3 comments about The Autobiography of Saint Margaret Mary.

1. I always give five stars to religious books. But this one really deserved it. Bravo!



2. Margaret Mary Alacoque was a French nun and mystic, whom allegedly received instructions from of Jesus in the 17th century. I have alawys been inspired by decotions to Jesus's love and mercy, and think it is amazing that so many similar messages have been received by people throughout the ages, telling the world to have faith and implore in God's mercy and love as represented by the image sacred heart; an image whose physical representation may slightly change over time in order to impress the curent audience more deeply, but the core of the message never changes. People dedicated to promoting devotion to the heart of Jesus, who encouraged people to implore God's love and mercry, include but are not limited to Gertrude of Helfa, Birgitta of Sweden, Teresa of Avila, Therese of Liseux, and Faustina.
   
   I have heard much about how the devotion to that Sacred Heart, was most clearly articulated by Margaret Mary, and was interested in reading her autobiography, in order to learn more about the messages that she received and to see how the compared to those received by Faustina and her message of Divine Mercy. Like the work of Faustina, Mary Margaret's book was written in order to help her with confession. The introduction say that she implored one of the sisters to destroy the book upon her death.
   
   However unlike Faustina's book, Mary Margaret's autobiography contains little very few details about the nature of the messages she recieved in regards to devotion to the sacred heart. She often says that she "received advice" and leaves it at that, not specifying what the advice might be. She has a few details about her early life, but little commentary about life in the convent and how she interacted with people.
   
   This is a personal diary of hers, and where she mostly recorded her feelings about things but she often did not define what the things were, excpet in vague notions - "a conversation" here, "an act" there. It is vauge, but that is not fault of the author, as she was writing only for herself. However, the concequence is that the book provides very little information of substance from which a reader could draw inspiration or creat a role model. Faustina's diary was personal too, but she included much specific information about her dialogues with Jesus, and devotional practices recommended to her.
   
   Margaret Mary's writing style is not as easy to read nor as accessible, as if it were a conversation, as are the styles that characterize the work of Teresa of Avila, Catherine of Siena, or even John of the Cross seemed more clear. As a reader I also felt very much an intruder by reading the book.
   
   She does go on at leangth about different forms of mortification which she performed that were probably not uncommon during her life time, but I found incredibly disturbing as a modern reader. I appreciate the fact that people, particuarly those in religious orders and who were likely to become saints, felt unworthy of Jesus' suffering and crucifixion, so that they often looked for ways to humiliate themselves and cause themselves pain so that they could share in his sufferings. She talks about eating vomit of a sister and doing something with feces from some one else who had dyssentary. I don't know if the images are so striking because they are the few occasions in the book where she elaborates details to events, or if it is because the nature of the acts. I would not want this book in a house with children, who are likely to read deatials of saints for role models or inspiration.
   
   The book has very few instructions about devotional practices to the Sacred Heart. If you are looking for more details about the messages given to Margaret Mary from Jesus and how to please God through life, I think that Fr. Colombiere, one of Margaret Mary's spiritual directors, published a book that contains such information. It is interesting to note that Faustina's spiritual director died on the aniversary of Columbiere's death. I feel terrible leaving a negative commenary on a book by a saint, but the book was not at all what I anticipated, and I don't want other people to buy it as I did, thinking that it contained a certain type of guidance that it lacks. When I finished the book, the only images that remained were not apects of Margaret Mary's life that I felt I could imitate or a new source of prayers for a bedrock of devotion (the book didcontain prayers, but they are prayers found in most Catholic prayer books), but instead images of mortification practices she adopted.



3. I hesitated to purchase this book after reading the long, detailed negative review by an earlier purchaser, but ultimately decided to buy it.
   
   I have not regretted this. Yes, the book includes mortifications
   that lay people would not practise, but it is also rich in detail of her visions.
   
   I have yet to come across the worst mortifications mentioned by the prior reader. That may be due to the way I read, but they havenn't jumped out at me.
   
