5 comments about Telling Secrets.

1. "I not only have my secrets, I am my secrets. And you are your secrets. Our secrets are human secrets, and our trusting each other enough to share them with each other has much to do with the secret of what it is to be human."

   In Telling Secrets, Buechner does just that. He tells the details of his most intimate life. He tells of his struggles and his tortuous search for answers to life. And Buechner finds some answers. He finds that so much of the secret of live is to love and to love means being able to lay bare that core of our being, that soul with the "print of God's thumb still intact." And this book is just that. In an tremendous act of love, Buechner is baring his most essential soul and allowing the reader to connect and learn.

   It's difficult for me to express how much I love this book. It is short, but each page holds enough wisdom to fill volumes. Telling Secrets is a book that has earned a prestigious spot on my bedstand where I can reach it easily the times I need it most.




2. Frederick Buechner is one of my favorite autbors. I have almost all of his books. His latest, Telling Secrets, arrived last week and I have not opened it yet. I was almost through reading another book and didn't want to peek until I could sit down and read and read. I am so glad to have Amazon.com to remind me of books by him and other favorites.



3. In this book, Buechner places great stress on the influential nature of the secrets we tend to keep. He also places great importance on the power of memory to recall and grapple with the events in our past that impact our lives. I found much of what Buechner had to say to be searching, honest and incisive, if not altogether theologically tight.
   
   Buechner describes 3 sore spots in his past that have greatly shaped his present outlook - his father's suicide, his mother's narcissism, and his daughter's battle with anorexia. He suggests that his over-controlling and over-fretting response to his daughter's illness was shaped by the loss of his father and even the potential loss of the memory of his father. This, he believes, fed a great fear of losing things close to him. He further intimates that his mother's tendency to wall off certain topics and events from discussion left a relational hole that he tried to fill by over-pursuing and over-analyzing his daughter both before and during her illness. He suggests that this suffocation actually contributed to his daughter's crisis.
   
   The best portion of the book is the final chapter in which Buechner delves into spiritual realities. Here, Buechner tells a poignant story of his time at Wheaton, where he discovers that evangelicals are not the close-minded apocalyptics that the culture describes. Instead, Buechner found a principled tolerance that is anchored in a faith that sets a principled direction for all other endeavors. He contrasts this with his time at Harvard, where he observed how brute pluralism often degenerates into all-out factionalism. Buechner is very insightful here. Few are willing to flush out this 'dark side' of pluralism, but of course, the factionalism that Buechner laments is increasingly the norm in American culture today. Tolerance, pluralism, and acceptance tend to be popular buzzwords that in the end, rarely endure the trials and complexities of life unscathed by those who exalt them in theory. Buechner's honest grappling with this dilemma is very refreshing.
   
   Buechner has other insightful points to make as well. He provides helpful balance in analyzing the great love commandment, believing that in addition to loving our neighbors, we need to reclaim some love for ourselves as images of God. Self-loathing defames the image of God as much as loathing others, and loving ourselves biblically doesn't mean being self-absorbed or wanting to bring glory to ourselves. There is a balance that needs to be struck, and Buechner is helpful on this. In addition, Buechner also applies his 'secrets' hypothesis to the church. He notes that the church often bears the marks of a dysfunctional family, where outward community abounds but inner connectedness is in short supply. Like people, the church tends to prefer keeping things unsaid (keeping secrets, of a sort) and unvoiced by chossing to put on a good show rather than acknowledge individual and shared struggle and dealing honestly with it. While Buechner perhaps goes too far in seeing the church more as therapy and group catharsis instead of a place of worship and union with Christ, it is hard to argue with his basic point that both the church and us are often defined by the secrets we keep.
   
   I'm giving the book 4 stars because in the midst of penetrating observation, Buechner seems to not penetrate far enough in some ways. In particular, it appeared to me that the death of his father helped shape some of his views about God that he does not really flush out or hold up to examination. It's not enough to say that experiencing a loss in life makes me afraid of going through that experience again, so that I try to fight it through over-protection and over-meddling. This might be true for as far as it goes, but it also involves something deeper. It involves, at root, a distrust in the goodness of God, and a fear of pain and loneliness; even when we may know intellectually that there is a redemptive character to such pain. In some ways, Buechner seems to see God in everything, but struggles with trusting him in everything. He hints at this toward the end of the book, where 'letting go' is very difficult for him. So ironically, in a book that purports to tell secrets as a result of believing that people are their secrets, I'm not sure Buechner goes far enough in contemplating just how comprehensively his secrets have shaped his view of God.
   
   In the end, Buechner offers us a very penetrating, vulnerable, and often insightful glimpse into his life. The reader will likely be impressed not only by the vulnerability they find, but also in how Buechner's core struggles and secrets might be ours as well. His rather strong statement that we have a right to be happy, as if such a right is owed to us, is no doubt a popular sentiment, though one will struggle mightily to build a biblical case for it. However, robbing ourselves of happiness by obsessing about our fears isn't right either, and this is where Buechner is helpful. Recommended for the discerning reader.



4. This book was shipped to me very quickly, and was in very good condition, with a small amount of highlighting.



5. Frederick Buechner has a wonderful way of showing how the stories of our individual lives evoke and elucidate our common story of human experience. As for the darkest "secrets" of our individual and family histories - in Buechner's case, the suicide of his father - he holds out the hope of God's healing. In perhaps the most poignant passage of the book, Buechner is able to write down an imaginary conversation with his father (decades after the fact) that exemplifies the redemptive possibilities available for even our deepest wounds.
   
