A focused self-help book for a religious audience.
Floyd offers a straightforward discussion of how to focus on one’s spiritual growth through Christianity.
This brief religious guidebook covers a lot of topics in a short time. Each chapter builds upon the previous one, and the work as a whole reads very much as if the author were giving a speech directly to the reader, with a stated aim to assuage their fear, anxiety, and depression; to encourage them to face reality; and to urge them to foster a closer relationship to God while strengthening one’s relationships, and specifically one’s marriage. Through 16 chapters, the author discusses a range of personal-growth-related topics, such as the purpose of reality checks (“It’s best if you have somebody to challenge you. You could be doing more than you’re doing right now, you could have more than what you have right now, you could go farther than where you’re going right now”), the benefits of reciprocity, the importance of listening, and why one must recognize when one has unrealistic expectations. Other subjects include embracing commitment of various kinds, including in relationships; the godliness of good works; and fostering a sense of purpose. At times, the book feels like an extended sermon that one might hear in church, and this dynamic is strengthened by the inclusion of a Bible passage at the start of many chapters, which the author goes on to dissect and discuss, providing readers with a better understanding of the issue at hand. The author sets out specific goals for readers, and whether readers will meet them depends on their personal interpretations and where they are in their own religious experiences. However, the book is always straightforward and to-the-point, and readers are likely to find success with its advice.
A focused self-help book for a religious audience.Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2024
ISBN: 9798893095074
Page Count: 104
Publisher: Covenant Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 17, 2025
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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