in pregnancy due to medically unexplainable causes. I can relate to this book in a way many cannot.
   
   Those who say the unborn child is just a mass of cells have obviously never held their own departed baby in their arms as Karen Santorum has, and as I have four times.
   
   Those who have never lost a child cannot understand why mothers and fathers need to see and hold their child for closure. My grandmother was denied that gift in 1921 when she lost her first child at birth, and it tormented her her entire life.
   
   Those who would call the Santorums "creepy" for wanting to share their child with their family do not understand what it means to lose a child in this way.
   
   Holding the child, bathing it, dressing it, burying it, these are the ONLY things we can EVER do for our children. And they help give us closure.



3. This is a beautiful and touching book. I wish I could thank Karen for sharing her personal story. As a mother who has faced similar tragedy I found her book expressed many of my own feelings.



4. They had many living children, children who needed them. Instead they allowed her life to be risked bringing to term a non-viable child. She took a terrible risk with her life, and the welfare of her children.
   
   Then, she compounded the terrible fright she gave her children into emotional trauma by bringing a dead baby home for them to meet!
   
   I am almost entirely pro-life. I believe abortion is almost always wrong. In a case like hers, though, she made a selfish choice. To ease her conscience, she put her children at risk, for no real benefit to the baby. He had twenty weeks of life.
   
   It would be one thing if she didn't have any children. But a family needs a mother and a father. And it's a husband's job to look out for his wife's safety above all other things. Her husband was negligent, and I have no respect for him now.



5. My wife and I have also lost a baby. We know the heartbreak. This little book will make you cry. It will also make you proud to live on the same planet with people like the Santorum family.

4 comments about Amy Carmichael of Dohnavur.

1. This book was my first introduction to Amy Carmichael many years ago. More of her books are in print today, but when I read this book I became acquainted with "Amma's" life of dedication. I also was amazed with the depth of her talent in prose and poetry.

   Amy Carmichael left the British Isles to be a missionary in India. She never came home. Dohnavur became her home and the people of India became her people. Her quiet life of service (for many years an invalid) still shines brightly. I can say that this book about Amy Carmichael changed my life.

   I highly recommend it as well as other books by her and about her.




2. This biography of an amazing woman of God is truly food for the soul. In contrast the Elizabeth Elliot biography "A chance to die" seems to have an unconscious negative slant which detracts from this servant of God. This woman was surrendered to the Lord more than anyone else we know of in the 20th century except perhaps Oswald Chambers. We should ask God that we might be used by Him to just a fraction that "Amma" was. The work of Dohnavur still continues to this day.



3. Amy Carmichael is regarded as one of the great missionaries of the early 20th Century. One of her greatest legacies was her loving work in rescuing girls from the Hindu temples (the practice is now illegal).
   
   One wonders where biographer Bishop Houghton ever found this much information. If I had been Amy Carmichael, I might rather be dead than see this much revealed about me. However, the book is written compassionately, so that one has the impression: "She was a honey". In fact, this is a precious biography, for the reason that it reveals so much about the inner life of one so greatly used by God.
   
   Bishop Houghton, rather than setting up Amy Carmichael as a saint -- or even as a sinner -- sought to "present her as she was", yet as "God's chosen instrument . . . amazingly fitted for His purpose". He was attracted to her first, he writes, "because, in contrast to so many authors, she steadily refrained from including a picture of herself in any of her books."
   
   Amy Carmichael is known for her pioneering approach to cross-cultural missions. This came about through a seemingly insignificant incident in Japan in 1893, which I thought worth reproducing here, in her own words:
   
   "We went to see an old lady who was very ill. She had not heard the Gospel before, but was willing and eager to listen. So I spoke and Misaki San translated, and our hearts prayed most earnestly. `Lord Jesus, help her. O help her to understand and open her heart to Thee now.' She seemed to be just about to turn to Him in faith when she suddenly noticed my hands. It was cold weather and I had on fur gloves. `What are these?' she asked, stretching out her hand and touching mine. She was old and ill and easily distracted. I cannot remember whether or not we were able to recall her to what mattered so much more than gloves. But this I do remember. I went home, took off my English clothes, put on my Japanese kimono, and never again, I trust, risked so very much for the sake of so little."
   
