5 comments about Mormonism, Mama & Me.

1. I received a copy of this as a missionary in Texas in 1996. I skimmed through it and found many errors and what appeared to be intentional misrepresentations of the Mormon church, its doctrines, and its members.
   
   If you receive a copy of this book, I suggest you take an honest look at it, write a complaint letter (this is what I did), and mail the book and the letter back to the publisher. They need to be reminded they are making money off of making a mockery of an extraordinary religious faith, and that is unethical, if not immoral. It is absolutely NOT what Jesus would do. It is what Jesus had done to him.



2. This is a great book, shining the light of truth on the darkness of Joseph Smith's deceitful prophesy.



3. I have read several books on Mormonism and was a little put off by the author's folksy style at first, but once I got into the meat of the book I found it to be very informative and seemed to be well researched and documented. Very interesting subject. Well worth reading.



4. Good Lord, I should have known. Any time an author's name appears in quotes, be warned. Granny Greer's book begins with a tantalizing offer to any believing Mormon who can successfully dispute facts presented: A first edition print of The Book of Mormon circa 1830, valued at $7,000. This book attempts to unwrap the history and intentions of the Mormon Church, but unlike other more objective disucssions, this book appears to have the goal of dissuading readers from recognizing that Mormonism is Christian. Translation for this reader? Nothing wrong with religious extremes, but Mormonism isn't the "right" extreme. I've heard that song and dance before, ironically when I was learning how to be a good Mormon. This was a woopsie read and I finished it reluctantly then dropped it in the recycling bin.



5. Back when "Mormonism, Mama, and Me" was first published in 1980 a rare 1830 Book of Mormon was offered to anyone who could disprove the claims made in this book.
   
   The book was a family heirloom and, for those of you who are unaware of this, an 1830 would be a First Edition and extremely rare! Granny Geer was a descendant of John Lee, the notorious villain (or scapegoat if you prefer) of the Mountain Meadows Massacre. He was the adopted Son of Brigham Young and the only person tried and executed for the massacre.
   
   Granny Geer died in 1999 and I've wondered for a while what happened to that book. So when I stumbled across Granny Geer's MySpace page I sent the family an email and here's how they replied:
   
   "As long as Thelma was alive no one could claim the book, of course, so when she passed away it was given to her daughter along w/other family treasures."
   
   Since I figured that I probably wasn't the only one curious about that book I thought that I'd put this post up here on the Amazon's book list.
   
   And I hope that you all enjoy this noteworthy ex-Mormon testimony book that is filled with interesting historical gems regarding this fascinating non-Christian cult through Granny Geer's story.
   
   And, while I'm in the neighborhood, here are some other books on Mormon history that you might enjoy (with a focus on the Mountain Meadows Massacre since I mentioned it).
   
   Mormonism Unveiled: The Life and Confession of John D. Lee, Including the Life of Brigham Young
   
   John D. Lee (1812-1877): Zealot Pioneer Builder Scapegoat (Western Frontiersman Series, Volume IX)
   
   Writings of John D. Lee
   
   The Mountain Meadows Massacre
   
   Massacre at Mountain Meadows
   
   The Mormon Mountain Meadows Massacre: From the Diary of John I. Ginn
   
   American Massacre: The Tragedy at Mountain Meadows, September 1857
   
   September Dawn DVD
   
   September Dawn Book

5 comments about George Whitefield: The Life and Times of the Great Evangelist of the Eighteenth-Century Revival - Volume I.

1. Well, I finally saved up the money and sprung for this two-volume full-length account of the life of George Whitefield. I had whetted my appetite on the abbreviated volume "George Whitefield: God's Anointed Servant in the Great Revival of the Eighteenth Century" by the same author. I can honestly say this is one of the best investments I've ever made. Reading the life of such a great saint--this Christ-loving, gospel-centered minister--has served to rekindle my passion for the gospel and rejuvenate the love of God in my soul more than once. I most highly recommend it.
   
   This Volume: This is the FIRST volume of Dallimore's two-volume biography of George Whitefield. This is very important if you intend on buying one volume now and purchasing the other later. The information on the Banner of Truth (the publisher's) website is incorrect--the green volume is volume #1 (picture of Whitefield in a field surrounded by a crowd) and the red volume is #2 (picture of an older Whitefield in a church pulpit). I had to wait an extra few months to recieve the first volume before I could begin reading either. Each volume is about 600 pages in length and is chock full of stories, information and insightful commentary. Dallimore does not spare the details of the lives of those closest to Whitfield--including John Cennick, Howell Harris, Jonathan Edwards, and of course John and Charles Wesley. This first volume deals with the period of time from Whitefield's birth, through the advent of the open-air ministry and his first visit to North America and closes with his return to England in the wake of Wesley's controversial ministry.
   
   The Subject Matter: Wow. Simply wow. I mean--who knew? I'd always heard that John Wesley was the sole founder of Methodism. In fact, the only thing I knew about George Whitefield was that he was attributed with a few neat quotes (ie. "Let the name of Whitefield perish, but Christ be glorified!", "I am weary in Thy work, but not weary of it", etc.) and that he once spoke at Jonathan Edwards' Northhampton church (at which time he left Edwards in tears). I fully expect that if it were not for this work of Dallimore, the name of Whitefield truly would be lost to persons such as myself. What I expected was another (Calvinistic) Wesley. What I found was a man whose zeal, love, holiness of life and passion for Christ seemed to equal even those I hold in highest regard (among whom are Martin Luther and Charles Spurgeon). Whitefield was a tireless worker for God and his zeal for the gospel was only matched by his selfless compassion for his fellow man. He was the first of the great open-air preachers and nudged both John and Charles Wesley into evangelistic ministry. Whitefield's life is a beautiful illustration of Christian ministry and evangelistic zeal. I cannot recommend this man highly enough.
   
   The Author: Dallimore was a Baptist pastor and semi-prolific biographer. This two-volume biography of George Whitefield is truly Dallimore's magnum opus. He has delved deeper into the mind and heart of this great evangelist than any of his previous biographers. It is both informative and inspirational. No space feels wasted despite the length of the account and the multitudinous strands of the storyline are brought together in a masterful way.
   
   The Reader: Who should read this book? I would recommend it most highly to pastors and other evangelical Christians whose zeal for God and spiritual wells have begun to run dry. Evangelical Calvinistic Christians will get the greatest benefit from this read. But it may also prove of great interest to those of the Methodist heritage. Also, all who are called to the ministry of evangelism (teaching and preaching) could not but benefit from this work. Whitefield's zeal is contagious and his meekness humbling. The mere historian might enjoy the factual aspects of the book, but it was written from a distinctively evangelical Christian perspective.
   