   Each section of several paragraphs or more is briefly summarized in a sidebar, making the book easy to navigate by topics of interest.
   
   The famous vision of St MM's heart being carried into a furnace and then being replaced, aflame, within her, is well described.
   
   I have no problems recommending this book for anyone interested in the origins of the Devotion to the Sacred Heart.
   
   John Lough

3 comments about Elvis' Search for God.

1. This is a curious book. It gives an overview of Elvis' spiritual search as seen through the eyes of Larry Geller, his personal hairdresser and self-proclaimed Guru. Geller got Elvis to explore his spiritual side mainly through New Age readings and meditation, and his own conversations with him. But the book seems to be a series of anecdotes, and bits and pieces of information thrown together. It was interesting, but did not give the kind of insight into Elvis' spirituality that I was expecting from Mr. Stearn. Perhaps I am expecting too much - Elvis the mystic?



2. All that time that we were enjoying Elvis' music, films, and personality, we never had an inkling that the spiritual life was important to him. Maybe this fact was deliberately withheld for the sake of his career. In any case, it is too bad that we did not really know him while he was alive. This book describes the real Elvis.

   At the time he was born, a blue light surrounded his home. This was a sign that the spiritual would be important to him. It began in blood and thunder churches that he quickly rejected. Then he found gospel churches, where he learned to naturally move his body to exciting music. Then, after his career began, Larrry Geller entered his life. Of course, you never heard of Larry Geller, but he was Elvis' best friend and spiritual confidante for many years. Larry was a student of what is called metaphysics, a very broad field that Shirley MacLaine helped popularize. The author of the book, Jess Stearn, has also popularized it. The book describes Elvis' long interest in this field, from numerology to astrology to pre-Christian spirituality to Christ himself. For Elvis, it was a lonely path, as his friends and wife were not interested.

   The book, like Out on a Limb, is a good introduction to metaphysics, and describes what a typical (if Elvis could be called typical) student experiences. His study helped him to face death with no qualms, and the book explains the real cause of his death (not drugs)




3. this book is rather clumsily ghostwritten by Stearn, based on the input of Larry Geller, Elvis' hairstylist and spiritual guru for 13 years.
   
   This book was written in about 1980, and has been published under two other titles, The Truth About Elvis and Elvis' Spiritual Journey. The contents and anecdotes are OK, but the book is written in a sort of rambling, non-narrative style. Should be called "Elvis the Nice Guy Anecdote Grab-Bag."
   
   Anyway, Larry Geller got it right five years later when he joined with two better ghost-writers and put out the riveting and excellent If I Can Dream - now out of print, but available used here on Amazon. Do yourself a favor and read that instead of this.

No comments about Corrie Ten Boom (Women of Faith).

5 comments about Fleeing Fundamentalism: A Minister's Wife Examines Faith.

1. Underneath a very engaging and riveting story, there is a quest for the truth about Christianity. Most Christians never take the time to question their religious beliefs and to look at the history of this religion which has changed radically since its beginnings.
   
   Carlene found that Christian fundamentalism is, at its roots, not based on the teachings of Jesus, but a perversion of and misinterpretation of the Bible to justify prejudices and bigotry. If you read this book and want to know more, I recommend Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism: A Bishop Rethinks the Meaning of Scripture by John Shelby Spong. This is a meaty book that will shock, as well as educate you, about Bible scholarship and the history of Christianity. As a Christian, this book did not damage my faith, but rather helped me understand how the Bible has been misused to support political and social agendas.



2. Fleeing Fundamentalism is a raw and riveting account from a woman courageous enough to face her reality and willing to do the hard work of redeeming not only her own but the lives of her children. In this honest and inspiring book, Carlene Cross draws back the curtain on the repressive fundamentalist system that had kept her confined to a rigid role. She describes the step-by-step indoctrination, mingled with romance and adventure, which left her hardly aware of the controlling and disingenuous world she had entered until the painful secrets began to be named. Her journey of surviving, healing, reclaiming her roots, and finding an integrated faith gives me hope for all women wounded by systems that insist on limiting the voices of women and the values of the feminine.



