Religion Books

Like other reviewers, my biggest beefs with this book are the outdated illustrations and the "Thee/Thou/Thy" prayers. But our kids seem to enjoy the lessons, and the 4 year old can easily answer the questions. I know he's really taking it in because he brings things up and asks me about them days and weeks later. We do this book at dinner, and as soon as my husband or I have a clean plate, my 3 year old pipes up, "Read the Devotional!" This is a great introduction to the faith for any family.

As a mother of 6 children under 7, I was looking for a book to simply teach bible doctine to my children. This book has a very organized way of laying out who God is, what that means to my children, and what their role is in their world. The excerpts are short enough to keep their attention, but thorough to cover the concept. I love this book and love reading it to my children before bed. I recommend this book to every family!

I've been looking for a "curriculum" to use with home-churching my kids. This book should do the trick - each lesson has suggestions on readings, prayers, and hymns to go with it. Do a web search on the hymn music and you can have your own little church service in your home! Perfect for those who want to have more control over their kids' religious education or if you don't have a church with a good children's program near you.

This book is Great! And I received it so quickly! Thank You for your excellence!

My only (big) beef with this book is that the author consistently paraphrases the Bible, then puts the paraphrase in quotes. Perhaps that sounds nit picky, but then again we are talking about God's Word.

This is the second Lee Strobel book I have read. It is clear, as many people have pointed out, that even though Lee presents himself as a seeker who is earnestly trying to find the truth, this is a facade.

As a thinking Christian, I have been troubled by many of the issues Lee brings up in his books. I have yet found no simple answers. Yes, research has shown that Mithras was basically an A.D. Religion. But other mystery religions are not so easily dismissed.

The fact that Lee interviews one side, and declares them the winner, is disingenuous to me. A true investigative journalist would interview both sides, and then decide. It is even clear from his "thoughts", as he is interviewing people, that he already has decided the outcome.

One specific example that irritates me: Was Isaiah 7:14 a messianic prophecy? "A young woman(virgin) will conceive and bring forth a son...". Anyone who has studied the context of this prophesy knows that this was specifically intended for the IMMEDIATE future. Not for Jesus born 700 years later. There's no way around this(unless you believe in dual prophecy). Michael Brown responds to the challenge by saying "No one knows what this prophecy exactly meant". Yet Lee Strobel accepts this explanation!!!! HUH?!! How in the world could you accept this explanation, if you were truly undecided. The only way is, you already have your mind made up.

Bottom line is, you can be for or against something. But please be upfront, and don't pretend to undecided, when in fact, you are not.

This book is a very good ontological account about the reality of Christ.
It is very compelling and unbiased. He was out of prove Christianity a fallacy and ended up with a different verdict based upon his own scientific research.

After reading this book, I believe that Strobel accomplished what he set out to prove, first, that the Jesus of faith IS the Jesus of history and second,as he put it, "the emperors of radical scholarship have no clothes". When I first saw "The Case for the Real Jesus" in the bookstore, I have to admit that I thought that I may have heard most of the arguments since I've read quite a few books on Christian Apologetics. However, that changed for me after thumbing through the book and coming upon a discussion of Mithraism found in the 4th challenge. After finding that, I bought the book then and there because I had come upon that subject quite recently and had done some reading on it but not as much as I had wanted. I'll get to that in a minute.

I thought the discussion with Michael Brown was interesting. It gave me a lot of food for thought. I have to admit that I haven't seriously studied the messianic prophecies. After Brown argued that scripture points specifically to events 2000 years ago taking place and that it had to be Yeshua (Jesus) or no one, I'm really interested to go back now and give the Old Testament a serious study regarding that topic. In regard to the fact that messianic scripture exists, I had to ask myself why would writers throughout the centuries be writing about a Messiah the way they did if it there wasn't an expectation of a coming one?" You don't see this in any other kind of religious scripture which makes it unique to the Christian faith.

I'm still pondering on what Daniel B. Wallace had to say regarding scriptural infallibility and inerrancy. I may need to rethink these issues. Although I agree with Wallace that God spoke through different men with varying writing abilities, it doesn't seem to make sense to me, at least at this point, to say that the Bible can be trusted if it does contain incontrovertible errors, even one. Cannot the God of heaven make a revelation to mankind without incontrovertible errors? It would only make sense to. Wallace's reply leads me to wonder if he really does think that there are or could be a incontrovertible error(s) in the Bible. My question is: How many incontrovertible errors in the Bible do we have to have in order to come to the conclusion that God did not write it? As I said though, still thinking on this one.


