A generous and erudite study of how people believe.
A study of the human tendency to find realness in spirituality.
Luhrmann, an anthropologist and psychologist at Stanford and author of the noted When God Talks Back (2012), sets out to show how people of faith, across religions and cultures, manage to see the supernatural as real in their own lives. Commendably, the author examines faith with a level of respect that is rare in most studies of a secular nature. She transcends usual dismissals of religion in order to discover how spiritual beliefs can affect, move, and even change people in an imperfect, often cruel world. Luhrmann looks at religious adherence through two primary lenses: the “faith frame,” which is a way of thinking, and “kindling,” which is a way of feeling. In the faith frame, a person recognizes that “gods and spirits,” as the author puts it, are real, yet not in the sense that a table or chair is real. Thus, faith in a god or spirit takes a level of mental work that faith in, say, gravity does not. “Kindling,” by contrast, denotes the practices through which a person of faith feels and experiences the presence of gods and spirits; this can manifest in calmness, a sense of being loved, and even voices and other tangible elements. “At the heart of the religious impulse,” writes Lurhmann, “lies the capacity to imagine a world beyond the one we have before us.” It is that will of imagining—not necessarily the same as imagination—that the author investigates most engagingly. Drawing on extensive research with such populations as magic devotees in London and charismatic Christians in the Vineyard Church community in America, as well as her deep understanding of religious traditions across the globe, Luhrmann creates a thorough, insightful narrative that will appeal the most to scholars and students.
A generous and erudite study of how people believe.Pub Date: Oct. 27, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-691-16446-5
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Princeton Univ.
Review Posted Online: July 21, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A conversational, pleasurable look into McConaughey’s life and thought.
All right, all right, all right: The affable, laconic actor delivers a combination of memoir and self-help book.
“This is an approach book,” writes McConaughey, adding that it contains “philosophies that can be objectively understood, and if you choose, subjectively adopted, by either changing your reality, or changing how you see it. This is a playbook, based on adventures in my life.” Some of those philosophies come in the form of apothegms: “When you can design your own weather, blow in the breeze”; “Simplify, focus, conserve to liberate.” Others come in the form of sometimes rambling stories that never take the shortest route from point A to point B, as when he recounts a dream-spurred, challenging visit to the Malian musician Ali Farka Touré, who offered a significant lesson in how disagreement can be expressed politely and without rancor. Fans of McConaughey will enjoy his memories—which line up squarely with other accounts in Melissa Maerz’s recent oral history, Alright, Alright, Alright—of his debut in Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused, to which he contributed not just that signature phrase, but also a kind of too-cool-for-school hipness that dissolves a bit upon realizing that he’s an older guy on the prowl for teenage girls. McConaughey’s prep to settle into the role of Wooderson involved inhabiting the mind of a dude who digs cars, rock ’n’ roll, and “chicks,” and he ran with it, reminding readers that the film originally had only three scripted scenes for his character. The lesson: “Do one thing well, then another. Once, then once more.” It’s clear that the author is a thoughtful man, even an intellectual of sorts, though without the earnestness of Ethan Hawke or James Franco. Though some of the sentiments are greeting card–ish, this book is entertaining and full of good lessons.
A conversational, pleasurable look into McConaughey’s life and thought.Pub Date: Oct. 20, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-13913-4
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
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
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