3. I ordered this book with great interest as my husband and I were at the same Bible College with Carlene and her future husband. For those who attended that particular college, the people Carlene mentioned, such as "Mr. Foreman", are easily recognized, though I have to say that my perspective of him and the others is quite a bit different than how Carlene portrayed them to be. In counseling courses one is told to be prepared for three viewpoints to emerge: his side, her side, and the truth. That is not to say that either party is lying, but it is to say that perspective makes all the difference in how facts are presented, and usually the truth lies somewhere in the middle of the two presentations.
   
   I guess one question I would have for Carlene is what her motivation was for writing Fleeing Fundamentalism. This is hardly the normal life and experience of Fundamental pastors and their wives. I am a pastor's wife myself and the debauchery presented in this book is horrifying to me to say the least. One could say that such a lifestyle needs to be exposed so that others can beware of the wolf in sheep's clothing. Maybe... but maybe one would be better warned as Jesus did that there would be many who would be attracted to the church for whatever reason who are not true Christians after all, but fakes and hypocrites, those who Jesus called tares or weeds. Tares are found in the pulpit and the pew alike, and one ought not to throw out the baby with the bathwater, nor the wheat with the tares.
   
   Another issue that I feel is totally misunderstood in this book is the biblical admonition of women's submission. Those who preach this truth must balance it with the equal truth that a man is to love his wife to the point of being willing to give his life for her. He is to sacrifice for her, cherish her, protect her, and love and nourish her as he would himself. It is not difficult to let such a man be the leader. He doesn't plow over her or disregard her abilities and strengths. He consults with her, listens to her, and then takes the responsibility to make the final decision. This Carlene's husband obviously did not do.
   
   My compassion goes out to Carlene, for no one should have to experience what she and her children did, but I would challenge her as well to keep searching and to not disregard the Bible. I don't believe that what she and "David" had was truly Christianity but a mere facsimile.
   
   The book is well-written, but I caution those who read it to remember that this is one person's point of view, and that view may well have been blurred a bit by pain and tears.



4. I read this book while my marriage was in its death throes. The relationship began to crumble when he started using the Bible to judge and control me.
   
   Carlene's book was tremendously helpful especially when she told her story about how much research she did into chuch and Bible history. I always had intellectual and emotional issues with some of the doctrines and stories of the Bible, and to find out that I did not need to "just believe in them without ever questioning" removed the weight of the world from my shoulders. I have never felt more free, and free to be myself, and reading this book was one of the stepping stones I crossed in order to reach that freedom.
   
   The biggest issue with fundamentalism are the personal sacrifices required to adhere to this paradigm; not in terms of money, or belongings, or even time and effort. The hardest part is giving up parts of your personality and things that make you an individual.
   
   In short, this book is terrific - it is valuable not just for the factual information in it all potential converts should be given before converting to Christianity, but because of the deeply personal nature of her quest to be treated with respect by those who purported to love her. Unfortunately the Bible can and still is used by men to control, abuse, subjugate, define, and dismiss women. Carlene's book is one voice that contributes to the dialog that hopefully someday will see the end of that tragic tradition.