The discussion with Yamauchi on Mithraism, as I mentioned before, is what got me to purchase the book. I had come across the claim before in my reading that Christianity stole from this ancient, little known mystery religion. I couldn't find very much on it and came to the conclusion that scholars didn't have that much information. Yamauchi pretty much confirmed my conclusion - there isn't much that scholars really know about Mithraism. Many of the sources that exist regarding the practices and rituals that liberal scholars say Christianity stole came after Jesus, not before. Yamauchi's debunking of claims that liberal scholars make, near the end of the chapter, is interesting and worth the read.

Finally, although Copan's interview wasn't anything really new for me, in regards to postmodernism (since I have read on this subject before), I felt that he was right on the button. Postmodernism, and hence relativism, whether it be any kind, is really self-contradictory. For relativism to be true for everyone, a relativist has to be an absolutist in order to believe that it holds true for everyone. I remember my professor in my critical thinking class in college discussing absolutism and the "fact" that absolutism wasn't true. I should have raised my hand at the time and asked, "Are you absolute about that, Professor?"

In all, Strobel's book is worth the read. Of course, again, there will be those who will complain that Strobel only interviews believers. This is true, and I agreed with it at first, but when I thought about it some more, two things came to mind: 1) No skeptic even attempts to write a book like this that I know of, answering arguments against their own theories/beliefs in this fashion (even if Strobel's is exhaustive) and, 2) no book would be able to contain a back and forth thorough discussion between the skeptic and the believer.

Strobel seems sincere and he has a readable style but his theological training and his understanding of basic biblical facts are woefully short of what is needed for a work like this one.

This is the type of book that infuriates the active skeptics...I've read the blogs. After all, if Jesus is who the Bible makes Him out to be, He is narrow-minded ("I am the way..."), egocentric ("I am" and "I and the Father are one") and sometimes sounds like the class bully ("you are sons of your father, the Devil!"). But, like the exclusivistic version of him or not, it is vital to determine just who this Jesus of Nazareth really is. In yet another "The Case for..." book, Lee Strobel puts on his Doubting Thomas persona to interview some important scholars to determine just who this Man is and determine if Evangelical Christianity is right about its views. And, like his other books, Strobel does an excellent job bringing out information that everyone should consider when making their final opinions. The book is very readable, though the reader does need to pay attention and perhaps even highlight for notes. It is fun to stay with Strobel's thinking style, as his questions are very much on mark for where the typcial skeptic would have to go. If there is any criticism of the book, it's that some of the material is very similar to The Case for Christ, which was the original in the series. But with only six "challenges" in this book, there is much room to go deeper than the original. Overall, I believe every Christian should be able to handle the many issues that arise regarding the authentic Jesus, and after The Case for Christ, I would highly recommend this for the average layperson who wants to own his/her own faith.

This is one of the best written Evangelism books I've ever read. Getting down to the heart of God and releasing the Spirit through practical hands on teachings! One for the Personal Library that you will be loaning out to others.

This work is very good and systematic with a strong scriptural emphasis. In my view it is more helpful for church leaders figuring out how to focus their energies into evangelism and less of a practical "how to do" evngelism book for the regular joe.

I was pleased with the way you handled my order. The price was good, merchandise was available and I received it promptly. Thanks

Coleman clearly pointed out many components of the way Jesus made disciples, which is an extremely effective example for us to follow. I recommend this to whoever is interested in evangelism through the making of leaders through discipleship. It greatly encouraged me to invest my time and effort into bringing up other believers to leadership.

This book was an excellent introduction to Discipleship. The chapters are broken down logically, and the writing is easy to understand. We often think of Jesus speaking to large groups of people and transforming the lives of multitudes. The truth is that Jesus spent most of his time preparing the 12 disciples to change the world. In the end, Jesus followers only numbered 500. It was the disciples whom Jesus prepared who took his message to the multitudes and changed the world as we know it.

Coleman explains how Jesus discipled the 12, and used many examples from the Bible which was useful. However, for some reason even this short easy read of a book started to lose my interest towards the end. Maybe it says more about than the book, but I had to press myself through the last 20 pages.