   While fully cognizant of the challenges involved in making meaningful connection with fellow humans, Buechner provides instances in his life that encourage us to continue the difficult, upward path of love. He is astonished to find, for example, in the midst of a meeting of Adult Children of Alcoholics, people "speaking something extraordinarily like truth in something extraordinarily like love."
   
   Spending time with some authors feels like making a friend. Along with Henri Nouwen, C. S. Lewis, and many others, I now count Frederick Buechner among my author-friends.

5 comments about Jonathan Edwards: A Life.

1. Marsden, George M. Jonathan Edwards: A Life. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003.
   
   There is almost a glut of material on Jonathan Edwards. That can be both good and bad. It is good that men are wrestling with Edwards's life and thought. A study of Edwards can renew intellectual life within the church. Furthermore, Edwards is being fairly studied by scholars outside the conservative world. This, too, is good. But there is always the question when a new Edwards book comes out: is there anything left to say? George Marsden thinks so. And Marsden takes his point of departure from other Edwards scholars. For all of the work on Edwards, the standard biographies (Perry Miller and Iain Murray) leave holes in some places.
   Thesis: Jonathan Edwards lived in the crossroads of intellectual and social history. He is a perfect representative of both streams of both European and American thought: he was a traditionalist who stood for authority, order, and stable values. Ironically, he also planted the seeds of the individualism that would later haunt evangelicalism. Even more paradoxically, the very cure (e.g., the Great Awakening) to the problem (e.g., spiritual decay and social stagnation) would later become another problem for religious America.
   
   There are two illustrations of Marsden's thesis from Edwards' ministry: the Great Awakening and the communion controversy, the latter will be examined in light of his political views. In both cases we see Edwards the traditionalist clash with Edwards the innovator. Edwards' instrumental role in the Great Awakening conflicted with other pastors in the region. Unwillingly, or unwittingly, Edwards inspired other men to rise up and carry on the revival, a task that also meant criticizing the status quo ecclesiology. Another example is Edwards' view on church-state relations (160). Was Edwards going to be the traditional Constantinian Protestant and favor a state-protected church, or would he encourage his people to be a holy congregation, called-out and separated from the world? It appears he wanted both. On p. 196 Edwards advocates a strong Constantianism. This clashed with his view on presenting spiritual evidences to the Lord's Supper. It is obvious why.
   
   Solomon Stoddard, Edwards' grandfather and the previous pastor, sought a mediating position with the Puritans demand for evidence of conversion alongside the painful fact that many people did not have that evidence. If they did not have that evidence, they weren't really in the covenant. So they posited a "half-way" covenant. There was still the nagging problem of evidence. Therefore, the parishioners would give evidence of moral sincerity whereas Edwards' demanded evidence of godly piety (368). It was Edwards' downfall (or heroic hour, depending on your point of view) to overturn this compromise.
   
   Evaluation:
   This book faithfully carries on the Edwardsean tradition. It presents a pastor who sought Christ-exalting power in the pulpit. Yet it is one of the first sympathetic books on Edwards to illustrate tensions in his worldview--tensions the Evangelical world is feeling today. Does a longing for revival and fresh power from the Spirit undermine certain stati quo in Reformed orthodoxy? Marsden's thesis leaves the reader wrestling and thinking on this question. Another fine point is Marsden's emphasis on the healthy sexual morality and love found between Jonathan and Sarah, especially in light of current confusion on sexual mores. I heartily recommend this book.



2. Above all, it's very nice that I can recieved this book very quickly with perfect condition (paperback).
   Among biography of Jonathan Edwards, this book is a masterfiece!
   I'm very satisfied with this order!



3. I was seeking information regarding religious teachings before the American Revolution and found a theologian's theologian. This was not a quick read since I was largely unfamiliar with Edwards' writings and teachings. I now have a "Great Awakening" anchor thanks to Marsden's treatment of Jonathan Edwards, his time, and his contemporaries. An important preacher at a particularly important time in the history of America. Brilliant presentation by Marsden.



4. This is certainly a good biography of the life and times of the great Jonathan Edwards. However, it does lack something of a the personal touch, especially about the days to day details of his life; his study and spiritual life. For a man living in the backwoods of America, lacking intellectual and spiritual companionship, he must have (and other biographies tell us) spent much of his days in his study, writing, thinking and praying.
   
   Although I am not of Edward's philosophical or religious persuasion, I found the description of his thoughts very illuminating, and at times, a little frightening. When everything that happened in his little town or in the turbulent times of US and world history are sourced back to the work of God; in most cases, God's judgements on the sins of the people, one wonders what sort of psychological damage he must inflicted in his poor flock! You almost feel, that for all his learning, he was still living in pre-scientific times.
   
   And you have to laugh where he refers to Hume's Treatise as a 'corrupt book'!But at least he read Hume and a number of other enlightenment philosophers; more than what can be said for the average pastor or preacher/'pop'writer today!
   
   This is a good readable work that does justice to a great, though in many ways, misguided, thinker.



5. This is a long book; the text alone is a little over 500 pages. In the ample space of those pages, Marsden very fully sets out virtually everything that is known about Jonathan Edwards. First and foremost, this is the story of a life. It is biography on a grand scale, in which Edwards' life is described, from beginning to end, in great detail.
   