5. Without repeating it, I would echo the praise of other reviewers but would add this: after reading a slew of weighty intellectual material on progressive Christianity, this book was a refreshing change of pace -- an engrossing, personal account of one woman's spiritual journey. Despite its salacious aspects involving alcohol, hot tubs, and her pastor husband's sex addiction, her story rings true. Like another reviewer, I too have experienced firsthand the effects of fundamentalism on a marriage. While reviewer J. Casebolt makes the point that there are fakes and hypocrites, both in the church and out, fundamentalism seems to foster misuse of biblical teachings by those who find just what they need there to justify God-sanctioned domination of their wives and children. In the idealized marriage that Casebolt describes, this would not be so, but unfortunately it requires perfect wisdom, perfect judgment, and perfectly self-sacrificing love in order to succeed. Whether in a secular or a Christian marriage, this would be rare.
   In my experience, there are certain personality traits that draw a person to fundamentalism -- a 'black & white' worldview and a psychological need for absolutes. Those of us who see shades of gray and are willing to tolerate some uncertainty in our spiritual lives are more likely to ultimately reject the fundamentalist claim to 'truth', although it often takes years as it did for Carlene Cross. My point is that her story is not an intellectual argument against biblical literalism & fundamentalism, but rather hints at the psychological underpinnings of the fundamentalist mindset.
   Another reviewer doubts the author's veracity -- questioning why the church is not identified (my take: confidentiality would be lost if she did so - why change the names if you're going to identify the church?). The reviewer also questions whether a pastor would actually leave the church of his own accord. I'm sure he left due to the difficulty of maintaining a public persona so at odds with his private one and knew that he was moments away from being `discovered.' The author may have had good reasons for omitting certain other details, or was simply exercising narrative license, & I would not use those omissions as a basis for doubting the author's honesty. All writers pick and choose which details to include.
   Ultimately, this book was a message of hope. I did finish the book wanting to know more about the author's subsequent journey of faith - had she abandoned it altogether? - and perhaps Cross will treat us to a second installment. I would definitely purchase the sequel.

5 comments about The Churches of Christ in the 20th Century: Homer Hailey's Personal Journey of Faith (Religion & American Culture).

1. Ed Harrell does a masterful job of relating the amazing life of Homer Hailey, one of the most dedicated, humble, and influential preachers in the churches of Christ in the 20th century. If you were fortunate enough to know this man, you will be fascinated by the story of his life and career as preacher, teacher, and author.

   But this book is far more than a biography of Homer Hailey. In the book, Harrell also makes a monumental contribution to the study of the history of the churches of Christ in the 20th century. After recounting Hailey's early life, Harrell sets aside Hailey's personal story and recounts in fascinating detail the issues and people that influenced the doctrinal positions and divisions of the heirs of the "restoration movement." Much of this 180-page middle section of the book is dedicated to the controversy over "institutionalism," the issue of building para-church organizations and "sponsoring church" arrangements with money pooled from various independent congregations. Harrell's analysis of this issue shows how social attitudes in the 1950s contributed to the impetus for the massive missionary and evangelistic schemes, television programs, etc., that became the focus of the controversy. There also are shorter sections on earlier controversies regarding pacifism and premillennialism, as well as more recent controversies regarding "discipling," the Holy Spirit, the quest for a "New Hermeneutic," and other issues.

   After this very meaty middle section, Harrell returns to Hailey's early years as a preacher, his long tenures as a teacher at what are now Abilene Christian University and Florida College, and Hailey's Arizona retirement, when he wrote many of his books.

   The middle section of this book is not for the faint of heart. Harrell's meticulously documented story of the controversies of the last 100 years within the churches of Christ reveals how all too frequently disputes and divisions within the fellowship were exacerbated by inflated egos, harsh words, and precipitous actions that, at least in retrospect, appear unbecoming of Christians. Still, as a member of this fellowship, I found the book encouraging. Through the life story of Homer Hailey, Harrell has preserved a wonderful example of a man who, through the grace of God, rose above his own difficult childhood and the combativeness of many of his peers to exemplify the true "servant" mentality fully demonstrated in Jesus Christ.




2. I have the good fortune to be the son of Rob Hailey, Homer's brother and boon companion for the first 20 years of his life. This book captures my uncle's life-long commitment to thought, reflection, and prayer, to teaching, preaching, and scholarship. (When I visited him a month before he died, he showed me files of current projects: research and writing of vital interest to himself and to his fellow believers.) My uncle's personal journey aside, Professor Harrell has found a fascinating way to write a history. Is history about events and ideas or is it about individuals? Harrell gives us both. This book, regardless of its subject, models a method of inquiry that other writers of history should imitate.