Excellent, cannot say enough about how this man explains the grieving psyche. Moves beyond everything else that is written. Although my loss was not as terrible as his I could identify with everything he said. It is so good to have someone confirm that it is something that we go through and, perhaps more importantly, what we can get through.

Would recommend this to all who have undergone loss in any form.

I am going through a very difficult time in my life and was advised to read A Grace Disguised. This book offers an amazing insight into the grieving process and acknowledges that everyone's healing process is completely unique to them. I felt encouraged and rejuvenated knowing that I could relate to the many emotions experienced by the author and so many others who may also be going through similar scenarios but have had their emotions or actions repressed and even belittled. I strongly recommend everyone read this book because it not only offers personal growth during troublesome times, it also may help guide those who have a friend or loved one experiencing a difficult loss to offer stronger support.

Hace dos anhos fallecio nuestra hija y entre los muchos libros que leimos sobre la perdida este fue el que mas nos ayudo. Se lo hemos recomendado a muchas personas.

After our daugher's accidental death two years ago, my husband and I read many books on grieving and loss. Sittser's book was the most helpful to us in processing our own grief, offering not pithy platitudes, but thought-provoking reflections out of the author's own catastrophic loss. We have bought many copies of this book for friends going through difficult times because it is relevant to those who suffer loss of any kind.

Peggy Reynoso

The book, A Grace Disguised, changed my life. A doctor actually "prescribed" it for me, after the death of my daughter and her fiance. After hearing so many people blunder through callus pharses they hoped would make me feel better it was a great relief to spend time with someone who actually knew how I felt.
Many, in my family, have read this book. My husband's life was changed, as was my own. We have given this book to countless others who are in the midst of grief. We always keep several copies on hand. My husband, who is new to online buying, bought these copies. When they started arriving in Spainsh we were both a little confused. He had somehow gotten over to the Spanish version with out knowing it. We can only deduce that we're about to meet spainsh speaking grievers in need of comfort.
As you can probably tell by reading this, I am not Richard, I am his wife, secretary and best friend.

Jerry Sittser knows loss. He deals with the most difficult aspects of grief. He understands and leads us to healing. Of all the books I've read over the past year, this one was by far the best and most helpful in dealing with the death of my loved one.

I bought the book a short time ago. I strongly recommend it

It was perfect for me not having any background in languages or linguistics. The subject matter is not easy no matter how it is taught but Croy's book gives you chance to really enjoy learning greek while not being overly intimidated by it. Greek is quite sophisicated and the memory work is intense, and it takes a lot of practice and determination to get a handle on it. With this tho, the book was most encouraging, i have tried other texts but they made the subject pretty dry. This has a more personal touch to it. The exercises do not have translations but this is not necessary since most want to refer to their own favorite versions anyway... also when the translation is not there it more exciting when you can read the greek without the translation there next to it.
This book opened a great and exciting adventure for me
Honolulu, Hawaii

Grammar wise, it's not a bad book. It's made up of 32 chapters with extended explanations of the rules of ancient Greek grammar. Very nice, if you like that sort of thing.

Practice wise, it has no readings and only a few translation exercises. The exercises perpetuate the idiocy of not giving English translations, so you can not check your work. This may work in a classroom course, but for self-learners (which I assume you are, since you're shopping on Amazon) it should be deal breaker. You can do better.

Basics of Biblical Greek Grammar by William Mounce is better for grammar.
Learn New Testament Greek by John Dobson is better practice.

As someone who has had New Testament Greek many years ago and took this book in a crash course in just what, 6 weeks(?) I found it to be a disapointment. Very little of the vocabulary presented is the actual vocabulary used in the New Testament. If you are just learning Greek, you'd be better off to just stick with the NT Greek and forget the Septuagint. The fact that Croy does not use his own text ought to tell you something. I too, decry the lack of any key to the exercises. I was fortunate that I had an excellent teacher who diligently translated the exercises for us.

I'm using this textbook for my Greek Grammar I class, and I really like it. It gives only what you need to know, which is nice when you don't know what you're doing or anything about the Greek language, and it provides helpful exercises each lesson from the LLX and standard Greek text.

The chapters aren't to intimidating because they're not large. Each chapters slowly builds on the chapter before it, and each chapter follow each other in a logical order.