   What is really marvelous about this book is how Marsden combines the professional objectivity of a historian with sympathetic understanding of his subject. This is very important, because Edwards is not the kind of person that just anyone could write about in a useful way. The events of Edwards' life are not very dramatic or significant. What makes Edwards important is his thought. He was a theologican and a philosopher, who stood on the point of transition between a world in which God still reigned supreme and the modern world of secular thought and scientiic belief. He was also a defender of Calvinism, in a world which was about to turn against Calvin.
   
   To write usefully about such a man, the writer needs to have a deep interest in theological and philosophic subjects, and Marsden does. I am not entirely sure what his own perspective is, because he keeps his own beliefs off stage, as is proper, but Marsden says that he is, and he plainly is, someone whose personal religious viewpoint is not too far away from that of Edwards. Marsden is someone to whom the issues Edwards wrestled with are still alive. He is thus able to bring alive Edwards' philosophic and theological concerns in a wonderful way.
   
   I, personally, do not yet know enough about Protestant thought to really be able to make sense of all of this. Much of Calvinism seems very odd to me. I am perplexed by such doctrines as the teaching that humans have absolutely no ability to merit grace -- not just faith alone, but the further teaching that what we believe and feel is not relevant either -- combined with the belief that we should exert ourselves greatly to be saved. If nothing we do makes any difference, where is our motive to work hard to accept God? I find all of this very perplexing.
   
   Marsden does not try to explain the larger Calvinist framework of thought to those, like me, who are bascially ignorant of it, so much of this material goes past me. One point that came across very strongly, however, is that Edwards -- in his own, odd Puritan way -- was a passionate mystic, as devoted to God as Saint John of the Cross or Teresa de Avila. I think, quite often, we find the Puritans repugnant, because their stress on God's anger is so foreign to us. While I still find that aspect of Puritan thought hard to sympathize with, I am glad to have someone show me that the Puritans -- in their own way -- were extremely sincere and zealous Christians.

5 comments about Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith.

1. This book impressed me immensely; well beyond what I had expected and I had read two previous books by Kathleen Norris. It is a marvelous format that works like a sort of "Day by Day" series of inspiring and/or compelling theological thoughts. Rather than follow a litergical order of verses, Norris uses different words and terms associated with Christianity to fuel her observations. I honestly was expecting a sort of academic treatise on what various terms meant. What I got instead was an illustration of the essence of the meaning of various aspects and perspectives of Christianity. From the very beginning I was inspired by what Ms. Norris was sharing. She has observed a lot through her years and has a remarkable ability to recall those observations into illuminating stories.
   
   Part of the impression this book made upon me may have had something to do with the fact that I started reading it towards the end of a retreat I was on. It was at the Benedictine Convent and Abbey where Ms. Norris spent much of her time. I hadn't even considered the connection when I took the book along but I was quickly in tune with her comments about her experiences with the Benedictine nuns and monks. Part of the appeal of her book to me had to have something to do with so many events taking place in locales I am familiar with. However, the broader appeal of the book lies in her sincere devotion to the Benedictine Way while equally active in the main stream Protestant Church. She seems intent on exploring ways to find a closer and clearer meaning to her faith. Like Ms. Norris, I had experienced years apart from religion before returning to it with a sincere intention to become a "Good Christian". However, I needed to first understand what it is that comprises a "Good Christian". Kathleen Norris spoke to me in the voice of experience of someone who has gone quite a bit further than I. I say that even though my journey has led me to ordination as an Episcopal Priest. Ms. Norris shares a lot of her experiences as a somewhat reluctant lay minister in the Presyterian Church. I am satified that she has found her vocation.
   
   Ms. Norris is a Poet in the literal sense because it is her real profession. I'm not one for poetry but I have always enjoyed the rare author who can write prose and leave the impression that one has read poetry. Her book, "Dakota" is a masterpiece of that style as is "Amazing Grace". I confess that I was not as drawn into her book, "The Cloister Walk". I think that is why I was a bit shy about starting "Amazing Grace". However, I am very greatful that I took it on that retreat. I would recommend this book to anyone who aspires to know more about the Christian faith. Those even mildly interested will find a voice that speaks in a clear, compelling and informative manner. Too many similar book instruct; Ms. Norris inspires.



2. Unlike the the Author, Katherine Norris , I have been a Catholic all my 71 Years and She has renewed my faith and spirituality and taught me more about the religion I grew up in then all the catechism classes and college courses in theology I studied.
   She is right up there with Henri Nouen and Edwina Gateley.
   What beautiful reading.
   Rita Peters



3. I really enjoyed the fresh look at words used in faith discussions. I particularly liked the one on Silence.



4. My aunt recommended this book to me several years ago but I was involved with other things at the time and did not get it. Then Amazon recommended it to me again later and that time I did get it. I read it one essay at a time as a part of my daily devotional. It's a great feeling when an articulate, gifted writer puts into words one's own beliefs as this one did for me.
   Page 310: ". . . Here, too, is the justification of the mystic's certainty, as in Shaw's 'St. Joan,' when she responds calmly to an inquisitor's pouncing on the word imagination, as if to spring a trap. 'I hear voices telling me what to do,' Joan says. 'They come from God.' 'They come from your imagination?' her interrogator asks, and she replies, 'Of course. That is how the messages of God come to us.'"
   Kathleen Norris's extensive study of the Christian religious history is expressed in this book and benefits the reader.
   It is poetic in parts which presents a difficulty for me because although I value poetry and admire poets, as an analyical person, I often don't get it. (She says her husband is both poetic and analytical -- a wonderful gift.) Nevertheless it was a priceless experience.
   This is not a book for fundamentalist Christians. It is a book for us spiritual seekers who love God with all our hearts.