3. I have the good fortune to be the son of Rob Hailey, Homer's brother and boon companion for the first 20 years of his life. This book captures my uncle's life-long commitment to thought, reflection, and prayer, to teaching, preaching, and scholarship. (When I visited him a month before he died, he showed me files of current projects: research and writing of vital interest to himself and to his fellow believers.) My uncle's personal journey aside, Professor Harrell has found a fascinating way to write a history. Is history about events and ideas, or is it about individuals? Harrell gives us both. This book, regardless of its subject, models a method of inquiry that other writers of history should think about imitating.



4. "The churches of Christ were riddled by dissension: indeed, the American restoration movement had always been a case study in controversy" (41).
   
   How does one write a summary of a history text whose breadth and depth score almost a century of important facts? Harrell, who lives during much of the history he writes about, describes the two general themes that the reader can hitch along with through the tome. These themes are indeed means to understanding the facts and the analysis of history. These themes are: (1) the course of controversies of churches of Christ in the 20th century and (2) the telling of the life story of preacher Homer Hailey.
   
   Through these, it is possible to understand much of what has happened and to notice that time is indeed flowing like a river and history repeats itself. The weaving of controversy and individual lives is perhaps the clearest and most concise summary of the book. Nevertheless, Harrell does aid the reader by breaking down the narrative into three well-researched and documented sections. The first and third sections deal more specifically with the life of Homer Hailey. The second section deals with the mainstream churches of Christ and their controversies. By now, it is clear that it is impossible to distinguish the church's history from its troubles, and vice versa.
   
   Section 1: Homer Hailey and the Churches of Christ: Origins
   
   The life story of Homer Hailey begins in humility and ends in humility. Hailey's exodus through cities and congregational meetings is a light that is cast through the world, showing pin-points of Christianity dotted all over the western and southern United States. It is fitting that Hailey's influence went beyond one region of the country, yet it is somewhat regrettable that those outside of the brotherhood do not have much of an understanding of who brother Hailey was and what he stood for.
   
   Section 2: The Mainstream Churches of Christ: 1920-1999
   
   When Harrell gives an overview of the splits in the 1890s and 1950s, he maintains his constant argument that both splits were similar in many respects and that history could repeat if men [. . .] continue wearing the mantle of the heroic yet destructive Foy E. Wallace, Jr. to the dismemberment of Christ's body. The presence of brotherhood magazines throughout these periods is also worthy of note.
   
   Section 3: Homer Hailey and the Noninstitutional Churches of Christ: 1925-1999
   
   If the previous section detailed the stormy environment, this section placed Hailey right in the center of the whirlwinds and those who would reap their bitter crops.
   
   In Closing
   
   While there most likely are superior historians with regard to ability, Harrell tells a remarkable story of pioneering brethren who came out in full swing into a new age with the same calling.
   
   In the story, however, Harrell seems hokey at times by referring to himself as a character in the narrative in the third person-a device long since abandoned by autobiographers in the 19th century, for obvious reasons. However, the insertion of the historian's role in the unfolded history does achieve several goals: (1) to show that Harrell was a minor player in the events he witnessed, (2) to show that Harrell wants the appearance of full disclosure of the role he played in history, and (3) to show that even the most seemingly objective voice has a slight bias that must be formally acknowledged in the interest of fairness.
   
   Because this is a highly personal book, Harrell presents Hailey in such a way that a truly objective historian might not be able to show. Harrell reveals much of Hailey's character as a result of how he weathers the storms of brotherhood dissension: "Hailey insisted: he went to a church in order to communicate the vital truths of the Scriptures" (376). May that be the goal of every modern gospel preacher, to have such integrity, strength of character, devotion, and a pure desire to "stand in the pulpit."