If you're studying Greek without an instructor and only using this book, one thing that can be considered a downside with this book is there is no answer key for the exercises. This is a good thing if you're taking it at college because you learn alot doing the exercises and it gives you the opprotunity to apply the principles you're learning. My professor goes over the answers in class, but if you don't have a professor and teacher the task can be more time-consuming. But than again, what's the rush?

I love this book and would highly recommend it if you want to get a basic foundation in Greek and a first semester's Greek knowledge. If using this textbook without a instructor you may want to use it with Mounce's Basic's of Biblical Greek. Also this book would also be good for "re-learning" or reviewing Greek (if you don't use it you'll loose it).

N. Clayton Croy's grammar for New Testament Greek is a great place to start learning the language. I've just completed the book, which is the standard classroom text at schools such as Princeton Theological Seminary. Croy is quite accessible and lays out the basics of grammar in 32 concise lessons. Vocab is nicely distributed to match the subject of the lesson, and of course there are a lot of paradigms to memorize. Where this book excels is in the excercises provided at the end of every lesson, including 15 or so sentences written by Croy and drawing from only the vocab and grammar learned so far; a section from the Septuagint; and a section from the New Testament.

Unfortunately answer keys are not included, though we had access to them in class -- making me think that the book was written explicitly with the formal classroom environment in mind and that there may be a teacher's edition somewhere. Also, the book is only an elementary beginning; a user would be well-advised to supplement it with the memorization of principal parts for key verbs, additional New Testament vocab, etc.

"If I'm really a Christian, why do I struggle so much?" "How come I can't seem to change?" If you've ever struggled with those kinds of questions, this book is for you. Many people come to faith in Christ, but never learn how the Gospel can be applied to their hearts to change their patterns of sin and struggle. How People Change, by Timothy S. Lane and Paul David Tripp is designed to address that problem.

The authors write: "Often there is a vast gap in our grasp of the gospel. It subverts our identity as Christians and our understanding of the present work of God. This gap undermines every relationship in our lives, every decision we make, and every attempt to minister to others. Yet we live blindly, as if the hole were not there." (pp. 2).

The authors, both counselors and theologians, spend the rest of the book laying out a description of the way real change can occur in a believer's life. They use stories of real people (with the names changed) and show how this process of change looks as it is occurring. Their tone is hopeful, yet realistic and their method is gospel and grace-centered, rather than legalistic. They also do a great job of balancing the "big picture" with specific instructions and helpful diagrams. Overall, after reading this book, I was encouraged by the many reminders of how God provides the power and method for real change in our lives!

"The gospel calls us to look at the messiness of life in a radically different way. The good news of the gospel is that Christ has conquered sin and death, and with them every meaningless and destructive end. Our final destination infuses every word, action, desire, and response with meaning and purpose. There are no completely hopeless situations. The gospel welcomes us to a hopeful realism. We can look life in the face and still be hopeful because of who Christ is and where he is taking us. Everything God has brought into your life has been brought with your destination in view. God is moving you on, even when you think you are stuck." (pp. 52).

After showing how sin works, how our responses to situations reveal our hearts, and how the cross addresses these issues, and how genuine spiritual fruit is produced, the next to last chapter tells a story of how one couple's story was changed by the gospel story! It shows what their story was, what their problems were, the consequences they faced from their sin, and how the grace of God changed and healed them. And then the last chapter shows how an entire church was changed as the leaders of the church decided to renew their vision for a gospel-centered focus in all their ministries. Their story is the story for every church, and it has great reminders for us! If you want to change or to help others change, this is a must have and must read book for you! I will let the authors have the last word for this review:

"Our desire is to see individual Christians and entire churches participate in a groundswell of gospel celebration--a celebration of the amazing grace available to us in Christ. Father, Son, and Spirit are at work to make the church a radiant bride, purified and glorious, ready for his appearing. This vision pulls us upward, beyond our personal happiness, so that we might enjoy his blessings and offer them to others. Our hope and prayer is that this book will help you grow in grace as an individual within a community of faith. May you grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and forever! Amen (2 Peter 3:18)." (pp. 252-253).

