For those who know they want a meaningful spiritual life, but don—t know where to find one. McLennan, long-time chaplain at Tufts University and the inspiration for Doonesbury’s Rev. Scotty Sloan, is ecumenical to a fault. No original metaphors here: McLennan sees himself as the mountain guide for lost trekkers—we—re all trying to bushwhack our way to the top of the same mountain, but, as any good college chaplain knows, there are many paths up. In nine easy steps, McLennan can get you to the top. First, you must be open to spiritual development and change, recognizing that your journey is every bit as important as your destination. Once you have mastered openness, you can move on to thinking about religion—engaging critically rather than falling back on knee-jerk reactions ingrained in childhood. Next comes experiencing, the stage in which —new ways will emerge to see the sunrise, hear the birds sing, smell the flowers, taste food, and feel the wind in your face.— Then, pick a religious path and, as the folks at Nike say, just do it: Read, worship, and eat your chosen religion. After you—ve partaken of gefilte fish and perused a few books by Lawrence Kushner, you—re ready to talk with —fellow travelers,— be they clergy or lay. Then move on to exploring other faiths, since learning about Ramadan can help you find keeping kosher more meaningful. The chapter on —Sitting— extols you to pray or meditate, and —Suffering— explores the role of religion during crisis. Finally, —Rejoicing— reminds us of the spiritual highs to be found in holiday feasts, sing-alongs, and weddings. Centuries hence, historians of late-20th-century America will finger this guide as evidence that millennial Americans were a spiritual people, but that theirs was a spirituality drenched in the easy, feel-good language of consumerism: Picking a religion is not so different from picking a new car. McLennan’s is less an aid to hikers than a handbook for outlet-mall devotees.
Pub Date: Dec. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-06-065347-7
Page Count: 256
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1999
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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