   "Weary in Thy work, but not weary of it." -G. Whitefield



2. This two-volume work is truly exceptional. I find myself regularly discouraged at the condition of religion (I use the word advisedly) in America, and find the Whitefield biography a real refreshment to the soul, a reminder of what God has done in the past and a foretaste of good things to come. Extremely encouraging!



3. Dallimore's Whitefield is perhaps the best biography of that great man ever written. One is taken into his life and Age. After reading 'Whitefield' one knows the man before his conversion and after his personal awakening that not only quickened his spirit, but awakened many generations to the reality of a living God. The scholarship is complete and does not slow down the exciting narrative of the life of one of the most active men of the 18th century. The coverage of the friendship and debate between Whitefield and Wesley is both sensitive and accurate conveying both the heat and the goodwill that joined and separated the two friends. The book is a boon for our less than spiritual Age and will do much to transmit the living mystery Whitefield dedicated his life to proclaim.



4. Few recent books have so wide and so deep an impact as Arnold Dallimore's magisterial biography of George Whitefield. The first volume, stretching from Whitefield's birth in 1714 to his section visit to American in 1740 was published in 1970 and has since been reprinted six times. The second volume, which stretches from 1740 until Whitefield's death in 1770, was published ten years later in 1980. It has been reprinted three times. Together the volumes comprise some 1200 pages of detailed biography. Rarely have I had a biography recommended to me by so many and by men of such distinction. Rarely have I benefited more from reading about another man's life.
   
   I have noticed a strange phenomenon with this biography. Where most books of this one's scope and impact have been widely and thoroughly reviewed, this one seems to be an exception. As I attempted to write a review I may have found out why this is: it is very difficult to adequately sum up so much content in just a few words. And, as with any biography, it is difficult to measure and summarize the impact of such a book. Instead I am left doing what others have done--writing thoughts on the book that somehow seem disconnected and inadequate. Even Gary Gilley, a reviewer who is rarely lost for words, can write no more than this: "It would be difficult to lavish too much praise on Dallimore's two volume biography of the famous eighteenth century evangelist George Whitefield. This is the definitive work of Whitefield's life and ministry, dispelling many misconceptions while showing the true character and impact of this most remarkable man. Along the way the reader also receives valuable insight into the lives of the Wesleys, Jonathan Edwards and the Moravians. This is one of the greatest biographies ever written."
   
   The Foreword to the first volume is supplied by no one less than Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. The Doctor suggests that he waited decades to find a thorough and authoritative biography of Whitefield, a man he regarded as a historical hero. This book, he felt, which appeared on the bi-centenary of Whitefield's death, achieves the excellence Lloyd-Jones knew had long been missing. Reflecting on the life of the subject he writes "May the reading of this book produce in us the same spirit of utter submission, ready obedience, and unshakeable reliance upon the power of the Holy Spirit that characterized his life and ministry. Whitefield never drew attention to himself but always pointed people to his God and exalted his Lord and Savior. May he, though now dead for nearly 200 years, do the same for countless thousands through the reading of this book!" The intervening years, almost forty of them, have shown this to be the case.
   
   This book's subtitle, The life and times of the great evangelist of the 18th century revival, is important in understanding the book. Whitefield found himself one of the sparks of the the Great Awakening and the revival of the 18th century. While other men played important roles, Whitefield was the pin at the center of the wheel. His tireless itinerancy took his preaching ministry to almost every corner of the United Kingdom and to almost the whole of the settled portion of the United States. But for illness he would also have extended his ministry to Canada. Perhaps one of this book's greatest contributions is in helping people separate the life and contributions of George Whitefield from those of John Wesley--a man who Whitefield always loved but who so often opposed him. This biographies shows conclusively that it was Whitefield's ministry that sparked the awakening.
   
   I was grateful to see that Dallimore deals fairly with Whitefield's shortcomings in these volumes. This is no hagiography--worship of a saint that is free from difficult examinations of the subject's failings. Though Dallimore has to confess that he finds surprisingly little fault with the man, he deals frankly and forthrightly with those areas in which Whitefield showed immaturity, poor judgment or poor discernment. He questions Whitefield's decision to marry and the unusual circumstances surrounding his first rejected proposal of marriage. He does not shy from discussing Whitefield's role in justifying and even promoting slavery in the colonies. He does not allow the passing of the years or his deep respect for his subject to mislead him or to excuse sin. Experience shows that this quality is surprisingly rare in such biographies.
   
   Eminently readable despite its length and depth, this biography only reinforces my belief that biographies can be among the greatest catalysts to spiritual growth. It is a classic and one that takes its place among my favorite biographies along with such great titles as Marsden's Jonathan Edwards and Dallimore's own Spurgeon. It will prove valuable to pastors or evangelists as they see the example of a man who labored tirelessly for the gospel; it will prove valuable to all Christians as they see the example of a man who labored tirelessly to grow even and ever closer to his Savior. Whitefield is a man who stands as an example to all of us. Dallimore has done us a great service in opening up to us the life of this great man of God.
   
   Together these two volumes represent a financial investment that is not insignificant. Purchased together they are likely to cost at least sixty or seventy dollars. But I can testify, as can a long list of people of far greater wisdom and discernment than I, that they are well worth the investment.



5. This is the most definitive biography I have ever read. He quotes extensively from John and Charles Wesley, Mrs. Whitfield, Jonathan Edwards, Ben Franklin, Whitefield himself, and a multitude of others. At times, Dallimore reports almost on a day-by-day basis. This biography reports on his life, his loves, his work, his theology, his acheivements and failures. These books are a remarkable biography considering the author lived in the middle of nowhere, USA.
   
   The author tried to present a balanced view of Whitefield, although from the text, one can infer how much Dallimore admires Whitefield and agrees Whitefield's theology. Dallimores realizes this and goes out of his way to point out what he perceives as Whitefield's weaknesses. Most of the weaknesses occur early in his ministry.
   
   Dallimore writes well, but at times he seems stilted. I think Dallimore misses some of Whitefield's weaknesses, but the biography is so extensive that the reader can make his or her own judgments on the matter. Another slight weakness is that Dallimore quotes so extensively that it slows down the narrative at times. On the whole though, he does a very good job.
   
   Whitefield was an amazing man. He gave himself wholeheartedly to his ministry. This biography did a great job of placing Whitefield in his historical context.