   This is a monumental work, with nearly 400 pages densely, meticulously, and lovingly written. It is not the easiest read -- but it surely would be worthwhile.



4. If you only have time to read one biography of Amy Carmichael, don't miss this one. It's the best one available. A close second is The Wild Bird Child: A Life of Amy Carmichael by Derik Bingham.

5 comments about My Life in Orange: Growing Up with the Guru.

1. The author, Tim Guest, opens his heart in this book about his childhood in the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh cult and how destructive it was to his family. "My mother and her friends wanted to surrender us, their children, to the love and support of the commune, in order to save us from the traumatic confines of nuclear family life."--pages 92 & 93. This is not a dry tome on the nature of cults. Some reviewers have judged the author, but this novel is not a whitewash, but an honest confession of his faults and his desire for a close relationship with his parents. It was heartbreaking how the cult children had to learn to rely upon each other for comfort and intimacy that was denied them with their parents. As a woman, I grieved over his deep longing for a meaningful relationship with his mother and his desire not to always have to share her with others.
   
   This novel also shows how an articulate intelligent woman, his mother, becomes slowly enmeshed in the Rajneesh cult and how the countercultural attitudes toward family ("the nuclear family itself was at fault: an unwitting agent of capitalist consumerism..." pg. 19 and "Marriage was part of the bigger swindle; a partriarchal conspiracy to subjugate women..." pg. 20) caused her to justify unkind behavior. It's almost a warning of how intellectualism can sometimes cause us to behave inhumanely. (I'm reminded of how college students were able to justify barbaric behavior during the Cultural Revolution in China.)
   
   Tim Guest has an amazing memory. Details, such as desiring slippery wooden floors to slide across while wearing socks, helped me to identify with Tim who had common childhood experiences even within the confines of cult life. This is not a lurid expose but an insightful look into how cults operate to focus power in the hands of a few individuals at the expense of their members. I couldn't help thinking, while reading the book, about the parallels of the cult to the intelligensia of our current culture that is promoting the Socialistic mindset and denying the importance of the individual (ie. to end competition, the striving for excellence, the rewarding of mediocrity, the tearing down of high standards, and so forth).
   
   I recommend this book for a serious study of cult life. If you're looking for entertainment, this will probably not interest you. It's a quiet, but well-written, book.



2. I haven't read the book. Bhagwan himself said that is it easy to attack a man after he is dead. Guest is capitalizing on this concept. For the past several years I have been a Osho Rashneesh Sanyassi loyalist. That is until I read The God that Failed, an exclusive expose of Rashneesh by one of his closest members, bodyguard of almost a decade (?). I thought I would read about bitterness, he does have regrets and it almost cost him his sanity, but he also lived a something of a priveledged lifestyle, to include for a time, unmitigated sex and power, and he is grateful for that. Osho considers him to be his Judas.
   
   Now that I have entirely digressed, don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. Osho Rashneesh has mastered several disciplines in his lifetime, to include Buddhism, Tao, Zen, Hinduism, Sufism and the likes as demonstrated in his literature. IMO, there isn't anyone who has had such tremendous insights than Osho Rashneesh. And if you wonder about his credibility, he along with Ghandi are the only 2 sages with library rooms dedicated in their names in the Indian Parliament.
   
