1 comments about Is Nothing Sacred?: The Story of a Pastor, the Women He Sexually Abused, and the Congregation He Nearly Destroyed.

1. This book deals with the growing problem of male pastors sexually abusing their parishioners. What is intended to be a position of trust , is used in ways that can destroy lives. The pastor uses his power and pastoral office to victimize parishioners. The result is destruction of lives, marriages and sometimes congregations. I know the damage this can do, and of the problems people struggle with to put their lives back together. Ten years ago I left parish ministry in a congregation in the Midwest. I had spent two years there, following a pastor who had not only been sexually abusing that congregation, but also had been doing the same sexual abuse in his former parish. At that time the Bishop's office let him move, perhaps in hope against hope that he would not offend again. Now a strict policy has been formed to deal with the problem . There is also an effort to screen pastors to prevent such abuse by pastors. While it is not a poplular explanation today, some clergy are evil. This book is helpful and well worth reading, as are all her books. A few years ago, I heard Marie Fortune give a guest lecture at a Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. There were both male and female seminary students at the lecture, as well as a few pastors who had experienced the effects of a pastor who had sexually abused them or their congregation. Sadly, some of the male seminarians walked out of the lecture withn the first 15 minutes. August 9, 1999

5 comments about Healing Lazarus: A Buddhist's Journey from Near Death to New Life.

1. Lewis uses the words, "...permanently transformed by the experience..." "...must endure against formidable odds." In this book, Lewis has told his story in a manner which will warm the hearts of survivors, AND help loved ones and caregivers understand. I will very highly recommend this book to my survivor friends. A remarkable autobiography!



2. What a book. Good for you Lew. It goes to the depths and brings us up with a moving story of despair and hope and enormous effort.



3. An exceptional book! Lewis Richmond touches your heart as he writes of a rare disease, encephalitis, that transforms his mind, body, and soul. As a survivor, I truly appreciate the depth he goes to explain this devastating ordeal. Highly recommended.



4. Appreciated Richmond's interweaving, and fleshing out of, the Biblical story of Lazarus with Buddhist beliefs and principles. The honest and revealing sharing of his emotional experience was moving. I wish he had commented, even briefly, on people who don't have devoted spouses, ethical business associates, and good medical insurance when such tragedies happen. Does he have anything to offer these folks? He is/was a blessed man in many ways.



5. zzzzzzzz.... Guy gets sick, guy is well supported by family , friends, lite religion and plenty of cash. Get "Deep Survival" by Laurence Gonzales instead of this for some truly gripping tales of human Resilience. Steve Kelly

1 comments about Art and the Christian Mind: The Life and Work of H. R. Rookmaaker.

1. This is one of the few places one can get info on Rookmaker, but you will have to wade through the poor writing style of Ms. Gasque to get at the nuggets buried there. Ironic, given the work of Rookmaker.

3 comments about The Second Birth: Stories of Awakening within the Heart of Community.

1. I read a lot of books about Waking Down In Mutuality before this one came along. Most of that time I was really thirsty to "get it". I thought I could somehow deduce the formula for this awakening that Saniel and Linda Bonder have been helping people break through to. Then I read "The Second Birth". What I got was that I'm not going to figure it out. AND that awakening isn't something that needs to be figured out.
   
   This is a book of stories. Each is unique. Each is told in the words of the person who lived it. Some are lifelong seekers; some are not. Some are spiritual teachers themselves. One drives a truck. One runs a bar. They tell their own stories, and it becomes clear that coming into this new state of Being, so radically different that it's experienced as a sort of new birth, is accessible to regular folks. What they have to show us is that we can "awaken" just as we are, with all our human shortcomings and baggage, without having mentally threaded the eye of the needle. The effect on me personally was to chip a big hunk out of that block of cosmic distrust I have carried around for years, the notion that I can never have the deep connection I really want, that I'm condemned to fall short, that "awakening" or "enlightenment" is out of reach to all but some chosen few.
   
   Whether you are just starting to notice that there may be something more to life, or have been seeking for decades and getting a bit discouraged, this book has some things to tell you that you won't often hear.
   
   Besides, it's fun to read.



2. The book contains valuable information for all those who are on the path of truth.
   Nevertheless, the verbal descriptions of the contributors are inflated, i.e. the depth of the spiritual labels they use are not fully covered from the experiences they describe.
   Nevertheless again, it's a valuable book.



3. This is a remarkable book! It covers an amazing gamut of experiences that have a very authentic flavor - and it is very surprising because the folks who have shared their experience of awakening bring up the full range of human impulses, not just the sublime but the ordinary as well. I was impressed with the variety and depth of the stories - they are all very different, but if there is a general theme it might be that for each one the transformation is very real, often poignant, and large in their lives. I think the book lives up to it's name and it was an inspiration to me to explore this particular path further. I highly recommend it.

No comments about Vladimir Soloviev: Russian Mystic.