2 comments about The Legacy of William Carey: A Model for the Transformation of a Culture.

1. Wonderful work done by two individuals who know the country of India well. Not only is it an accurate description of William Carey, but the history of India itself. I am currently reading it for the second time. It is full of alot if information about how truely the power of the Gospel helps set people free in spirit and industrialization. Great gift for those who are our Hindu friends!



2. The book was a gift, towards the ministries of mercy class i am reading for, as such it moved to the top of my TBR list.
   It's a quick and breezy read, writing informally and meant to inspire and motivate more than a deep discussion on the topic. It's a collection of 5 essays, the first 3 by Ruth and centering on the place of women in Indian society and how important Christian was in their freedom for Hindu bondage, with particular attention paid to the issue of sati, or widow burning on her husband's funeral pyre. Chapters 4, and 5 are by Vishal and center on the crucial elements of Carey's Christian vision and how it made India's modernization possible. Chapter 5 is, by far, the best chapter in the book, i'd recommend reading it first. The book is suitable probably to the junior high level of reading and would make an acceptable Sunday School text on either missions, Carey himself or the entry of Christianity into India, this is it's nature target audience.
   
   It touches on a number of significant theological themes but doesn't dwell on them in any depth, that is not the book's goal. But rather a consistent theme emerges that Carey as the genius who brings Christianity to India is responsible for the modernisation and de-emphasis on Hindu religious elements that kept the people both poor and enslaved to idols. There is a secondary theme that is not explicitly developed, but is perhaps more interesting, that is this Christianization is under attack in India and has been since the 1970's by both Hindu restorationists and postmodernists who would undo the accomplishments and force India back into darkness.
   
   I found the book an interesting, if shallow read, i see their passion for Carey and his work as well as their desire for India's cultural renassiance as it incorporates Christian elements in the place of it's Hindi ones. I see how ideas i've met in other contexts can be of value in analysis here, but the book left me with more questions than answers. Mostly to read something more difficult and expansive from Vishal's word processor. I've learned something about Carey, i didn't know his 1st wife went crazy in the mission field and was locked in her room for 12 years. But would be interested in learning more about the influence of Christianity in Hindu India in the 19thC.

No comments about Desmond Tutu: Rabble-Rouser for Peace: The Authorized Biography.

No comments about Ireland's Saint: The Essential Biography of St. Patrick.

5 comments about Therese of Lisieux: God's Gentle Warrior.

1. Having read much about her and visited her conventual home in Lisieux, I did not expect this book to be more than another take on the life and spirituality of this most beloved of modern saints. Yet, this book reveals much new biographical detail and sheds new light on the theological writings of this remarkable young woman. Dr. Nevin has also somehow retrieved photographs associated with St. Therese and her family that were not, it seems, available to the general public, including a previously unpublished photograph of the saint's mother. Here, the saint and her family emerge as people with practical problems, wrestling with poor financial investments, billeted soldiers, the death of loved ones and perplexing life choices. In this book, the struggles, character flaws and uncertainties are not airbrushed out. But neither does Dr. Nevin set out to find villains to slay among the Martins or the nuns with whom Therese shared her convent life. In the end, this book is about the love-centred, Jesus-focused path that Therese chartered at the end of her life. Eschewing excessive preoccupation with dogma and self, she dispensed with a mercantile approach to religion (if you're good to God, God will be good to you) and plunged head on into the abyss of love. Dr. Nevin discusses, with awesome command of the biographical facs and the primary sources, the still unfolding implications of Therese's writings. She died at 24, but not a moment of her life was wasted.



2. I originally purchased this book for a bit of pious reading. To be honest, I did not expect anything "new" could easily be found or said about our beloved Therese and her family. What I found was an outstanding study that looks at Therese with "new eyes," so to speak. And the conclusions are extremely powerful and spiritually very strong and nourishing. I especially appreciated Dr. Nevin's use of new sources (the circulaires read in the refrectory during St. Therese's life that would have been a source of inspiration to Therese), along with some photographs that I don't think had ever been published before. I recommend this book highly.



3. I am the third customer to review the book and the third to give it five stars. Nevin is an incredibly talented writer and in him Therese finds a worthy biographer, student, expositor. I would say he is the brother Therese wanted in her life...I wish that they could have corresponded. Therese would have found someone who knew how to really read her, question her, and trace the complexities of a life that was far from simple. He invites us into her solitude with love and understanding.



4. THERESE OF LISIEUX: GOD'S GENTLE WARRIOR, by Thomas R. Nevin provides an intersting and enlightening look at the person we know as Saint Therese of Lisieux, The Little Flower. --(First, I love the cover photo of Therese - in her costume as Joan Of Ark - i call it Therese's "XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS" photograph. ha!) -- Reading this study of Therese is a little like rummaging through grandmom's (or mom's & dad's) attic and discovering so many long forgotten things with so many memories and nostalgic connotations atached to them . . .and rediscovering or first-time discovering of what their life was like at a period of time "before we knew them" . . . all the stored memories that somehow taken together are a part of the history that made them (and so ourselves) what and who we were and are . . .
   
   The author digs back to Zelie Martin's (Therese's mother) diary notes for insights into how SHE thought and believed and formed the foundation and environment of the Martin family in which Therese grew. And of her father Louis. And then to the experiences of her sisters and cousins and the few priests whom she knew. And the Carmelite Order - it's history and spirituality and practice and how THAT contributed to the making of this saint.
   
   Each small thread which went into the formation and making of the tapestry which became Saint Therese of Lisieux is brought to light . . .yet, as real a part as each thread is, whatever color or hue, however long or short, however prominent or hidden, none taken by themselves produce the icon of the saint . . . not even all of these threads taken together for the tapestry - there is that extra artistry which is at work here" the interplay between Therese and God. And that interplay, that relationship is one of "LOVE". And so it is "love" that ultimately created the total picture which is Saint Therese of Lisieux. It is love which wove all the diverse threads and colors together into a totally new and unique individual and "new theological way of living". (Not "new" in that it isn't as old as Jesus and The New Testament (or The Old Testament), but new in that Therese herself broke from the restricting limits of the established and radically returned to the "establisher" - God and His love.
   
   So, as Thomas Nevins wallks us through "the attics of Saint Therese" and we begin to see and experience her as a real person (before she became the canonized image), we see a little of our own selves in her . . . and our own hopes for sanctification become more attainable and hopeful.
   
