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GOD IS ALIVE AND WELL

Name: GOD IS ALIVE AND WELL
Author: Robert W. Walker
ISBN: 978-1-5255-1207-0

by Robert W. Walker ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 28, 2017

A controversial characterization of God as a being of perfect energy.

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An avant-garde guide to spiritual wholeness.

Walker delivers an unusual introduction to the spiritual life, mixing New Age spiritualism, physics, and a surprisingly traditional view of the Bible. His work seems intended to invite readers into a closer connection with God through a kind of spiritual awakening, which he believes can unlock the potential for healing and even miracle-working. The author begins by asserting that God is composed of spiritual energy and that Jesus Christ (as well as the Old Testament prophets Moses, Elijah, and Elisha) worked miracles by using that energy, which he says is available to everyone. To access that energy, he says, one must go beyond the normal practice of religious faith and break through a spiritual barrier of one’s own “imbalanced energy” and bad karma. The author also asserts that a deep connection to God is possible because each person has God’s energy within him or her: “You have your Spirit/Soul within you, which is a piece of God’s Spirit that you received at birth.” Walker goes on to say that “quantum light particles and waves are God’s Creative Energy,” which he uses to create and order all things. By tapping that energy, everyone can have access to immense miraculous power, he says. The author shares a variety of personal experiences in which he says that he used his own spiritual powers to perform miracles as diverse as stopping a tornado and influencing the growth of his brother’s crops. Walker’s writing style is clear and engaging, and readers will be especially struck by his willingness to speak from the heart and tell deeply personal stories, such as the circumstances of his wife’s death or accounts of intense spiritual encounters. He shows an almost traditional respect for Jesus and a faith in the truth of Bible stories, but his insistence on developing an almost otherworldly connection to God will be off-putting to many readers. Most especially, his depiction of God as not omniscient, and even bordering on tangible, won’t sit well with traditional believers.

A controversial characterization of God as a being of perfect energy.

Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-5255-1207-0

Page Count: 252

Publisher: FriesenPress

Review Posted Online: Oct. 31, 2017

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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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

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.