   On the other hand, there isn't anyone like him that took hundreds along for a ride into a mystical Hades. He had issues, to put it mildly. He was addcited to valium and nitrous oxide; and is said to urinate during his walks because of it. His 93 Rolls Royces was a complicated joke, poking his finger at Aristocracy, yet probably building some sort of legal capital/investment that couldn't be removed. Technically, I don't think the titles were in his name, just given to his estate. If it weren't for the drugs, he wouldn't have taunted the Regean administration to go after him with outrageous anti-Christian statements. He underestimated the US, Reagan and the Christian right. Reagan was done dealing with hippies and communists. Subsequentially, Osho Rasneesh's disillusioned staff commited atrocities that shattered any credibility that he may have had left. And the Muddy Ranch was bought as cheap real estate for a reason, it was a useless dry desert that became brutally hot in the summer and cold in the winter. But the building permits is what did him in, in a nutshell. The local govt. would not allow his commune to build a city, simlar to the likes of Salt Lake. The would not give any quarter. Like piranhas, the commune attacked themselves and locals.
   
   To love Osho Rashneesh is to love existentialism. He is the existentialist's existentialist. (his words) I have returned to Church, the church of my origin that I formally I would rather be dead than go back. There are comforts and challenges in living as another one of Christ's annointed. And I think Osho Rashneesh understands that, but he walked away from it under the influence of hedonistic narcotics.
   
   Unless Guest is able to testify on the brilliance of Osho Rashneesh and his contribution to the evolution of humanity, Guest's book is useless, which is probably why I haven't felt the need to read it.



3. Without reservation, I recommend MY LIFE IN ORANGE. You are in for a bumpy ride, however, on which your assumptions & judgments really need to be checked at the gate.
   This is about British disaffected Baby Boomers who first got into grassroots politics until they heard the siren song of the Raggle Taggle Gypsy, the psychic Pied Piper known as Bhagwan Rajneesh.
   MY LIFE IN ORANGE is all about a child's eye view of living in a collection of communes on three continents made up of people from disparate walks of life whose eyes are set on their quest for enlightenment, rather than on the prize of parenthood.
   I was an ex-Brit Baby Boomer who took a similar hike albeit through different terrain & my path once crossed with the Orange Cloud, as well as other guru groups. Perhaps my coming up as a "stranger" in a post-War society that set too much store in their ethnic purity, in an education system that thought their religion was the only one &, finally, behind 3 older brothers, all inoculated me against any male guru adoration. I, too, went in search of commune life, although my taste was more of the SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS kind, which doesn't exist off the silver screen, more's the pity.
   The telling of MY LIFE IN ORANGE is a profound immersion into Tim Guest's memories of idyllic communes before being dragged off by the adults in his life to treacherous territories where children are treated, at best, like a herd of goats. There are some hindsight insights blended into this feast of memories & stories about a time when a child's life was indeed free. However, as Tim so ably describes, the lines between freedom & abandonment, instincts & politics, ecstasy & emptiness, affection & antipathy are very thin.
   MY LIFE IN ORANGE will make you think about becoming a parent, an adult, a leader & a follower. It also has something to say about how a child looks at its parents' lives.
   PS: to all the defensive ones, there's little in Tim's telling that can be construed as anti-Bhagwan. It's in the mind of the reader, if they're so inclined, especially those who've not even read the book. Duh!



4. I enjoyed reading this book but in the end was left feeling it was the work of a five star whinger. The author's descriptions of scenes from his troubled childhood are excellent. One always has the choice to see one's glass as being half-full or half-empty. It is obvious to me that somewhere down the line Tim went for the latter.Mind Bomb



5. I think that Tim Guest's work My Life in Orange: Growing Up With the Guru is an excellent look into the way the life of a cult through the eyes of a child. This book was of great interest to me as I live in Oregon, which was home to the Rajneeshpuram commune and where much of the controversy took place. I liked the way that Guest tells his own personal story while at the same time narrates what was going on with the rest of the cult, making it both a personal and chronological account of the cult. Guest has an excellent writing style. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in alternative religious groups.

5 comments about The Nicholas Effect: A Boy's Gift the World.