2 comments about In the New World.

1. Although I had to read this book for school, I found it to be suprisingly good. I would reccomend this book.



2. I picked up this book on a whim and found it engrossing from the first page. Since I was born after the baby boomers, It explained alot of things that I had always wanted to learn more about. Certain cultural references made about those times have been cleared up for me. I didn't give it five stars because it is a little wordy, but it is a great commentary on our culture. Read this book if you are a history buff.

4 comments about Chesterton.

1. G.K. Chesterton has to be one of the most towering figures of the 20th Century. He has a paradoxical quote for almost every subject. This, however, is not a typical biography of events tempered with anecdotes to keep the reader's interest. Rather, Garry Wills ventures to chart Chesterton's intellectual development through his works. After reading Wills' [literary] biography, you have to wonder how society has forgotten perhaps the greatest writer of prose, not to mention greatest mind, the past century has seen. Read this book and marvel...



2. Chesterton is one of the most towering intellectual writers of the 20th century. Garry Wills does an amazing feat in exploring the literary development of Chesterton (instead of a normal biography as the events of one's life.) Reading Wills' book really illuminates the genius of Chesterton through his works and is a must read for all Chesterton fans.



3. There's no new ground covered here, which is a major flaw for a work by an "historian; moreover, the author's writing style is hackneyed, and that's in its most readable passages. Also, Chesterton was an Orthodox Catholic, where the author of this work is not - their perspectives are at polar ends. Chesterton probably would have been appalled to have such an adversary of the Church to be so bold as to write about his life.

   If you want to know Chesterton read his "Autobiography of G. K. Chesterton".




4. This work is written by a radical who opposes Church teachings. Wills allows his own opinions to influence his scholarship. See much better accounts by Chesterton himself, Ahlquist, or many other reliable biographers.

4 comments about The Passion of Therese of Lisieux.

1. This book provides a clinical report of the last agonizing months of Therese of Lisieux's life. The research is meticulous and the medical details are easy to understand. It is a complement to the Saint's writings because the reader can trace in this book her physical trials which help to understand her spiritual trials as well which were plaguing her at the time. My only criticism is that the second part of the book is a bit redundant to the first.



2. Rich in detail of Therese's last months; a powerful framework for Last Conversations.



3. Most books gloss over the last months of St. Therese, possibly because up until the last 40 years TB was so common that nobody really needed to hear an in depth discussion of it. After reading this book you will be deeply moved. St. Therese went through a long dark night of the soul and body and although physically crushed she spiritually soared above it. I would definitely say that this book belongs in your collection of works on the Little Flower.



4. Excellent read !! There are many books about Therese. This one stands out because it presents her profound spirituality in light of the progression of her extensive illness of Tuberculosis. There is much to learn about both the effects of illness on the spiritual life and the almost ideal response to illness of one seriously seeking God.

2 comments about Abraham Joshua Heschel: Man of Spirit, Man of Action.

1. This is a beautiful book! Mr. Rose shares the incredible story of Abraham Joshua Heschel with grace and skill. This is an important addition to the small collection of literature for young readers on the lives of great religious and political figures in the United States.



2. I've always loved Heschel's writings and all that I knew of his life, but never thought any of it could be expressed in a form that kids could get. Or Rose did it!
   When I heard about this book, I was excited by the possibility of my daughters learning about Heschel. I read the book through. I think it will be perfect for middle school kids. It doesn't assume any background.
   A wonderful gift for your friends' children aged 9-13.

4 comments about The Awakening: One Man's Battle With Darkness.

1. Not the work of a writer's imagnation, this story (c 1840) puts a different spin on the occult, spiritualism and its relation to the reader simply because it really happened. Conversations with the dead, inexplicable shufflings and bangings, a young ministers two year prayer-battle with darkness for the soul and sanity of a possesed woman. Watch out! this book may not only change the way you view the supernatural, it could change your entire outlook on life.



2. When I first read an older version of this book some years ago it scared the heck out of me. The haunting fact that kept coming back to me was that this was NOT fiction. Since the new edition came out I have re read it several times and this time what hits me most is God's total victory over even the most frightening powers of darkness. Blumhardt takes on the worst of the worst in a desperate two year prayer battle for the soul and sanity of a possessed woman. God intervenes and gives a victory that impacts the whole town, with experiences of inner and outer healing.



3. The book is very short, which is good, but not written in a particularly interesting fashion (i quit about halfway through it). The 'awakening' that is refered to by the title is the spiritual transformation of the town. Skip it and read "Hostage to the Devil", which is well written, has a variety of contemporary posession cases and contains the Roman Catholic "Rite of Exorcism"



4. This book may challenge some people's thinking on evil and how God works. It challenged my theology on the origin of evil spirits. In addition, it caused me to think about what is required for individuals to become serious about Christ. It is an easy to read book, which can be read in a short period of time. I recommend it.