   Thank you Thomas Nevins for allowing us to share with you your visit and walk with Saint Therese . . . Therese is always good company and a good traveling companion . . . and on this walk, her conversation shared so many details of her own life with us. It was as if she were telling us that in our own lives, as in hers, everything is grace . . . everything matters . . . every person, place and thing and experience will contribute to the final picture of who we are before God . . . and in God.



5. There is much that is good about Thomas Nevin's book on St. Therese. As the notes on the dust jacket report, he does offer new readings and even new material concerning the "little flower" (as Therese is known). He begins the book by offering the reader a glimpse into the France of Therese's time: the cultural situation and currents of thought during the late 19th century. He moves on, helpfully, to consider the correspondence of Therese's mother, Zelie Martin, and extrapolates from the letters many insights about Therese's family life and her own development. Another chapter places Therese in the context of the Carmelite tradition, and specifically how the French Carmelites supported and formed her. Nevin also brings Therese's plays and poems to the fore as few others have done (most biographers have preferred to consider only The Story of the Soul and Therese's correspondence), and he summarizes the major themes and ideas of her writings. Perhaps the most interesting chapter focuses on Therese's illnesses and the treatments she received. One gets a good sense of French medical practice in the 19th century, particularly in its treatment of tuberculosis, which allows one to appreciate what Therese suffered during the last year-and-a-half of her life. Indeed the reader begins to marvel at the fact that Therese was composing Manuscript C, letters, and poems during her final illness.
   What is surprising about Nevin's book is that despite the evident scholarship employed in writing it, the book takes a decidedly acrimonious and polemical turn in the last two chapters. The catalyst for this change in mood is what Nevin calls Therese's "sense [of] the non-existence of heaven" which he says she experienced during her dark night (297). If he had stopped here, with the use of the word "sense," then he could have maintained an objective point of view. Anyone who has read The Story of a Soul or Therese's correspondence knows that she experienced the loss of any consolation or good feeling connected with belief in heaven. Nevin even quotes one of the sisters living with Therese, Sr. Teresa of St. Augustine, who reported Therese's "disbelief" in heaven. What Nevin fails to add is that Sr. Teresa also reported that Therese spoke of this "disbelief" as a temptation. In other words, Therese knew it was false, despite her very strong and very real temptation not to believe. Therese herself wrote on numerous occasions that although she did not have the feelings of faith, she did the works of faith (she said the same thing about love; there was a particular sister that Therese was not attracted to, but she chose to treat the sister with charity).
   But Nevin goes beyond Therese's words and says that she no longer had any faith or hope in heaven. He writes about St. Therese's "disbelief" so relentlessly (the last chapter never leaves the topic and is 39 pages long) that one begins to sense that Nevin has lost sight of Therese and is concerned only with his thesis. He begins to sound like a crazed defense attorney, anticipating objections and piling on evidence. He takes pot-shots at ecclesial authority figures, creedal formulations, and even works in a slam against President Bush for invading Iraq (if you can believe it). Not content with disbelief about heaven, Nevin also says that Therese did not believe in hell either, but he provides no citations for this claim.
   The book began as a helpful guide to the times and seasons and idiosyncrasies of Therese's world, outside and inside the Carmel. It ends as a diatribe against dogma (even though Nevin himself can write dogmatically). Anyone who has read Therese's manuscripts or letters or poems knows intuitively that Therese had a deep, down faith (to borrow Gerard Manley Hopkins words). Nevin could have stopped with his notion that Therese rejected the common understanding of heaven at the time; one can readily agree to this. But to say that she no longer had any hope or faith in heaven seems obnoxious at best and subversive at worst. For example he never considers Therese's often indulgent use of exaggerations and exclamation points in her writing and how such a style might affect meaning.
   Nevin says that what motivated Therese was the search for truth and love of God and neighbor; she was not satisfied with anything else. However, if Therese had discovered that heaven did not exist, then why would she continue to speak to her sisters and write to others about heaven? Is this love or respect for the truth: to allow the beloved to remain in ignorance? And why would Therese refrain from speaking about her dark secret in order not to blaspheme if she really believed heaven's non-existence to be the truth? To blaspheme is to say something contrary to the truth, is it not? (In other words, Therese knew deep down that her sense of the non-existence of heaven was blasphemous and, hence, false.) Why would Therese offer her last communion for the soul of a lost priest, if not to help him to heaven and to avoid hell? Finally, Nevin writes constantly of Therese's "testing." What testing? Was God testing Therese's love for him? Nevin says no; Therese's love for God was constant and was the very virtue that carried her through to the end. So what could the testing consist of if not faith and hope?
   What's most disturbing about Nevin's strange turn at the end of God's Gentle Warrior is that he calls all writers who disagree with him whitewashers (300). They, Nevin contends, are trying to sanitize Therese's loss of faith and hope. On the contrary, they are not trying to use Therese to advance their own theses. A case in point: Joseph Schmidt's recently published meditation on St. Therese's life, Everything is Grace, is very much aware of Therese's dark night of the soul during which she lost the consolation of faith. Yet he reaches a very different conclusion from Nevin. Schmidt--basing his opinion on the same sources as Nevin--says this of Therese during her time of trial: "In love, with all the power and courage of her mighty will, she clung to faith" (279). He also supports his opinion with this quote from Therese herself: "[God] knows very well that while I do not have the joy of faith, I am trying to carry out its works at least. I believe I have made more acts of faith in this past year than all through my whole life" (279). And Schmidt, when he is writing about Therese's dark night, provides many other quotes from Therese to show that her will was engaged regarding the existence of heaven even when her feelings were not.
   Whereas Nevin's book concentrates on the outside influences bearing upon Therese, Schmidt focuses on the heart and mind of Therese through a close reading of her words. Therese states at the beginning of Story of a Soul that she wants the reader to understand how the mercies of God have shaped and formed her, and Schmidt offers a compelling monograph in Everything is Grace that follows Therese's spiritual growth from birth to death. And Scmidt is no whitewasher or fawning admirer; he looks at Therese objectively and lovingly. In 46 chapters that are arranged chronologically to match Therese's maturation, Schmidt reveals her weaknesses and strengths, her obstacles and advantages. Schmidt argues convincingly that Therese took everything she was given--family, culture, personality, faults, and natural abilities--and learned over time how to filter all through God's grace and, thereby, become grace-filled herself. Another way of saying the same thing is that Schmidt uncovers for us through Therese's writings the development of her little way, a spirituality that depends on God's grace and is open to everyone to emulate.
   The value of Schmidt's Everything is Grace is that the reader is better able to see Therese as a real, flesh and blood, human being. Therese had to acknowledge, accept, and assimilate personal, familial, and cultural influences, and she did so thoughtfully, prayerfully, and most importantly, through God's grace. The influences were both positive and negative, but Therese was able to integrate them all through her relationship with God. For example, the positive influence of an intimate and loving family gave her the stability and foundation to develop her relationship with God. At the same time, her close-knit family life meant she had to struggle to leave the safety and comfort of home and open herself to new relationships in the convent, even to other women for whom on a natural level she had no attraction whatsoever. Part of Schmidt's objective is to show that Therese really had an ordinary life, full of the same kind of feelings, activities, fears, and hopes that all men and women have. She had her daily chores; she had to persevere in prayer; she struggled in getting along with others--and during her ordinary life she was trying to yield more and more to God. In other words, Therese is like us. And as Schmidt details the development of Therese's life, the reader gains many valuable insights about living with God. Therese is an ordinary woman, who accepted God's grace in an extraordinary way. Schmidt says that we should not be awed by this achievement of Therese, but heartened because--as Therese knew--her way is open to all.
   Both books are very helpful in appreciating St. Therese (with the exception, in my opinion, of Nevin's last two chapters). If the reader wants to know about Therese, then read Nevin's God's Gentle Warrior. If the reader wants to know Therese, then read Everything is Grace. Or better yet, read both, because coming to know Therese better will lead to her stated goal in life: to desire and to love God more and more, and to live only by his grace.