I have literally done dozens of Bible studies in small groups, and this one is over and above The Best. It's nothing inherently new, but the way the authors organize the study and theologically lay out the material, as well as their use of the Scriptures as foundational to illustrate the truth, has been nothing short of life changing for our little group of 40 something Christians. We have learned so much about each other that we never knew, so much about ourselves, and perhaps most exciting, have actually CHANGED in response to seeing exactly what a Gospel-centered life means TODAY, and how living in true community with other Christians is a basis for life change. The Gospel is relevant again, whaddya know! Not just when I got saved, or in eternity, but Today. I recommend it to everyone. Our church had the authors out for a seminar and they were humbly inspiring. Authentic Christianity at its best.

Modern counseling typically tries to give the counselee "tools" to help them either get through or stave off the "heat" of a problem. These "tools" are usually nothing more than new habits that usually last only a short time. Instead of addressing the fruits of our actions, this book gets to the heart, the root--where real change can take place. We must first see who we are apart from Christ, and then see who we are in Christ. As the comfort and the call of the Gospel begins to shape our lives with the help of the Holy Spirit, we will find what is at the root of our sinful behavior. This book is clearly written and extremely helpful for those who are ready to deal with their sin and long for a life that truly glorifies God.

This is an excellent book on how change happens in a Christian's life. Convinced that many people are filling the void in their lives (what the authors call "the gospel gap") with things that are NOT the gospel, though they may be good (e.g. bible study, activities, experiences, etc.) the authors seek to drive home the power of the gospel itself to bring about genuine, lasting change in our lives. They talk about HEAT (the trials and testings that come our way0, THORNS (the negative responses we show under pressure), FRUIT (genuine evidence of gospel-centered change in our lives), and CROSS (the root of all true change). Their prose is smooth and easy to read, their stories are interesting and true to live, their theology is biblical and immensely practical, and the effect in my own life was increased wisdom, fresh passion, and strengthend hope. This is a REALLY good book that I plan to give away to others.

Written by Christian counselors and faculty Timothy S. Lane and Paul David Tripp, How People Change discusses the biblical pattern of change that any Christian can apply to the challenges of his or her daily life. Encompassing the principle that change comes not only from within, but also with the guidance of God helping the individual become what he or she was created to be, How People Change is embraces the qualities of love and redemption. "Without an awareness of Christ's presence, we tend to live anxiously. We avoid hard things and are easily overwhelmed. But a clear sense of identity and provision gives us hope and courage to face the struggles and temptations that come our way." A profound self-help guide grounded firmly in Christian faith.

This unique tome is worth every penny because it can connect us with Dorothy Day more intimately than I ever imagined possible. She is no longer inaccessible to me. In fact I had been a little afraid of her in the sense I had been afraid like the whiskey priest in one of Dorothy's favorite novels, "The Power and the Glory" by Graham Greene. I had always been afraid to end up like him, despairing over missing the boat. Here is the scene on the night before he was executed by a Mexican Communist firing squad:

"What an impossible fellow I am, he thought, and how useless. I have done nothing for anybody. I might just as well have never lived..It seemed to him at that moment that it would have been quite easy to have been a saint. It would have needed a little self-restraint and a little courage. He felt like someone who has missed happiness by seconds at an appointed place. He knew now that in the end there was only one thing that counted - to be a saint."

Well now after reading 700 pages of "Duty of Delight" I am no longer afraid. Dorothy makes it look possible to be a saint. I believe without a doubt that she is now with God in heaven. What she did to get there, I can do. Reading her diary showed she slogged it out just like the rest of us with doubts, setbacks and sorrows. Through it all she remained faithful to daily prayer and the sacraments, including frequent Confession. She knew that it was in the little things that we find God, something she learned from one of her favorite saints, Therese of Lisieux.

Dorothy didn't always "suffer fools gladly." No matter. She was quick to apologize and always harsher in judging herself than she was other people. She always stayed focused on the pearl of great price, even as she paid her bills and worried just like the rest of us.

This doesn't mean she was an ordinary person. What ordinary person would devote her life to voluntary poverty in order to serve the least among us, literally serve them, with food and shelter? Flannery O'Connor, whose letters she was reading near the end of her life, said one time, "The Truth shall make you odd." Dorothy was never afraid of being thought to be odd if that was the price you had to pay to live the Gospels. And it was and it is the price you have to pay.

During the many days it took me to read this book, she was constantly on my mind. No other book ever did that for me. I wish I had known her like so many did. She affected all of them for the better, whether they were cardinals, famous writers like W. H. Auden, or street people.

