A terrific, welcoming volume about Catholicism.
A brief and renovating look at the Catholic faith.
In his nonfiction debut, Catholic priest Regan opens his discussion of the contemporary American Catholic experience by reflecting on the many people in the modern era who find the observance of its rules and regulations to be unappealing: “keeping rules for most people did not promote experiencing the joy and adventure of freedom!” In a series of short, highly readable chapters, Regan seeks to highlight what he sees as the more inviting aspects of Catholicism, which some readers may not expect—most prominently, its flexibility and humanity: “Our true belief as Catholics,” Regan writes, “is in a God who had shared freedom with all human beings and gave us all enough room to make mistakes, no matter how honest or important we believe our conclusions to be.” He’s comfortable attesting to the fact that many Catholics disagree about aspects of the faith, and he’s equally quick to admit that the church’s revised 2011 translation of the liturgy has met with a decidedly mixed reaction. Readers who are familiar with the history of Catholic writings will be struck again and again in Regan’s compassionate, empathetic notes, which would have been unrecognizable to Catholic thinkers of earlier ages. When writing about the laggard faith of some fellow Catholics, for instance, or the persistence of some in sin, he writes a line that might have shocked Ignatius of Loyola: “Is it the right of you or me or any power on earth to set the timetable for another’s liberation into God?” More conservative Catholics may find such reflections more relaxed than they’d prefer, but many modern believers, especially young ones, will find a version of Catholicism in these pages that they can embrace.
A terrific, welcoming volume about Catholicism.Pub Date: Aug. 7, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-64569-683-4
Page Count: 174
Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
Review Posted Online: Dec. 25, 2019
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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