5 comments about Disturbing the Peace: The Story of Father Roy Bourgeois and the Movement to Close the School of Americas.

1. This book inspires and educates while still being a page-turner. Roy Bourgeois is a purple heart Vietnam veteran who became a Maryknoll missionary priest. He has been in and out of Latin American countries and in and out of prison as he fights for social justice. In his struggle he discovers the now infamous School of the Americas - Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation at Fort Benning, GA. This school has trained the hemisphere's worst human rights violators. This book skillfully weaves Fr. Roy's story with that of the School of the Americas leaving the reader uplifted by the courage of a man and a movement and appalled by the secret teaching of torture and anti-democracratic use of force. Great read!



2. The one thing that stands out the most about this book for me is that this priest was only standing for truth, freedom and justice. Yet the one country that he fought for during the Vietnam War prosecuted him for these beliefs. So much suffering in the world today is simply based on greed. One country trying to profit by controlling the government and natural resources of a smaller, weaker country.That is really what it is all about and the truth is there as long as we do not turn a blind eye as we did on Father Roy Bourgeois. Too many people today simply do as they are told and believe what they hear. You should read this book because the greatest threat facing the world is not knowing or ignoring the truth and sadly the world will continue to suffer at the hands of a few powerful people if we do not open our eyes.



3. Disturbing the Peace is a compelling story of a cleric who has dedicated his life to waging what some might call a quixotic battle against the highest military and political forces of the United States. These same forces look away from the evil they have wrought in other lands, specifically Latin America, and in American-run jails in Iraq.
   These evils, thanks to the machinations of the School of the Americas, include torture, murder, rape, and pillage. The school, costing Americans millions of dollars to maintain at Ft. Benning, Ga., is at the center of Bourgeois' relentless crusade. Bourgeois, who as a young man of the Louisiana bayoulands had beauteous Cajun mademoiselles at his beck and call and almost married one, chose the priesthood after heroic service and a Purple Heart in Vietnam. Following discharge, Bourgeois was appalled at America's foreign policy, which fawned upon megalomaniacal foreign dictators and which gave rise to the founding of the School of the Americas.
   This is no Bush-bashing book. Presidents of recent years have all contributed to the shameful institution that teaches young foreign soldiers how to commit the most nefarious crimes, then sends them back home to put into practice what they have been taught on American soil by American teachers.
   Item: Dismembering a 55-year-old woman with a chainsaw.
   Item: Torturing a priest before throwing him out of a high-flying helicopter.
   Item: Killing an archbishop, priests, and nuns in cold blood.
   Bourgeois and his followers have served time in jail and have had their lives threatened over their never-ending crusade to close down this inhumane cancer of the American military. Irony aside, the subject of this insightful, provocative biography is a modern Thomas Paine in clerical garb, indefatigably fighting for justice everywhere and against tranny in his own country.



4. Maryknoll Father Roy Bourgeois is a further example of the US repression of our religious expression.
   
   When Bob Dole went to Nicaragua for a Nixon-style Kitchen debate with freely and fairly elected Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega prior to the 1984 US elections, Dole accused the Nicaraguan government of religious repression. President Ortega, accompanied by hisministers of foreign relations and of education and of culture, Fathers Ernesto Cardenal, his Jesuit brother, and Maryknoll Father Miguel D'Escoto, pulled out a photograph of Father Roy Bourgeois being arrested and dragged away by US military forces at Fort Benning Georgia. This spelled the end of Bob Dole's presidential aspirations and political carreer, to be replaced with an interesting advertising endorsement.
   
   On the other hand the Reverend Father Roy has never wavered from his carreer and his commitment to preaching and to living the Gospel of Peace and Justice in Jesus Christ, with orthodoxy through orthopraxis, to the final consequences, running ever bravely in the footsteps of Our Lord. He remains strong in opposing those assassins of his own Maryknoll brothers and sisters like Bill Woods, and as on the cover here, Maryknoll Sister Ita Ford, killers and generals trained and directed from the SOA in terrorism, torture and homicide, who did not flinch from killing even the greatest prophet, martyr and saint of the Americas, Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero.
   
   Father Roy finds his duty and obligation as Catholic, as priest, as true follower of Jesus Christ, to call to stop the killing and oppression, the torture and genocide. Father Roy never fails to stnad tall as a true prophet of Peace and of Jesus Christ. Let us learn by his holy example to do as well, for as long, in life-long commitment to peace, justice and the Gospel of Jesus Christ in its fullest daily, courageous expression.
   
   Read this book. Every Christian must read this book. All Americans must read this book. Each Catholic must embrace this book as lectio divina, as our own hagiography, as manual and rulebook of how to live as Catholics under this present military regime, courageously, integrally, standing up for peace and for Jesus Christ in our darkened and bloody day.
   
   Read this book before you judge him or stand with those who condemned Jesus Christ before the Sanhedrin. Father Roy is a great man, a great Catholic, an excellent priest, and a fine American, the kind we truly most need for our national moral and ethical recovery.
   