5. I loved Kathleen Norris's earlier books, "The Cloister Walk" and "Dakota". She's an odd mix--a poet, feminist, theological conservative, and country bumpkin. But I guess it's the poet I relate so strongly to. Her prose is lyrical, and I find myself thinking about something she has said at odd moments for some time after I've put her books down. Her words resonate, and her descriptions and stories convey a vocabulary of faith. She has the courage to ponder the tough questions and deal with doubt and possibility while sharing her inspiring observations.

5 comments about Spiritual Classics : Selected Readings for Individuals and Groups on the Twelve Spiritual Disciplines.

1. I found the essays by different authors enlightening. The style of some of the authors was a bit strange at first, but it is helpful reading how great Christian thinkers of different ages approached the Christian faith.



2. In the case of Richard Foster, more is a very good thing. Once again Foster gives us a glimpse of spiritual disciplines through the lenses of the greatest Christian authors of history. This time he tackles the following subjects:
   . INWARD DISCIPLINES
   . meditation, prayer, fasting, study
   . OUTWARD DISCIPLINES
   . simplicity, solitude, submission, service
   . CORPORATE DISCIPLINES
   . confession, worship, guidance, celebration

   If you liked any of Foster's other books, you will like this one.




3. Foster and Griffin have put together an excellent book for group or personal use. Readings are arranged according to spiritual disciplines, such as meditations, prayer or fasting. A brief selection of text from famous writers is followed by a Bible reading, questions to be used to understand the readings, exercises, reflections and a bibliography for those who want to delve deeper the topic. It took me a year to get through Foster's first book, Devotional Classics, doing a reading a week. In other words, it's a long term resource to enhance your spiritual life. I really loved this book.



4. I read this as supplemental reading for "The Celebration of Discipline." It is very powerful on its own, and great for a study group, but comes so much more alive when done in combination. There is so much wisdom in these classic Christian writers. The corresponding scriptures, questions and comments from Foster are very thought provoking, and invite you to personally experience the spiritual disciplines, bringing you to a more personal relationship with God.



5. Our study group "The Enquiring Minds" finds this book ideal for group study. Especially helpful is the wide range of diversity both in content and contributors. Each chapter provides stimulating discussion material that is varied enough to remain interesting over an extended period.

5 comments about What is Reformed Theology?: Understanding the Basics.

1. A great book for those who wants to deepens in theology. This book is a must to any serious Bible student. With an easy to understand style, Dr Sproul explains the roots of Reformed Theology and its implications to christians of all times.



2. In simple words, this is a wonderful book. It will serve to straighten out a lot of mixed up Christians who, through little fault of their own, wind up with a disjointed view of Scripture and a serious misunderstanding of their own salvation, because they don't have a foundation in the fundamentals of Biblical doctrine.
   
   This book teaches orthodoxy as clearly and eloquently as I've ever read it or heard it preached. It's fair to say that the language is crafted, since Sproul has taught the subject in seminary for decades, and is completly familiar with the topic. His arguments are logical and well organized; they flow from premise to conclusion with such clarity that a novice can grasp the argument the first time through.
   
   This book makes my short list of must haves, both for it's impact and concise delivery in only 216 pages. Actually, its a masterpiece because it delivers exactly what its title advertises. If you have struggled to understand the Bible and the Gospel message, and just can't put the pieces together for an effective witness, step back, turn the T.V. ministry off, put aside the half baked theology of easy believism and man centered gospels, and return to the truths the Reformers burned at the stake to re-establish.



3. What is Reformed Theology? That really is a deep, honest question that has been lost in the majority report of evangelicals of the western world. While Sproul deals with the basics of Calvin's teachings, he also helps the reader see how the Reformed Theology flows from within the Scripture to form a matrix by which we read each book, each verse, each doctrine, and each truth of Scripture. An excellent introduction (and should be used alongside R. C. Sproul's DVD series by the same title). Sproul and others have helped us see past the titles of Arminian, Pelagian, Calvinism, et al and begin to see the golden threads of biblical understanding that have been a part of Christian instruction since the time of Augustine. Definitely a volume to devour several times. Each reading unveils more and more of the profound truth of doctrines that liberated the church in the early 16th Century. Get it and use it!



4. R. C. Sproul's book What is Reformed Theology? leaves no doubt as to what the book is about. It is an accessible, yet serious overview of the most essential facets of Reformed Theology. And Sproul, one of the foremost Reformed theologians known today, communicates his preferred system of doctrine lucidly and competently.
   