1. Gist: An extraordinary boy meets an extraordinary fate, producing extraordinary effects: After Nicholas, a young traveller to Italy, is killed, his parents' gesture of donating his organs ignites the gratitude of the world. Hammock-time: Requires no more than a long week-end to absorb via your hammock or beach chair. The book is fast-paced and relatively slim compared to the encyclopaedic nature of some non-fiction works. Substance: When the tragedy happened, I wept. When I saw the film starring Jamie Lee Curtis, I wept. And I wept again when I read this book. I thought at first it was because I'm Italian-American, but so many non-Italians around the world have been touched by the Greens' story. I had begun to lose faith in this world, especially dismayed by the New Thought/New Age field, with their greedy, plagiarizing (long dead philosophers are robbed boldly) authors, some truly inane ones sanctioned by Oprah, with their ineffectual techniques -- unproductive affirmations, visualizations, rigidity of mind that everything must have a reason, etc. etc. Yet the Greens, even though the father, Reg Green, is most likely an agnostic, restore my faith, refresh my soul. Something beautiful upholds this world, deeper than the surface chaos and craziness, and superficial philosophies that seek to explain life. A subtle chiascuro effect underlines this book: of deep dark pain playing against light-filled love. Reg Green's sense of humor creates a delightful poignancy. I sense many readers like myself will re-read the book. It's difficult to analyze, but I left sensing stronger than ever that an afterlife truly does exist. My heart goes out to the Greens, and to my fellow spiritual seekers who need a book like this to understand and experience the concepts of love, attunement -- concepts freed from the manipulative twists by a good ole guru network of popular authors who claim to know such truths. Complementary book: Can You Drink The Cup? by the late Fr. Henri Nouwen, is Christian-oriented, but it so lyrically and sensitively explores the universal experiences of love and grief, I enjoyed reading it, as what I'd term a sort of Seekers' Survival Guide, concurrently with the Green book.



2. I think everyone remembers hearing about little Nicholas, only seven
   years old, killed by highway robbers in Italy. His family donated his
   organs and started a rash of others doing to in Europe and throughout
   the world. This is his story as told by his father. The wonderful
   effect of that act made me want to give the book a better review. The
   father's attitude made me want to give it a worse one, so it's right
   in the middle. Maybe I would feel differently had I not read this
   book directly following John Walsh's book. Walsh seemed like an
   ordinary man doing his best to cope with extraordinary circumstances.
   Green seems like a man who's enjoying all of the attention. His
   writing style isn't great either. He flitters around topics in a
   disjointed manner and goes about his mind's own ethical ramblings far
   to often.



3. As a liver transplant recepient almost four years ago, I had heard of the Nicholas effect. Shortly before reading this book, I discovered through a letter from my donor family that my donor had been inspired to sign his donor card based on Nicholas Green. This book is a stunning and true story of a boy's life, a family's grief and the heroic decision to make a difference to many others whom they did not know. Nicholas Green is still making a difference today becuase his story continues to ripple outward as when a pebble is dropped into a pond. I URGE you to read this book for yourself and prepared to be touched.



4. There is a verse in the bible which reads "Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil by doing good." Reg and Maggie Green have embraced this creed wholeheartedly. When their beautiful son was senselessly murdered in late 1994, instead of sinking into the depths of grief, they proved how well he had taught them about the power of love during his brief time on earth by using his example to save millions of lives around the world. If such a tragic thing were to happen to me, I hope that my actions would be identical to theirs. I thank Reg and Maggie for sharing little Nicholas with the world and I am sure he would be very proud of them (as we all are). Through their unselfish and life affirming actions, they have proven yet again that the power of good will never be overcome by the power of evil.



5. I would like to start by saying Snoogy Cat, you do not know what you are talking about. Reg Green is a man who dedicates his life to getting out the message of organ donation. He uses the media attention to spread the word of donating life. Almost weekly he goes to meetings and conferences (at his own expense) to try and convince people to do their part to save lives. This story is one of compassion, love, and breaking barriers. Reg Green is witty and intelligent, and does his job in convincing me to do whatever I need to do for this cause.

2 comments about A Legacy of Faith: Things I Learned from My Father.