5. David Edwin Harrell, Jr. is truly a first rate scholar. For an unbiased and objective history of churches of Christ, this book is a must. Unlike that of Richard T. Hughes, Harrell is not hostile to the movement and therefore much more accurate in his coverage. Harrell has not reduced the churches of Christ to a Denomination among many denominations without a distinction. This is an accurate story of the attitudes and consequences (A title of one of Homer Hailey's books)among the movement which shaped its history. The movement is vividly illustrated by Harrell's coverage of the life of one of the great preachers, Homer Hailey. The reader will find that the book is difficult to put down as Harrell has made events and people come alive. All members of the church of Christ and those interested in religious history should read this book.

5 comments about Whoever Gets To Heaven First Wins.

1. Wow, what a great book,it will encourage you to seek God and accept him to be your personal savior.Brad has a great gift on making the devotionals seem like they were written just for you.



2. "Whoever Gets to Heaven First Wins" is a great book. Brad has incredible spiritual insight and a way of making Biblical truths applicable to ordinary life situations. Through his book, Brad shares truth from God's Word that will help you to live beyond the ordinary, daily routine and experience the extraordinary life that God has planned for you.



3. Whoever Gets To Heaven First Wins is an inspirational book that I would recommend to everyone. Brad expresses his love for Jesus Christ and tells of his own experiences and how God came into his life. The book is easy to read; once you start, you won't want to put it down. It is a great gift for anyone in your life.



4. The title to Brad Henry's book is your first indication that this is no ordinary "devotional" - and indeed to assign it to such a category seems a bit of a misnomer. These are not the writings of a stuffy theologian or a bubbly be-happy-in-Jesus author. This is rather real-world, gritty, school-of-hard-knocks stuff, written by a guy - you will quickly discover - who has been down where people hurt.
   
   This book hits home because - yes - Henry is plain-spoken, humorous and transparent, but more importantly because - more than likely - he has felt your pain. This is a man who has survived more tribulations than your average joe. It's all here: losing a parent, a disastrous decision to experiment with drugs, a devastating divorce, a promising career deep-sixed, debilitating depression, an autistic child, financial ruin ... even a high-speed freeway face-plant. And wait until you read what happens to this guy at the Dunkin Donuts drive-through window.
   
   Unswervingly - and often brutally - honest, utterly unpretentious, and always to the point, the author takes you for a ride through the travails and joys of everyday life and brings you home to a place of real purpose. Henry will bring you to tears on one day and send you to the floor in laughter the next ... but always - always - challenge you to make your day count for something.



5. I agree with the other positive reviewers of Brad Henry's book. It certainly fills a need where the "rubber meets the road." I keep trying to read it, only to find another person who needs it more than I do, and I keep giving my copy away! One particular Marine with severe Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome ended in jail for his part in assaulting a man in his home, honestly thinking that he was interrogating a terrorist. However, in God's grace and mercy, the Lord used his former Chaplain and Brad Henry's book to show this Marine that forgiveness, emotional and psychological healing, and incomparable joy could still be his through Jesus Christ. That same Marine is now in a state prison, diligently studying God's Word on his own and also led his first Bible study in August. One thing for sure--you will learn something about yourself!

5 comments about The Other Side of the Altar: One Man's Life in the Catholic Priesthood.

1. This is a sad story that Dinter has written. Notwithstanding some of the hate I have just finished reading in reviews of Dinter here by apparently former Columbia U. students who were there when Dinter was, this book goes beyond those students (reviewers) to the issue of how the Catholic rulership treats its Priests and deceived them in the days immediately pre and post Vatican Two.
   
   It matters not whether Dinter was at Columbia, Stonybrook, Laval, Loyola, Stanford, or Siena. What is essential to this work is the ambience that Dinter is able to forge in the reader's mind. It is that of disgust for how the Catholic hierarchy (O'Connor, Egan) in New York came to treat their own and how their own (among them Dinter) up and left the sludge that the Priesthood became upon the deceit of Rome through its Vatican Two Council. Dinter makes that point repeatedly through circumabient references. Those who were there with him know his references. Dare one say that many would never have become Priests pre-Vatican Two if they knew that there was going to be a Vatican Two and what it would reap.
   