   What is Reformed Theology? is divided into two parts. Part 1 is called Foundations of Reformed Theology and has five chapters: 1) Centered on God, 2) Based on God's Word Alone, 3) Committed to Faith Alone, 4) Devoted to the Prophet, Priest, and King, and 5) Nicknamed Covenant Theology. Part 2, on the other hand, is called Five Points of Reformed Theology. Traditionally, the five points have been known by the mnemonic device TULIP, which has stood for Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace, and Perseverance of the Saints. While Dr. Sproul has not wanted to eschew the traditional terms, he has nonetheless opted for a revised list for his chapter titles on each of the five points. They are as follows: 1) Humanity's Radical Corruption, 2) God's Sovereign Choice, 3) Christ's Purposeful Atonement, 4) The Spirit's Effective Call, and 5) God's Preservation of the Saints.
   
   Apart from the two parts which make up the meat of the book, Sproul provides a lengthy introduction before Part 1 that gives the reader some important preliminary information about Reformed Theology. And in the back of the book Sproul includes a hymn by Isaac Watts, Chapter Notes, Suggestions for Further Reading, Glossary of Foreign Terms, Index of Subjects, of Persons, and of Scripture.
   
   His best chapters from Part 1 are Chapter 3, Committed to Faith Alone and Chapter 4, Devoted to the Prophet, Priest, and King. Sproul is on fire as he exposits the doctrine of justification by faith alone. And he does so without caricaturing or mischaracterizing opposing views, like those of Rome. And in Chapter 4 Sproul once again manages to get across the most seemingly confusing concepts with relative ease. It's not a breeze trying to present the orthodox position on Christ's dual-natures over against the heretical views condemned by the early church councils. Yet once again, Sproul shines.
   
   In Part 2, nearly the entire section is phenomenal with the exception of the final chapter called God's Preservation of the Saints. I found the final chapter to be the least convincing and well-supported of the book, yet I found Sproul's treatment of the other four points to be expertly written. It takes a special talent to communicate difficult subject matter like Calvinism is often thought to be. And Sproul does the job wonderfully, providing analogies, easy-to-follow arguments, precise terminology, and historical examples. I would recommend this book to anyone looking to better understand Reformed Theology.



5. R.C. Sproul's What Is Reformed Theology is a very clear articulate overview of what Reformed Theology really is. Sproul stays pretty clear of hairy and confusing details and sticks to the major origins, doctrines and objections. What you get in the end is an explanation that's hard to misunderstand. Now, reformed theology sits well with my understanding of scripture and personal experience and so for my own personal reading and encouragement, Sproul's work here was adequate and enjoyable. However, I have some grievances.
   
   I like to think that in my belief, I'm subscribed to scripture (I'd also like to think that if I wrote a book, it'd shine through; but who am I, maybe not). However, so far as my understanding extends, that lines up nicely with what people call Reformed Theology. So, I suppose by proxy, you could say that I subscribe to Reformed Theology. However, I also feel that my first commitment being to the Word of God, if I could conclusively say that my `theological camp,' were off base somewhere, I would abandon the camp to remain with scripture.
   
   I believe strongly that people ought to be believers of the Word of God, first and finally. The words they believe from men should be checked and tested against the Word of God and conscience. In Sproul's work, although I agree with what he says, he very rarely gives specific reference to scripture. Now, I'm certain some would say that it's because he wasn't trying to bog the writing down with non-essential information; he is interested in giving only a basic overview. The back of the book, in part, reads: "What is Reformed Theology is not a textbook but rather an accessible introduction to the beliefs that have been immensely influential in the evangelical church." I understand that this book is not a "textbook," however, unless people can substantiate their beliefs with the Word of God, there is little good reason to provide an overview, no matter how accessible it is.
   
   Sproul could have easily spared full biblical quotation and simply could have left biblical references following unqualified statements. Or even thinner than that, could very easily given us basic references which we could flip to the back of the book to find their biblical qualification.
   
   For this reason, I doubt I will recommend this book highly to very many people. While Sproul's information is good, it feels like he builds a platform for us to trust in the word of Reformed Theology, rather than the Word of God and that to me is both unacceptable and dangerous. Blind devotion to any theological camp is no devotion at all, it must be substantiated by the Word of God.

5 comments about Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places: A Conversation in Spiritual Theology.

1. A wonderful book with many new insights into God's interaction with his people. Concrete examples of daily living for God. God can only relate to us as humans by using the exact time, place and method of His Creation...as planned by Him. Once we realize that we were created to interact with God, only through His Creation, many avenues of understanding come into play. God is there. He sometimes speaks to us in a "ministry of abscence." That is, He waits until we are totally surrendered to Him, before He wil make His Presence known.



2. 
   Give the author an A for literary flair, C for communication ability, and D for substance. The carefully crafted sentences in the book roll smoothly one after the other like a beautiful story, lulling us into a neglect of the plot. What is the author really trying to tell us? It is true that in the introductory chapter he carefully defines his terms, but unfortunately these definitions are unique with him. "Spirituality" is how we live with God. "Idolatry" is using God for our purposes through praying for what we want. "Fear of the Lord," is his comprehensive term of how we live our spiritual life and does not involve fear. His valiant attempt to define the Holy Trinity ends up a hair short of polytheism.
   
   He divides his work into three sections: Creation, History, and Communication, the three being somehow related to God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit. But the story rambles on and on lacking a coherent thread and, occasionally, internal consistency. A few pages after he describes how God's breath keeps man alive, he castigates the Gnostics who believe, as apparently he himself also does, that man carries a spark of God in him. My best guess about his apparent position in the book's first section is that mankind should live "to the glory of God," worshipping and praising him. So I ask myself, "Is this why God created mankind, to sing his praises and glorify him for ever?" Perhaps this is true, but in that case I don't find this God very glorious and praiseworthy.
   
