A learned, illuminating, and highly personal exploration of a crucial text from St. Paul.
A pastor’s ambitious examination of St. Paul’s Epistle to the Philippians in the New Testament.
Petrus, since 1994 the pastor of Oakdale Missionary Baptist Church in Lonoke, Arkansas, takes as the subject of his nonfiction debut one of the cornerstones of Christian dogma, Paul’s letter to the Philippians. The author analyzes and lays out the letter in 21 segments hinging on two interpretative axes, both central to Pauline doctrine: the delight in serving God (“a church should have great joy of service and joy in doing the pleasing things of their heavenly Father,” he writes) and the essential importance of harmony in the assembly (“unity of mind is our rightful manner of operation”). Petrus goes line by line through the epistle, grounding his readings in both a sharp historical contextualization of Paul’s world and a broader spiritual interpretation. For example, after reading “Moreover, since the result is to be living in flesh, then this is fruit of work for me,” Petrus enjoyably expounds, “Old-timers used to use the term good pickin’ as an exclamation about the goodness of a crop. Planting has a reward, a glorious side to it for the beneficiary. Surely there is satisfaction in seeing a plant grow from a seed.” Elaborations like this are scattered throughout the book, helping newcomers to understand Paul's sometimes-tangled Christology and fleshing out familiar issues and meanings for believers—and always to skillful pedagogical effect (“very little joy comes without a foundation of teaching,” he writes). Petrus follows Paul in downplaying individual egotism (“The self must be crucified! Selfishness must be thrown out and replaced”) and stressing community (“A church is in great need of more than just good organization, it needs true cohesion in unity, as the Bible expresses”). The thrust of the text is toward reinforcement; the target audience is obviously Christians, for whom—in both New Testament Bible study groups and seminaries—it will be an honest, invaluable guide.
A learned, illuminating, and highly personal exploration of a crucial text from St. Paul.Pub Date: Aug. 11, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-5127-0707-6
Page Count: 332
Publisher: Westbow Press
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A very welcome instance of philosophy that can help readers live a good life.
A teacher and scholar of Buddhism offers a formally varied account of the available rewards of solitude.
“As Mother Ayahuasca takes me in her arms, I realize that last night I vomited up my attachment to Buddhism. In passing out, I died. In coming to, I was, so to speak, reborn. I no longer have to fight these battles, I repeat to myself. I am no longer a combatant in the dharma wars. It feels as if the course of my life has shifted onto another vector, like a train shunted off its familiar track onto a new trajectory.” Readers of Batchelor’s previous books (Secular Buddhism: Imagining the Dharma in an Uncertain World, 2017, etc.) will recognize in this passage the culmination of his decadeslong shift away from the religious commitments of Buddhism toward an ecumenical and homegrown philosophy of life. Writing in a variety of modes—memoir, history, collage, essay, biography, and meditation instruction—the author doesn’t argue for his approach to solitude as much as offer it for contemplation. Essentially, Batchelor implies that if you read what Buddha said here and what Montaigne said there, and if you consider something the author has noticed, and if you reflect on your own experience, you have the possibility to improve the quality of your life. For introspective readers, it’s easy to hear in this approach a direct response to Pascal’s claim that “all of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” Batchelor wants to relieve us of this inability by offering his example of how to do just that. “Solitude is an art. Mental training is needed to refine and stabilize it,” he writes. “When you practice solitude, you dedicate yourself to the care of the soul.” Whatever a soul is, the author goes a long way toward soothing it.
A very welcome instance of philosophy that can help readers live a good life.Pub Date: Feb. 18, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-300-25093-0
Page Count: 200
Publisher: Yale Univ.
Review Posted Online: Nov. 24, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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