   Dinter's book is worth reading. It shows how the pre-Vatican Two priest (like Dinter) left and why. While we understand it clearly and lucidly, unfortuntely Dinter's Cardinal bosses couldn't have cared less what happened with Dinter or others who up and left. They have their soft easy chairs, their fine dinnerware, their ermine trappings, and wonderful meals at Saint Patrick's Cathedral Rectory. That's what maters to them. To Dinter's credit, there is far more to life than that-- namely truth and singleness of heart. Not the duplicity and mendacity of the Catholic Curch and its ruling gray hairs.



2. I knew Paul Dinter well, during my years at Columbia from 1974 to 1978, and kept in contact with him for an additional 15 years. This book, rushed for publication, is an accurate portrayal of the facts, and Paul's uncomfortable fit into the roman collar. From my viewpoint, he is basically honest concerning his relationship to his father, his polarized association with episcopal authority, and his grudging acceptance of a celibate discipline. I applaud his honesty in relaying some uncomfortable facts.
   
   Yet, the facts alone are not enough to restore health. I myself have felt the hurt of Paul's acerbic delivery. Now, he broadens his assault to the "Men's Club on the Tiber", knowing full well that "Rome will not change". Is celibacy a hierarchical control mechanism? Tell that to the Dalai Lama. Tell that to American Shakers. You don't have to be Catholic to define a correlation between sexuality and spirituality. But is celibacy still relevant? Paul hints at the advantages that monks and ordered clergy have, but then dismisses any investigation into how to reform the routine of diocesan clergy to acclimate to celibacy. It's in this refusal, buried by his father induced wounds, that the book falls apart. Publishing is like preaching. You talk, but you don't have to listen. Paul has been doing both for too long. He has significantly contributed to the noise; possibly modestly contributed to the debate; and sadly, unconstructively detracted from a solution.



3. Dinter's account of his life in the Catholic clergy presents many problems. The Washington Post gave this book a weak review mainly because Dinter's appraoch is too limited and his observations are hazy. Dinter attacks celibacy but doesn't say why he entered an institution whose celibacy rules were in place for centuries. Many of his experiences are typical of any profession: law, medicine, and business all have their share of corruption, cronyism, and greed. If Dinter has something to offer, it should be more than just sour grapes.
   
   Elsewhere, Dinter's recollections are often based upon hearsay. As the Washington Post pointed out, there's something unsettling about a former priest divulging a scandalous situation based merely upon what other people have told him. At the very least, these tactics don't help the book or Dinter's credibility. Neither does his smear campaign against former Columbia students sound very priestly. Why Farrar Strauss Giroux would allow such hearsay as evidence raises questions about their integrity as well.



4. Dinter does not produce social science, moral theology, or anything but his
   rather folksy account of his own experience in seminary and parishes.
   For this reason, his book is must reading. The reader can find out some of
   the HOW in the question HOW did this all happen.
   The problem is in the system.



5. Dinter's book is a puzzling account of his life in the priesthood. He traces his rather sad story of growing up Catholic and entering seminary during a time of much conflict and doubt in his life. But the problem is that he takes too much poetic license with his material, and his observations are hardly reliable. He portrays himself as a victim of Church hierarchy when in fact he became an autocrat himself and took much advantage of his power. His transfer from Columbia University seemed inevitable since he caused much controversy and conflict among the community. Ford Hall, the campus Catholic dormitory for students, lacked strong leadership as Dinter invited his personal friends to live there and even admitted strangers with a habit of stealing possessions. His criteria for Ford Hall residents had little to do with Catholicism because his own liberal politics ruled the house. His hero was a resident who unlawfully entered a military facility and was inprisoned for trespassing.
   