1. THIS IS A VERY SPECIAL BOOK AND THE LIFE LESSONS THAT RUTH GRAHAM SHARES IN THIS VERY INSPIRATIONAL PUBLICATION HAVE BEEN A REAL BLEESSING IN MY LIFE AND ARE TRULY LIFE CHANGING.THIS IS VERY FAST READING AND THERE IS ALOT OF NEW INFORMATION AND PHOTOS SHARED FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME BUT MORE IMPORTANT ARE THE VERY SPECIAL PRINCIPLES THAT THIS SPECIAL FAMILY MEMBER HAS PASSED DOWN FROM HER DAD(BILLY GRAHAM)THIS BOOK OFFERS ALOT OF HOPE AND COURAGE AND WILL OFFER ALOT OF STORMS. THIS WILL MAKE A WONDERFUL BOOK FOR A FRIEND, FAMILY MEMBER, A PASTOR, AND A SOLDIER SERVING OVER SEAS. THIS WOULD MAKE A WONDERFUL DEVOTIONAL GUIDE FOR A BIBLE STUDY FOR THIS BOOK AT MY CHURCH.



2. In this delightful book, A LEGACY OF FAITH: Things I Learned From My Father, Ruth Graham honestly and tenderly shares what it was like growing up as the daughter of Billy Graham. Ruth, the third and youngest daughter, talks about what it was like to have a world-famous, traveling evangelist as a dad and the lengths to which her parents went to give their children a normal upbringing.
   
   In six well-written chapters, Graham explores different lessons she learned from her father, including love for the world, grace and loyalty. From an early age all of the Graham children were schooled in the business of giving. One of her first Christmas memories is putting boxes together for the needy within the surrounding area. In fact, any gifts sent to the family were immediately given to those in need. Graham recounts a time when a generous patron sent the family a beautiful soda fountain and admits that was a hard gift to give away!
   
   She also describes her mother's efforts to create a normal life for the children when their father was gone so much of the time. She talks about the excitement of her father's homecomings and the gifts he always brought back from his various trips. While home, Billy Graham spent long hours in his study reading, researching and preparing for the next set of meetings. While always welcome to interrupt, Ruth admits she limited any interruptions to a minimum --- not only during those times of study but throughout her growing up years. This was done with some regret.
   
   Graham writes, "My father has set a high standard in giving himself wholeheartedly; I have sought more of a balance and tend to be more restrained. It may be that seeing my father give so much to others when I was a child caused me to become reserved in loving. I think I felt that he gave away so much of what was mine --- attention, concern, love and time --- that I became protective of my heart. I was not willing to give everything away."
   
   In these tender moments, Graham acknowledges some of the pain that accompanied being the daughter of an evangelist to the world. She says there were certain times when she felt she needed her daddy but he simply wasn't there. Yet she acknowledges that it must have been just as difficult, if not more difficult, on him as he prayerfully handed over his family to the care of God time and time again.
   
   Yet Ruth doesn't just reminisce about her father and mother. She also shares glimpses into her own life, which includes two marriages that ended in divorce. She talks about the shame she felt, but also the unwavering sense of love and support she received from her parents.
   
   Overall, A LEGACY OF FAITH: Things I Learned from My Father is a wonderful keepsake book. The layout and design make it an enjoyable afternoon read or even a book to keep out for guests. It's filled with a rich assortment of photos from Ruth's childhood as well as from her father's years in ministry. This is the first time a Graham child has ever shared personal thoughts about growing up with Billy Graham as a father, and it's a book you won't want to miss.
   
   --- Reviewed by Margaret A. Feinberg

1 comments about Dante Alighieri: Divine Comedy, Divine Spirituality (The Crossroad Spiritual Legacy Series).

1. Robert Royal has managed to write a book which makes Dante's Divine Comedy not only more understandable for the average reader, but which makes you want to actually read Dante's classic. One of the chief reasons why this is such a good book is that Royal takes Dante's spiritual leanings seriously, unlike some commentators who see Dante as doing mostly political commentary. I recently used Royal's book as I embarked on teaching The Inferno to a high school student I was tutoring. It was an invaluable resource and made things clearer than the notes found in either edition of The Inferno we were using. I am now looking forward to finishing The Divine Comedy myself for the first time, inspired by Robert Royal. Thank you to the author for making this classic accessible for someone who doesn't read Italian, but who does share Dante's Catholic faith.