   Please read as well School of Assassins: The Case for Closing the School of the Americas and for Fundamentally Changing U.S. Foreign Policy, Ita Ford: Missionary Martyr, Witnesses to the Kingdom: The Martyrs of El Salvador and the Crucified Peoples, Rigoberta Menchu, Salvador Allende, General Noriega, ARENA in El Salvador, the contra, etc., etc., etc.



5. I began James Hodge's and Linda Cooper's "Disturbing the Peace" (2005, 244-page paperback) with high expectations. This chronicle of Father Roy Boureois' movement to close the US Military's "School of the Americas" promised to be a riveting narrative, in the genre of Oscar Romero, for advocacy and activism. As a Liberation Theology enthusiast (and advocate for the poor) myself, I relished the opportunity to learn from a colleague's experience. With the book's conclusion, however, only one word describes my encounter with this text- disappointing.
   
   The padre's odyssey to re-form government policy and actions is sometimes astonishing, often pedantic, and always interesting. For him, there is redemption and recognition in rebellion against his demons.
   
   Father Boureois is a product of his era's two extremes influences: his US Navy participation in the Viet Nam War and his Roman Catholic Liberation Theology religious training. These opposing, and sometimes polarizing, positions brought him to activism for the poor and oppressed. His story is brilliantly captivating, convincing, and converting! Perhaps, there is redemption in rebellion.
   
   The book is written with seventeen short chapters, fifteen pages of relevant black and white photos, but with only a brief six-page bibliography. It is disappointing that the text contains no footnotes or endnotes (causing it to earn fewer stars). Hodge and Cooper should remember that undocumented history is nothing more than novel fiction. Without retraceable source referencing one does not confidently believe presented material. Father Boureois' story deserves better.
   
   "Disturbing the Peace", as a quick read novel, is cautiously recommended to everyone interested in late 20th century American activism, anti-war advocacy, modern central and south American life, and Liberation Theology.

5 comments about The Heart of the World: A Journey to Tibet's Lost Paradise.

1. The Heart of the World: A Journey to Tibet's Lost Paradise takes you on a journey into canyons when no one as recorded before...breath taking..



2. A fantastic book for readers who are interested in learning about Tibetan Buddhism, the Tibetan culture and the Tibetan way of living, and readers who enjoy visiting and / or reading about exotic places on earth.
   
   I picked up this book right after a trip to Tibet with my 4-year old son and truly enjoyed reading it. It took me deeper into the land that I had just visited by illuminating a bit about its history, its incredible natural beauty, its people's belief system and, most importantly, the interconnectedness of all. It is a well written book and Ian Baker has done an outstanding job of getting the reader very close to the actual experience.
   
   Connecting with nature is certainly a powerful way to get connected in life and, once connected, the ultimate discoveries are often of the hidden secrets in one's soul.
   
   If you are not convinced about reading this book, I highly recommend viewing the related photos on hollot's site (find the site by doing a search on "hollot + sardar" since amazon does not allow posting URL's).



3. Ian Baker, explorer and Buddhist scholar, narrates a sequence of incredible journeys to the Tsango Gorge in Tibet, the hidden and inaccessible Beyul Pemako.
   
   The book can be read on many levels: as an engrossing adventure; the depiction of a man's passion, determination and endurance to achieve a goal in the face of incredible hardships; rarely described Tibetan customs; and the contrast between the spirituality of the Tibetans and the materialism of the Chinese who were penetrating the area at the same time as the author.
   
   The thread that weaves the narrative together is the inner journey that unfolds as Baker traverses the sacred geography of the area as revealed by Buddhist texts, Tibetan lamas and the experiences of the author and his team. Backed by historical textural references and oral traditions, the author encounters the living, pulsing presence of this landscape in the form of the body of the dakini goddess Dorje Pagmo and her energy centers or chakras. He and his team successfully access the throat of the goddess, the hidden gorge with its long-sought waterfall.
   
   After his arrival at the waterfall, his journey culminates in a visit to the sacred site of Gompe Ne on the banks of the Tsampo River where he enacted, as countless pilgrims before him have, a birth-death-resurrection using the sacred geography of the site.
   
   I was constantly reminded of experiences in the Andes, especially Peru and the Andean Path, where the exchange of energies between man and the natural world and its sacred landscapes create spiritual alchemy and inner spiritual transformation.



4. 
   I just started to read this book but found that this guy is getting involved in smuglling rare animals in Nepal. Read all the follwing news about this writer. And lets boycot his book!!
   
   1) Police recover illegal treasure trove from house of National Geographic writer
   
   KATHMANDU, May 23 - The Metropolitan Police Crime Division Hanumandhoka Friday said that a police investigation unearthed a large number of wildlife items and artefacts of archaeological significance at a house rented by an American national at Baluwatar in the capital.
   Working on a special tip-off, a police team led by Deputy Superintendent of Police Sher Bahadur Basnet on May 17 raided the house of Rajesh Maharjan which was rented by US citizen Ian Baker and recovered the items from the house.
   
   A police statement released during a press conference in the capital today said that the police team recovered the illegal items from Maharjan's house at Kathmandu Metropolitan-4 in Baluwatar.
   
   The statement added that after the recovery Maharjan informed the police that Baker had also stored more items at a rented house owned by one Khewang Norbu in Naxal.
   
   The police have also sealed off Norbu's house.
   
   Police informed that Baker, who has been living in Nepal for the last 24 years, had stored statues of archaeological importance, vestiges of various wild animals including skin, skeleton and statues in the Baluwater residence.
   
   The police have arrested Maharjan, while Baker is still at large.
   
   Reportedly, Baker was a features writer for the National Geographic and News Week magazines.
   
   2)
   Illegal items hoarded by American seized
   
   KATHMANDU, May 23 - Metropolitan Police Crime Division, Hanumandhoka confiscated dozens of illegally possessed artifacts, idols, wood craft and huge materials of endangered wildlife from the rented apartments of US citizen and legendary writer Ian Baker, who is also a contributor to National Geographic and several other magazines.
   Ian Baker, who has been reportedly staying in the country for over 24 years, was found to illegally possess a huge collection of archeologically important materials, including skeletons, statues and skins of wildlife in his two rented apartments located at Naxal and Baluwatar in the capital.
   
   Acting on a special tip-off, a police team raided a house of Rajesh Maharjan at Baluwatar where police recovered a huge cache of such materials.
   
   Police said they arrested house owner Maharjan, who told them that Baker also possessed illegal materials in another rented house at Naxal.
   