   Elsewhere, Dinter spends much of his time condemning Church teachings, especially celibacy, without a convincing reason why he signed on in the first place. From the way he presents his resignation, the NY Archdiocese was well aware that the priesthood was not a fit for Dinter, so they eventually gave him rather undesirable assignments to force him to quit on his own. That he did, although his account of what happened his lackluster at best.

No comments about Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Costly Grace (Christian Classics Bible Studies).

2 comments about The Patron: A Life of Salman Schocken, 1877-1959.

1. This is a professionally-written biography of the late German-Jewish philanthroper Zalman Schocken. I learned many things from this biography that I hadn't known about his life: that he was actually from Prussian-controlled Poland and thus, was not a "blue blood" German Jew, about his innovations in commerce which lead to the massive successes of his department store chain, and his relationship with other German-Jewish figures in the Zionist movement such as Gershom Scholem, Hannah Arendt, and S.Y. Agnon. I learned that Agnon kept his right-wing and very anti-Arab attitudes out of his books because his 40-year patron, Zalman Schocken, told him to do it. I learned that Schocken Books published a whole line of Jewish-subject-related books in Germany after the Nazis came to power, even exploiting their sepearation laws to be a "Jewish publisher."
   
   Up until the Nazis come to power, Schocken appears to be a man of talent and relevancy, both in the realm of business and also in the realm of Jewish cultural revival. The last 25 years of his life are portrayed as those of a man who has had the cultural and business orientation ripped away from him by Adolf Hiter and in relying on his previously-used models of success and meaning,falling into irrelevance.
   
   The author has worked hard to understand all of the angles of Schocken's life: as a businessman, as a successful autodidact and lover of literature and philosophy, as a philathroper, and even a bit about his personal life and his relationship with his family. The author has also mastered the intellectural and political background in which Schocken's life occurs, both in Germany and then in Jewish-Palestine, which eventually became Israel.
   
   Zalman Schocken was certainally a character and personality of an exceptional and excentric order and this books comprehensively explores all aspects of his life, his business endeavors, his social visions, his philonthropic endeavors, his ideas about culture, Judaism, and his relationships with other people.



2. I have read a number of reviews of this book all of which praise Anthony David for his detailed study of the life of Zalman Schocken.
   David paints the portrait of a remarkable Renaissance figure, an innovative empire- building businessman , a great patron of the Arts, a humanist, Zionist builder of cultural life in the land of Israel.
   Schocken was born in Posen in Prussia, but built a business empire throughout Germany. His department- stores were forerunners of today's Malls. He combined in them a sense of the aesthetic ( Bauhaus architect Eric Mendlesohn was his designer) with a real understanding of the customers' needs.
   He also was an autodidact a lover of German and Jewish culture. The shock of his life came with the coming of the Nazis to power, and from then on he shifted most of his activities to Jewish cultural work. He also to a degree recreated a bit of the business empire he had in Germany, in then Palestine and the United States. 'Schocken Books' is one of his cultural monuments. He was the patron of Buber,Scholem, Elsa Lasker-Schuler, and most notably Agnon. Schoken had an eye for talent and an ability to support and sustain it.
   One of his major moves was his purchase of the newspaper 'Haaretz' as wedding gift for his son. This would become the Israeli equivalent of the NY Times.
   Schocken was also a great patron of the Hebrew University.
   Schocken contributed much to the building of Hebrew culture in the land of Israel, and Jewish culture throughout the world.
   A highly recommended work.

2 comments about The Bible's Most Fascinating People: Stories from the Old and New Testaments.

1. Honestly... This book is amazing. I love the information and the artwork is beautiful. This piece, on my coffee table, is a topic of conversation and learning. At night, coffee in hand, I sit and learn. BTW, the family trees alone, found within the book, make the purchase price a bargain! This book is concise, easy-to-understand, unlike other readers digest books of the Bible that I have purchased in the past. I just "get-it" if you know what I mean.



2. Great stories and very well written. Masterfully illustrated with some of the most gorgeous artwork around. Highly recommend if you enjoy stories of the Biblical figures.