   Frankly I gave up and stopped reading halfway through the book.
   
   (The writer is the author of "Christianity without Fairy Tales: When Science and Religion Merge," and of the forthcoming "The Way of the Butterfly: A Scientific Speculation on God and the Hereafter.")



3. The earlier reviewer is right: This is not a user's manual. Peterson doesn't explain his ideas with straight, clear prose. Rather, he waxes poetic and writes rather circularly, going round and round a point well after it is established, but not necessarily shedding new light on it each time. But then, that shows my preference in style; others apparently really like it.
   
   I think the book also is for the already-converted, those already familiar with his basic ideas and who share his assumptions. It is not for the non-Christian or the non-traditional Christian, especially since it seems to define "the spiritual life" (rather than "a spiritual life") only in Biblical terms, despite the spiritual practices and wisdom of many non-Biblical faiths.



4. A vibrant and concrete God-focused life. That is Eugene Peterson's vision for the Christian life, a vision that he lays out in Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places: A Conversation in Spiritual Theology. This profound yet conversational book gives readers a glimpse of what a spirituality focused on Christ may look like, with a careful anchoring in the Scripture and in the Triune God, with an ever-living fear-of-the-Lord permeating every move of our lives.
   
   In today's world, spiritual and theology are not words that are too often combined. There is no shortage of books on spirituality in some form or another, and neither is there any lack of books on theology, either biblical or systematic. But too often books on spirituality lack grounding in the person of Christ, and equally as often, books on theology get no further than doctrines or systems of thought. Eugene Peterson, in Christ Plays in Ten-thousand Places, elegantly combines these two streams into a tightly-knit pattern. He describes this synthesis as the conjoining of the two streams that have occupied his professional life, those of professor and pastor.
   
   There can be little doubt that Peterson has a keen eye for just the right turn of phrase and metaphor. He opens the book with the poem from which its title comes, and uses these perceptive words from the poet Gerard Manley Hopkins to provide the occasion for, and in fact give life to, his exercise in spiritual theology. The vision of Christ "playing" in ten thousand places, "Lovely in limbs" and "eyes not his." We were made for a life in Christ, made to be in relationship to this Triune God, made for his presence to live in and through us.
   
   Peterson unfolds a four-fold vision for his spiritual theology, a vision he then unpacks in three cycles throughout the book, echoing the Triunity of God as a vision for creation, history, and community. His vision entails a spiritual theology, and in fact a spiritual life, oriented around four terms, "spirituality," "Jesus," "soul," and "fear-of-the-Lord." "Spirituality" means a spiritual life that is truly alive, a life that is both in touch with the transcendent yet "vaguely intermingled with intimacy" (27). This is a life that is genuine, vibrant, experienced. "Jesus" points to a life that is concrete. In opposition to so much spirituality that focuses on vague impressions and abstraction, Jesus truly anchors our faith and life in the concreteness of history, the revelation of God to humanity in intelligible and meaningful form. "Soul" intimates the relational character of this spiritual life. God is a Triune God, a being-in-relationship, and we have been created in God's likeness and have been called into relationship with this Triune God. For Peterson, "soul" is set over against "self" as we realize the fullness that is found not by being curved in on ourselves but in opening the totality of our being (the "soul") up to relationship with the other, and ultimately with the Triune God who invites us in our entirety into relationship with him. Finally, "fear-of-the-Lord" speaks of the God-focused nature of this life. In cultivating a life lived this way, we live "responsively and appropriately before who God is, who he is as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit" (40). These four terms form the core of Peterson's vision, and point to the vibrant life-in-relationship to which he invites us, a spirituality that is truly informed, or better, formed, by Christ and lived in him.
   
   Peterson then moves through this four-fold vision in three cycles, in response to the Triunity of this God who forms our spiritual theology. Through each cycle, he perceptively illuminates the world in which we live, with a very adeptly and subtly applied theological vision that at once informs the entire work without taking it over. He also speaks of pitfalls and obstacles that often result from distortions of the vision he is seeking. The core section of each chapter is its grounding in scripture, with extended reflections on two texts for each of the three cycles to give shape and anchor to his reflections. He then concludes with a reflection on the lived dimension of the truths he has been exploring, giving flesh to his visions of the Christian life through explication of symbols and acts such as Sabbath, Eucharist, and Baptism.
   
   "The end of all Christian belief and obedience, witness and teaching, marriage and family, leisure and work life, preaching and pastoral work is the living of everything we know about God . . ."(1). Peterson shares, through these pages, his blueprint for a life so lived, a life lived to the glory of God. This means living a life of congruence "between what a thing is and what it does" (334). We find this congruence, through Christ's example, when we realize we were created to live in Christ, and seek to live out that design. In our world where spirituality is so often self-focused, where we are told to look inside, told to seek self-fulfillment, Peterson shares with us a contrasting vision, the vision of a live oriented toward God. This means that we are called to participate and to live out this life, but it is a life of "prepositional participation" (335) as we are called to act "with," "in," and "for." We stand not at the center, but are always oriented outside of ourselves, oriented with the fear-of-the-Lord toward God our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer, the God of creation, history, and community.
   