   Following the information from Maharjan, who is said to be an aide of Baker, police sealed the house. With the help of experts from Department of Archaeology and Kathmandu District Forest office, it was revealed that those materials were archeologically important, some even dated back to prehistoric times.
   
   On Thursday, police also seized dozens of artifacts, statues, skeletons, skins of wildlife, among other things. Senior Superintendent of Police Upendra Kant Aryal, chief of Metropolitan Police Crime Division, said the recovered materials were one of the largest collections ever confiscated by the police in the country.
   
   However, police said they were yet to ascertain the intention behind collecting those materials. During interrogation, Maharjan told that Baker had gone to Thailand after storing those materials in the house. Police said Baker has been absconding since police raided his two apartments.
   
   The country's law has banned people from possessing, buying and selling archeologically important materials. On the other hand, the CITES (Convention on international trade in endangered species of wild flora and fauna), to which Nepal is a signatory, also terms buying and selling wildlife body parts illegal.



5. 
   In this beautiful and gripping travelogue Ian Baker seamlessly ties together the story of his life-long obsession with the Tsangpo Gorge, the landscape history of the almost completely unknown Pemako region of Tibet (China) and that part of Tibetan Buddhism pertaining to the Tantra discipline and the Dorje Pagmo cult.
   
   Ian Baker is a well known photographer and explorer that has lived in Katmandu (Nepal) for over two decades, an inquisitive mind with a great culture and, from what seeps out from his writings, a sincere and well meditated Buddhist faith or at least a convinced respect for the beliefs of the populations among which he has chosen to pass his life. Recently he has been having some problems with the Nepalese government for a collection of artifacts and wildlife trophies but the story is still pending. However, in 2004, when the book was originally published, he was an inspired prophet of Buddhism, ecology and ancient Tibetan traditions.
   
   To understand the format chosen by the Author to narrate this engrossing ecological/adventurous/religious experience of his travels and discovery it is wise to refer to Simon Schama's "Landscape and Memory" that extensively explains man's relation to landscape during the ages and through different civilizations.
   
   Tibetans have always had a particular and deep bondage to their mountains, lakes and wild-life. Bon religion antecedent and integrated into the more modern Indian imported Buddhism (VII-VIII century A.D.) was a highly animistic religion. The Pemako region of Tibet, now divided between China and India, has always represented the body of the goddess Dorje Pagmo, with the mountains incarnating the breasts and the rivers the chakras of the deity and was believed by many to harbor the land of Shangrila. The concept of trekking on the landscape or as the Tibetans put it making a pilgrimage to particular power or magical points or beyuls (secret places) is actually an act of prayer. According to ancient beliefs "beyuls" have been established or discovered by Padmasambhava, who introduced Buddhism to Tibet, but continue to be revealed by scripts hidden in caverns by the Guru Rinpoche. In this way the landscape is an autonomous revealing source of religiosity. Only a precise knowledge and a longtime practice of this discipline at last consents the discovery or a better documentation of the unmapped part and the waterfalls of the Tsangpo Gorge, always known to the inhabitants of the Pemako.
   
   The geographical riddle of the hidden waterfalls of the Gorge had been longstanding. From the explorations of the pundits and the adventurous lords and scholars of the Raj looking for the possible passes into India (remember Kipling's Great Game), an unmapped tract of the Tsangpo River shows an unexplained difference of altitude from the down stream river Brahamaputra in Assam. Baker reviews the entire history of exploration of this tract of the main river of the Tibetan plateau, describing the personal history of all the explorers and their achievements. Particularly fascinating is the story of the Kingdom Ward - Crawford expedition that lead to the discovery of many unknown plants. Literature and science have questioned the existence of the waterfalls, but only Baker has give the definitive reply. Actually he has been eight times in the region, but the book extensively describes only three important trips from 1993 to 1998.
   
   Another interesting aspect is the marvelous and extensive review of the botanical and zoological diversity of the region, that is a real treat for those interested.
   
   The book has over 200 bibliographical references and many notes at the end of each chapter, more than 100 historical photographs and many by the Author and an ample glossary of Tibetan terms.
   
   The narrative style is discontinuous because it skips through many years. The day by day journal parts relative to the expeditions are a little repetitive and slow going but in certain points this represents an advantage because it consents the reader to get into the mood for example of the terrible meteorological conditions and the terrifying leeches and moreover the repetition of the sometimes puzzling Buddhist traditions, texts and phraseology allows a better comprehension.
   
   The final impression of this long book is that of summary of the achievement of a lifetime and as such it should be enjoyed and respected. Definitely recommended for those interested in geography, Buddhist traditions, adventure, and travels.

5 comments about Cradled All the While: The Unexpected Gifts of a Mother's Death.

1. As the author of this beautifully written book says, "The curtain between life and death is a gossamer veil." With insight and honesty, Sara Corse gazes through this gossamer veil as she recounts her experiences caring for her mother, dying of cancer. Part memoir, part reflection on the meaning of life and death, this book mainly gives a moving account of her mother's last months, but through the use of flashbacks and discursions, Corse shows how the tenderness and pain of this final illness are woven into the larger complexities of a mother-daughter relationship. Corse understands the anguish of losing a parent in the context of her own sometimes anguished struggle for a personal identity and a meaningful faith. For those facing the death of a loved one, this book will be a comfort and a help. For anyone seeking understanding in the presence of the mystery of death, this book will be a deep river of wisdom.



2. I found this to be a beautifully written book. To be able to take care of the dying is a tremendous gift, a blessing, and Sara found unexpected grace and healing in it. I found it only made me appreciate my mother even more. I wanted to tell her how important it was to me to be able to take care of her now that she is older, and she mustn't prevent me from doing so. If your relationship with your mom is troubled, all the more reason to read this book. Most of us don't want to face the inevitable, but when we do, some surprising things can happen. An excellent book for anyone with a mother...particularly someone in midlife with an older parent. Thank you Sara, for this book.



3. When I recently picked up this book again to re-read it, what I remembered best about it were the author's impressive honesty and the insights that gave me into my relations with my own mother.
   
   This time I was struck by how gracefully she handles the language and tells her story. Ever since my Jane Austen kick a few years ago I have found myself putting down books that I believed had something to say because I didn't like the way they were saying it. Not so here. This book is thought-provoking, and it is also a pleasure to read (but not if you're looking for something light-hearted!). I think it would appeal to a wider audience than those especially drawn to it for its focus on grief and on mother-daughter relations. I hope the author will write more.