No comments about Searching for Mrs. Oswald Chambers: One Woman's Quest to Uncover the Truth about the Woman behind the Most Celebrated Devotional of ....

5 comments about Herod Antipas: A Contemporary of Jesus Christ.

1. A good book that breaks down the life and politics behind one of leaders who had a hand in Jesus' death. I liked the way that this book was written. It was very easy to read, although about 1/2 of each page was dedicated to footnotes. The author does a good job of using critical analysis when agreeing with historical documentation and when he varies from it.



2. This work was cited by other scholarly sources. Its emphasis on politics and the bargain Amazon price inspired me to add it to my collection. It features an extensive bibliography, which is always a plus to subject area collectors.



3. Harold Hoehner's "Herod Antipas: Contemporary of Jesus Christ" (1980, 437-page paper back) is an antiquities classic. It is well documented with 46 pages of bibliography, 38 pages of indexes, and hundreds of primary source footnotes. Hoehner's documentation is informative and convincing (he is well-read in all the sources). Unfortunately, there is only one map (of 1st century Roman Palestinia) and only one herodian genealogy table.
   
   "Herod Antipas" begins with Herod the Great's realm passing to son Archelaus in 4 BC. Hoehner answers questions about Antipas' royal inheritance, family, political ambitions, and rule while positing 1st century Syro-Palestinian history. Antipas' story is riveting, when placed in the New Testament era.
   
   Hoehner presents his one-of-a-king history with thorough and compelling documentation. His ancient sources include Josephus, Strabo, Tacitus, Justin Martyr, and many more. A host of modern authors are also cited. Hoehner's footnoting, alone, is worth the price of this 1st century history.
   
   "Herod Antipas" presents the dates for Antipas' royal ascent, Jesus' birth, John the Baptizer's execution, Herod's dethronement, and his death. Hoehner describes Antipas' Galilean construction activity, his loosing war with king Aretas of Petra, and the love-hate relationships with his Roman overlords. The tangled story of Herod's family life is clearly told and documented.
   
   Even with the informative history and persuasive source-work this book could be better with more maps (perhaps of the eastern Roman Empire, Antipas' movements through history, and battle movements in the Aretas war) and additional family trees (for the Julio-Claudians, the Hasmonaeans, and the Jewish high priestly families). Lists of the high priests, for the Jerusalem governors, of the Syrian governors, and for the kingdoms surrounding Galilee would have been helpful.
   
   This book is recommended to everyone interested in the world of Late Antiquity.
   
   Happy All Saints Day!



4. It was interesting to find out about Herod Antipas and his rule. Regretfully, he did not know who Jesus, the Christ, was and is.



5. Herod Antipas' is out of date, but still valuable. It is extraordinarily well footnoted, and there are numerous appendices that take up a third of the book. It's quite readable, except for the amount of untranslated Greek in the sections relating to the Gospels; when he discusses a single passage, he quotes the two or three lines in Greek with no English translation. The verse is footnoted sometimes, but it's a pain to look it up. Here's another example:
   
   'However, he would argue that verse 33 is an isolated saying introduced ad vocem, opuepov kai avpiov, in view of verse 32, or that verse 32b is secondary (constructed by the church), leaving only plpv in verse 33 as an editorial insertion.
   
   A lot of this book focuses on Antipas' relation to the Gospels - the imprisonment and death of John the Baptist, Jesus, etc. Some more straight politics would have been nice. He also gets very wrapped up in chronology and dates, spending two or three pages discussing whether something happened in the year 32 or 36.
   
   If you're interested in Antipas for Christian reasons - Richard Batey has written a book called Jesus and the Forgotten City, on the excavations of Antipas' first capital, Sepphoris, which he built from the ground up, into `the ornament of all Galilee.' (Josephus) Because he built Tiberias as well (on a graveyard, which didn't go over veyr well with the Jews), it also gives clues as to what that capital would have been like as well, and how those wealthy women following Jesus, and supporting him and the disciples out of their own means, would have lived. You can see my review under that product.