   Peterson's book is one that I hope many will find time to read. His deep theological insight lends a profound depth to his reflections and truly models the type of "spiritual theology" he commends. The book also demonstrates the devotional and God-oriented focus he prescribes, as his pages so eloquently reflect a prayed theology. In the end, this is really a book about orientation, and it is just the prescription our wandering world needs to hear, myself clearly included. Many can get focused on self, others on theology, others on inclusion, at the expense of God. Peterson helps us shift our focus to the author of life, the worthy God, the end for which we were created, and points us toward a life where Christ plays. It is a jubilant vision of God-focused life, and an expression of what theology, when rightly done, may be.



5. Eugene Peterson is a very knowledgeable theologian and educator. He is thorough as well as very good at covering his topic from several different viewpoints and with a variety of "word-pictures" and sidelights on his topic. This book provided a very good basis for an online faith formation discussion I participated in.

5 comments about Training Hearts Teaching Minds: Family Devotions Based on the Shorter Catechism.

1. Just a note to say that this book is a Presbyterian catechism, not a Baptist one. The main difference I see is that of baptism and the Lord's supper being "effective for salvation." That, and it teaches that infants should be baptized. I don't want to start a discussion of the merits of one view over another. I just wanted to point out the differences to those who may be considering buying the book. I wish I would have known this before I bought the book.
   
   I am considering purchasing:
   
   http://www.amazon.com/Scriptural-Exposition-Baptist-Catechism/dp/1599250527/ref=pd_ecc_rvi_1/104-6073377-0082326



2. I highly recommend "Training Hearts, Teaching Minds" by Starr Meade for anyone who has a family, or is in any way involved in the Biblical training of anyone, of any age, no matter how long they've been born again. As a church planting Pastor this is a book that I recommend that all of my congregation get, read, and apply to their daily lives and personal / family devotions. It will continue to reinforce the basics of the Christian life and take you continually deeper into the depths of God's Word. This is the first, but certainly not the last, thing I will be reading and recommending by Starr Meade; I will continue to praise Jesus for this book!
   
   Philemon 25 to you and your family,
   
   Pastor Tim Camp



3. I do daily devotions with my kids and it can be hard to find a resource useful for both a 5 yr old boy and 11 yr old girl. This book works perfectly. Rock solid theology with pleasant discussion material. It does move along slowly (37 weeks alone on the specifics of the 10 Commandments) but it can be done in 15 minutes a day. If you are new at devotions or just want solid teaching instead of feel-good fluff I strongly recommend this book. Best for ages 3 to 15 but new Christians of any age could get a good basic education with this daily devotional.



4. This book is an excellent resource for doing daily family devotions. It devotes a week to each question of the Shorter Catechism, using each day (less Sunday) to focus a particular aspect of the question. I've found that it's an easy way for kids to understand the fundamentals of the faith (even my 5-year-old understands it!).
   
   The caveat is that, as another reviewer mentioned, one of the Catechism questions teaches infant baptism. I'm not sure how we'll handle that when we get to it (it's towards the end of the book). We might still go through it but use the Scriptures to explain how infant baptism is not sufficient for cleansing sins and how baptism is the New Testament always involved adults (Gospels, Acts).
   
   The rest of the book is tremendous. If you can handle the section on infant baptism, you'll find the rest of the book to be very valuable in helping your kids to develop a biblical worldview. It's not just important to know WHAT to believe but WHY they believe it so that they be discerning in life.



5. This is one of the best home discipleship books written. Get your children and family grounded in Truth as soon as possible! It is your job and responcibility, not the church's.

5 comments about God Is Closer Than You Think: This Can Be the Greatest Moment of Your Life Because This Moment Is the Place Where You Can Meet God.

1. Excellent book on putting God first in your life. Develop a close relationship with God. Easy pointers to use in your daily life. Beautiful!



2. The book is in great condition, but it doesn't look like the picture. I was disappointed that I received an older edition with the eye chart on the cover. It was a gift for a teenager and they would have wanted the newer cover.



3. I put off reading this book for a while, but when I got my Kindle this was one of the first that I purchased for it. I can only say that I wish I had read it sooner.
   
   I appreciate the challenge that John gives us to keep God in the forefront of all that we do. I know this may sound difficult, but I believe that as he states with practice it becomes easier.
   
   I have found that you can't just read this book, you have to put it into action in your life. If you do I believe you will be amazed at how much more you see God in all that you do daily.
   
   Thank you John for the challenge to sit at the feet of Jesus and learn!



4. This book is well written, easy to understand and apply to your life now. It's so good it's worth being read more than once. The other thing I discovered is that when applying what you have read your behavior is changed and you are renewed no matter what you are experiencing.



5. God is closer than you think! I read this in conjunction with the video study series in our home bible study group. The challenge is to become aware of his presence and learn to do as he wishes.

5 comments about Jesus, the Bible, and Homosexuality: Explode the Myths, Heal the Church.

1. This book has much to commend it, but the author's summary of Barth on male-female relationships (and his subsequent rejection of same-gender love) disregards Barth scholarship of the past 10 years, and is a superficial reading of Church Dogmatics in any case. A brief conversation with George Hunsinger at Princeton--one of the leading Barth scholars in North America--would have cleared this up and resulted, I think, in a very different argument. Eberhard Busch, Barth's longtime secretary and a respected theologian in his own right, would also have been helpful.
   
