An invitingly written study of the ways readers can find enlightenment in Jesus’ last words.
A debut guide explores the struggles of the dying as seen through the lens of Jesus’ famous final words.
Spoor bases his book about dying on the so-called final words or “Seven Words” of Jesus on the cross, a collection of his last utterances drawn from the four Gospels and traditionally grouped as a liturgical unit. The author has for six years been a chaplain at Peace Hospice in Chicago and argues that “dying can be a drawing closer to God and a joyful preparation for the life to come.” Spoor follows the general pattern of Christian writers on the final words by broadening their specific sayings—“Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do,” “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” and even “I thirst”—into wider examinations of their themes in Christian life. When discussing, for instance, the urging Jesus gives for Mary to take care of John and John to take care of Mary, the author asks more general questions. “How can those who are facing the end of life also be mindful of the pain of the ones they will leave behind?” he asks at one point. “Let us consider what the losses of the bereaved may be.” The final words of Jesus reflect many key aspects of the things experienced by dying patients, Spoor contends in his illuminating work, including the foreknowledge of death itself. He notes that Jesus many times warned his unbelieving disciples that he would soon die. Throughout the book, the author is both an insightful critic and a compassionate guide. Readers approaching life’s end—and all of their loved ones—will find much comfort in these pages.
An invitingly written study of the ways readers can find enlightenment in Jesus’ last words.Pub Date: Feb. 27, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5127-7646-1
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Westbow Press
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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