An intriguing book explores spiritual practices and perspectives using storytelling as the main device.
A guide presents a religious approach to understanding the inner self and the experiences of life.
Klemp (ECK Wisdom on Conquering Fear, 2016, etc.) is the author of a series of books on Eckankar, “Religion of the Light and Sound of God,” established in 1965 by Paul Twitchell, “the modern-day founder.” (It is “also known as the Ancient Science of Soul Travel.”) This latest volume guides readers through the faith’s teachings and the ways they can enrich spiritual connections with themselves and the world. Klemp, presented as the ECK Master, covers many topics, from love and mistakes to karma, mental balance, and consciousness. The work is organized into bite-sized “teachings,” most in the form of anecdotes about meetings between two or more people. For example, one story focuses on a wealthy commodity trader who returns home to a large mansion dressed in casual clothes. A stranger on the sidewalk outside remarks that no one should own a house so big, and the two engage in a discussion. The trader eventually walks away realizing that this man believes, wrongly, that because a rich entrepreneur built this lavish house, the stranger cannot. Klemp uses this anecdote to stage a discussion about the infinite wealth of the spirit and posits that no one can limit or prohibit another’s spiritual success. While the book may read fluidly for someone already knowledgeable about ECK teachings, it will require some study for those unfamiliar with the religion. A glossary of terms in the back helps readers identify the players and the texts that are referenced, but the work dives straight into the small lessons rather than giving an overview of the religion. (Indeed, ECK followers may be the target audience.) Nevertheless, the manual focuses on the positivity of individual encounters and uses storytelling to uncover some of the contradictions the author finds prevalent in the world today. The powerful optimism of these teachings should resonate with all readers, even those unacquainted with ECK.
An intriguing book explores spiritual practices and perspectives using storytelling as the main device.Pub Date: Jan. 18, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-57043-341-2
Page Count: 381
Publisher: Eckankar
Review Posted Online: Feb. 27, 2017
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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