   Barth, in the last months of his life, dictated a letter to a pastor struggling with the issue of homosexuality, in which he said that while he was too old to give the issue the attention it deserved, he suspected that if he were to rewrite the offending paragraphs in Church Dogmatics III.4, he would have said that homosexual relationships, too, shared in "freedom for community." That comment is brief, but striking, since "freedom for community" is precisely the divine gift in which heterosexual married partners participate, according to Barth.
   
   To argue that Barth believed that the male or female is incomplete without the other does not mean that Barth concluded heterosexual marriage was normative for everyone. In fact, in the context of Protestant theology in the early 50s when Barth wrote III.4, he rather boldly praised vocational celibacy and reminded the reader that Jesus had no wife. Therefore, if Rogers is right, Barth believed that Jesus was "incomplete" or "not fully human" because he was unmarried.
   
   On the contrary, if you dig deep enough, you can see a trajectory leading from III.4 to the comment near the end of his life that same-gender relationships might also be seen as a divine gift that leads to "freedom for community." So Rogers missed an opportunity to approach the issue constructively in a Barthian context: instead, he merely concedes Barth to those Barthians whose reading, like his, of Church Dogmatics is one-sided. Thus, Barth has to be rejected as a theologian of "male superiority" who has nothing to contribute to the debate. The sad thing is that up-to-date Barth scholarship--which would have called this view into question--was available to the author in his own church.



2. GREAT BOOK. I consider it a MUST READ for anyone who is searching for true understanding of what the Bible is saying regarding homosexuality. It is necessary to consider the history, the culture of the time and the people to whom the Bible refers. This book superbly details the cultural mores in biblical history that puts a differenct light on the understanding of homosexuality as opposed to what many people today choose to believe. To deny the importance of cultural factors is like leaving out the flour in a cake recipe.



3. Noteworthy for its history of Christian attitudes and the biblical basis for beliefs about homosexuality, but I would have preferred it be less closely tied to the church as an institution and more focused on the church's mission as the body of Christ and His message of inclusion and compassion.



4. There is no debate about whether God loves all people, but rather do all people love God (the Word made flesh). It seems they do not, who say that the Word (God) does not mean what he says, but just the opposite instead. Woe.... better in the end to let God be true (Rom 3:4).



5. I really enjoyed this book, finding out different things about the Bible as well as homosexuality. What I noticed other people say about this book (particularly the ones who disliked it), is that they think homosexuality=behavior. Yes, everyone carries out their attractions but I believe the "attraction" is not wrong, and that this book helps prove that the Bible is not against the attraction to other men. I do believe that sexual immorality is wrong and perhaps now, with gay marriages on the way, it will be possible for gay-Christians to unify, while staying within the lines of sexual purity.

2 comments about The Yellow Leaves: A Miscellany.

1. A writer of tremendous integrity, Buechner opens the book with an acknowledgment that this is not one of his great novels, but is, in fact a miscellany. It is the stuff from which other material could be developed. Some is reflective, and much is the stuff of his life - the ground from which creativity flows. I enjoyed the book tremendously, because Buechner has always challenged me. Good read, short. I would give it a 5, but that should be reserved for his other works, like Godric, or The Clown in the Belfry.



2. Frederick Buechner was - and remains - a pioneer in spiritual memoir.
   
   A promising literary light whose works have attracted the attention of even New York's inner circle, Buechner dared to move further and further along his spiritual journey. He admits that his ordination as a Presbyterian minister was a terrible career move for a serious writer. He did it anyway. And, he's not easily categorized as a "Christian writer," either. His memoirs with titles like "Telling Secrets" through "The Longing for Home" are almost impossible to classify with our oh-so-easy labels of "evangelical" or "emergent," "progressive" or "conservative." He wrote them, anyway, and they found a loyal audience of thousands. Over time, his books have formed one the great spiritual reflections on life in turn-of-the-millennium America.
   
   A clear theme emerges in these more than 30 volumes of memoir, fiction and nonfiction - a clear character to the relationship Buechner has been building with us. His overarching theology of writing goes something like this: Fundamentally, he argues in one book after another, we tell our stories because we have a deep yearning to participate in a far greater story. Whatever terrible secrets we think we are concealing, we soon discover that they weave themselves into a far, far larger narrative. And, in telling those stories, ultimately, we find ourselves in a community not only with other storytellers, but with the ultimate Storyteller.
   
   That's why you should buy and read "Yellow Leaves." If you flip through it in a bookstore, you might mistake this slim volume for a late-in-life after thought. You would be mistaken. Within these 133 pages are some of the "yellow leaves" left toward the end of the season - vividly hanging from the limbs in Buechner's garden. In his mid-80s now, his reflections aren't the brawling spiritual wrestling match of "Godric" or the grand literary feat of "Bebb" or even the moving dramas of "Telling Secrets" or "Longing for Home."
   
   These are last leaves. And what leaves they are! In this volume, Buechner gives us the spiritual gem of his catalytic evening with Maya Angelou; then he waves a wand and takes us with him back into Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol;" then another wave and we're attending a 1943 family picnic where he nervously gets to his feet as a boy and dares to read a poem and speak "simple truth." And, of course, the greatest spiritual gem in the book - the one-page Introduction of a memoirist now in his mid-80s, invoking Shakespeare's own "yellow leaves."
   
   After all these years, Buechner fans, you can't miss this one. And newcomers? Here's a sparkling, multi-faceted showcase of this master's eye, ear - and heart.