4. "My mother's final gift to me was given when she was beyond believing that she had anything left to offer anyone, and was received when I was long past expecting anything from her." Thus ends the prologue to the author's moving personal account of her mother's cancer experience, and the way in which the illness transformed their relationship over time. In this memoir, Dr. Corse intertwines flashbacks from her own life with the unfolding story of her mother's illness, illuminating the complex web of family relationships within which she struggles to understand and cope with her mother's dying. Memoirs about personal loss run the risk of leaving the reader feeling depleted or emotionally manipulated. Dr. Corse's book does neither. Her book is about the redemptive and transformative power of caring for a dying parent, leaving the reader feeling hopeful and inspired. This book is for anyone with a disappointing relationship with a parent who has died or is dying, and for everyone who seeks grace and healing in their relationships throughout life. The reader's guide, available free at www.councilforrelationships.org/articles/staying-centered_2-20-06.htm, offers a vehicle for reflecting on and discussing the book's themes related to dying, caring, and healing. The guide is organized according to topic, referencing specific sections in the book, and contains thought-provoking questions suitable for book clubs and for students in psychology, psychiatry, pastoral counseling, social work, nursing, and religion.



5. This book is a moving account of Sara Corse's mother's death not as a moment in time, but as a culmination of life's journey. It is wonderful to see someone be able to look past the stress and burden of caring for a dying person and realize the emotional rewards. Sara is down to earth about her and her mother's relationship and demonstrates that you do not need a perfect relationship to fully appreciate one another. There are many ways that this book can touch the reader: daughters can relate to the many dimensions of a mother-daughter relationship; caregivers can be inspired by Sara's fortitude; those who lost a loved one can learn a way to fill a void. Death is a very difficult subject to discuss and the fact that this book presents it in such a beautiful way is a gift in itself.

4 comments about My God and I: A Spiritual Memoir.

1. I am shame for myself for almost 30 years because my grade is bad and leave the school.I lost any confidence about myself(this is the tragedy of Taiwan's students).Thank God, He save me in this very moment,and lead me to work at Literature Department of Campus Evangelical Fellowship in Taiwan.in here I read the chinese dition of Dr.Lewis B.Smedes's works,He encourage me to discern the difference between sin and shame, healing me gradually,release me from accusation from my own heart.Just receive the grace of God,forgive and forget is the best way to face the past,hold God' promises is the best way to face today and uncertain future.
   This is especially true for me,and now I realize this is a spiritual warfare.only by God's grace can I live modestly and happily.I thank Dr.Lewis B.Smedes so much that I want to interview him personally.unfortunely, He was die last year's December,but I more precious his work,because he still speak to me with his works.comfort me through his gentle words and remind me the life of Christian is a warfare, need to take up the whole armor of God.
   Thank you so much. I miss you, Dear Dr. Lewis B. Smedes.



2. Once in a while a writer opens their soul so they can touch ours. My God and I is memoir with theological depth. Lewis Smedes shares his wounds with forward movement. He reminds us that we all have wounds, but how have they and will they shape us. I am thankful for his constant reminder that God is present, even if we can't or don't want to believe it.



3. My God and I is the memoir of Lewis Smedes, bestselling author and long-time professor of ethics and theology at Fuller Seminary. It was published in 2003, just months after Smedes' death at age 81, and contains reflections on all periods of his life, including right up to the time of his death. This little book has it all: anecdotes about famous Christians such as Karl Barth and C.S. Lewis, reflections on growing up during the Great Depression, insight into the fundamentalism of Moody Bible Institute and life at Calvin College and Fuller Seminary, the hardship of writing, struggles with children and depression, dealing with loss, and even a reference to masturbation, all told in an epigrammatic style and salted with a self-effacing humor.
   
   An example of this humor and style is his relating of a particularly painful episode of depression, which was so bad that he stopped preaching and isolated himself in a cabin in Puget Sound. But, in the middle of this depression, when he thought all was lost, God broke through to him, and Smedes imagined God saying to him, "I will never let you fall. I will always hold you up." Smedes goes on to write, "Never before had I been so suddenly released from the devil of despair. Never before had I known such an amazing grace. Never before such elation." And then, when the reader has just read these words and believes that Smedes has been miraculously cured of his depression, he continues on with these final words on the subject: "I have not been neurotically depressed since that day, though I must, to be honest, tell you that God also comes to me each morning and offers me a 20-milligram capsule of Prozac. With this medication he clears the garbage that accumulates in the canals of my brain overnight and gives me a chance to get a fresh morning start. I swallow every capsule with gratitude to God."
   
   The above vignette is funny. But it is also wise. And in the end, it is the wisdom contained in this little book that makes it impossible to put down. It displays, on page after page, the soul of a man who had a mature understanding of life that few have attained, even as octogenarians. Smedes offers few answers in this book, but the wise seldom do. Instead, he offers us clarity about what is important in life; he shows us what the right questions are. For all of his repeated claims of insecurity, his writing reveals a soul secure in the knowledge of itself, and that rarest of all commodities-a life well-lived. My God and I gave me a glimpse of a man I would have liked to have known, and left me feeling as if I did.
   
   Thanks, Dr. Smedes, for this book.



4. Lewis Smedes, long time and much loved professor of Fuller Theological Seminary, finished this short memoir just before his untimely death on December 19, 2002, at the age of 81. Thank God he did. Smedes was a rare person who combined a number of important traits that most of us can only hope to emulate--scholarly erudition, a deep empathy for the ambiguities of the human condition, a passionate Christian faith, the heart of a pastor, and superb skills in writing for the average person on the street and in the pew. His book Forgive and Forget; Healing the Hurts We Don't Deserve, for example, sold over a million copies, and unlike many popular Christian books, his had important things to say.
   
   In twenty-seven short, crisp chapters (about 7-8 pages each), Smedes takes us through the successive stages of his life journey, beginning with his grandparents and ending with his retirement years. Smedes struggled with faith. I am reminded of the wag who observed, "my faith does not seem to be very strong, but it appears to be permanent." In his final chapter he affirms the dreams that he maintained to the end, what I would call kingdom hopes--of a world without HIV, of children who do not go to bed hungry, and so on. He also affirms his deep and passionate desire for these things to come true. But his faith, he writes, was always "laden with doubts" because of the huge disparity between that for which we hope and the realities that we see and experience. At the end, writes Smedes, he found himself "at the station called hope." And what better testimony than to write that "I liked the last miles of the journey better than the first. But, since I could not have the ending without first having the beginning, I thank God for getting me going and bringing me home. And sticking with me all the way" (p. 178).