4 comments about C. S. Lewis: Images of His World.

1. It is most unfortunate that this superb book has gone out of print. It is a pictorial tour of the places and people familiar to C.S. Lewis. Next to each picture or illustration is a caption explaining the relation to Lewis, with most of the country scenes having vivid, picturesque quotes from Lewis himself. This book can be read in one sitting or slowly digested over several days. If you ever find a copy, hang on to it. It's a lovely book.



2. If you love C.S. Lewis as much as I do, then you will find this book captivating, transporting you into the world of Jack as a boy and as a man, as a pagan and as a Christian. Hopefully it will be back in print soon. Every page is lavishly illustrated with photos and artwork of people and places that were dear to Lewis. What makes it even more special are the descriptions of each place or person by lewis himself, taken from his letters and books. IT is the best gift a Lewis fan could receive, too, so look for a friend!



3. If C.S. LEWIS: IMAGES OF HIS WORLD sounds familiar to avid scholars of Lewis, it's because this is a reissue of a classic which probes the people and places which inspired the religious author. Photos and text - much of which are Lewis's own words - survey his friendships, beloved places, friends, family and colleagues in a fine survey of his life and faith. Lewis was captivated by the myths and legends of the North as a young child: his interest served as both a starting point for his involvement in religion and as a starting point for his literary creations. Any who would understand Lewis will find this a visual treat and a powerful starting point for understanding his vast wellspring.



4. This reissue of the out of print C.S. Lewis: Images of His World puts together a fine collection of photos depicting the places Lewis lived and visited as well as the people he knew. It does a good job of filling in the imagination for the reader of C.S. Lewis. The photos are accompanied by subtexts explaining each picture's content and in many cases they are accompanied by a quotation from one of Lewis's works. An introduction, chronology of Lewis's life, and brief biographical sketch complete the work.
   
   Although this is a reissue of the original book that came out in 1973, there has been a major overhaul to the layout, yielding both positive and negative results. First, the new edition is slightly smaller in size. Second, the orientation has been changed: the original book was 9 inches high and 11 inches wide, whereas the new book is just the opposite orientation of 10 1/2 inches high and 8 inches wide; (imagine a regular magazine and you have the layout for the new edition; turn the magazine on its side and put the binding on the left and you have the layout of the old edition.) These changes unfortunately have resulted in some photos that were formerly seen in their entirety on one page now being split over two pages. Result: artistically inferior.
   
   The third change, is that the order of the photos has undergone a major reshuffling, as has the texts that accompany them. Most of the material in the first book still appears in the second, but the order is different. (A couple of C.S. Lewis drawings in letters to Owen Barfield that appeared in the first edition of this book have been dropped from the new edition.)
   
   The fourth change is quite positive. It is amazing to see what a difference a mere three decades can make in photo reproductive technology. The book has a mixture of black & white and color photos, and while the black & white photos don't change much between the first and second edition of this book, the color photos are FAR better in the new edition. The subjects depicted have had their color restored and no longer appear to be so drab: one is reminded of what the Sistine Chapel looked like before and after the late 20th century restoration. Photos of such things as Tintern Abbey or Beaumaris Castle are brought to life by the new technology and are much more pleasing to the eye.
   
   To sum, many overall changes have been made to the quality of the photos as well as the layout of their presentation. I think the net effect is zero: two steps forward and two steps backwards. It's a pity, really, because the old layout could have been kept while using new photo reproductive technology to enhance the photos. Oh well, the bottom line is that if you don't have a copy of this book, by all means buy it - you'll be pleased with the purchase. If you have the original book, you still might want to purchase the new edition as many of the photos have been vividly enhanced. (Conversely, if you have the new edition and run across a copy of the old, this, too, is worth obtaining for the better layout of some of the photos.)