Miller's classic biography of Dorothy Day ends wtih her funeral and his final passage tells it all:

"The funeral was on December 2 at the Nativity Catholic Church. An hour before the service people began to assemble in the street. There were American Indians, Mexican workers, blacks and Puerto Ricans. There were people in eccentric dress, apostles of causes who had felt a great power and truth in Dorothy's life...At the appointed time, a procession of these friends and fellow Catholic Workers came down the sidewalk. At the head of it Dorothy's grandchildren carried the pine box that held her body. Tamar (her daughter), Forster (Tamar's father) and Dorothy's brother John Day followed. At the Church door, Cardinal Terence Cooke met the body to bless it. As the procession stopped for this rite, a demented person pushed his way through the crowd and bending low over the coffin peered at it intently. No one interfered, because, as even the funeral directors understood, it was in such as this man that Dorothy had seen the face of God."

There are few people who have done more to keep Dorothy Day's words before the public than Robert Ellsberg. As both editor of her writings (By Little and By Little, 1983; Dorothy Day: Selected Writings, 1992; A Penny a Copy, 1995) and publisher (Orbis) of books by and about her, Ellsberg continues to remind us of Dorothy's vision of a Christianity that is orthodox in theology and radical (in the deepest sense of the word, as a return to roots) in social activism. His credentials are good: he knew Dorothy for the final five years of her life, and served as managing editor of "The Catholic Worker" for two of them.

Now, in The Duty of Delight, Ellsberg continues to enrich us with an edition of the diaries Dorothy maintained from 1934 to a few days before her death in November 1980. The manuscript of the diaries, housed at Marquette University (my alma mater, by the way) and sealed until 25 years after Dorothy's passing, is over a thousand single-spaced pages. Ellsberg has reduced the material by half by whittling away unessentials. Providentially, Dorothy's diary entries for the final year of her life, missing from the Marquette archives, was discovered after Ellsberg took on the editorship.

Ellsberg's Introduction to the diaries provides a nice overview of their content. Arranged by decades, the entries from the '50s through the '70s make up the bulk of the work. I began reading in the '70s section, since this is the decade in which I first became aware of the Catholic Workers, and gradually worked my way backwards.

Three things especially strike me about Dorothy's diaries.

The first is the sheer richness of the activities she chronicles: serving as the dynamo that kept the Catholic Worker movement energized; raising her daughter Tamar; dealing with Tamar's father Forster and Forster's common law wife Nanette; continuously writing; travels, both domestic and abroad; retreats and daily masses; public demonstrations and peace witnesses; and dancing with officials from both the state and church. In recording her activities, Dorothy not only gives us a good idea of her dedication, but also provides us with cumulative sketches of many of the co-workers (including Ellsberg) and clients with whom she came into daily contact.

The second thing that's impressive about the diaries is the breadth and depth of Dorothy's reading, as well as her love of music. The authors and composers she mentions in her diaries, when compiled, make up an impressive list, and her asides about them (as when, for example, she calls Solzhenitsyn a "holy fool," p. 626, or states that it's actually sloth, not Cassian's avarice, that is "man's abiding sin," p. 364) are frequently insightful.

Finally, the self-examinations, self-recriminations, and resolutions to be more prayerful, patient, compassionate, and nonjudgmental with which Dorothy liberally sprinkles her diaries are fascinating. On one level, they provide a cumulative portrait of a woman who is deeply troubled by what she perceives as her inability to practice what she preaches--a self-doubting that probably both feeds and emerges from her "long loneliness." At another level, though, these passages strongly suggest something that Dorothy perhaps never fully appreciated: that what she took to be spiritual and personal weaknesses in fact were also the very strengths that enabled her ministry.

In August 1952, for example, she writes (p. 177): "When I say, Lord, that I am too sensitive, it is truly that--my senses, exterior and interior are too thin-skinned. I am tormented by people's moods, their unhappiness. I must live more in my own heart, with Thee. Then when I go forth I have at least serenity." But what Dorothy interprets here as a moody over-sensitivity that inhibits contact with God might perhaps more accurately be described as an empathy that connects her with other people's suffering, and consequently with God's as well. Surely it's her "thin-skin" that allows for compassionate entries such as this one from February 1972 (p. 501): "I have been harried and worn out all day by the consciousness that we were inundated by an ocean of unemployed and unemployable, black and white human beings, searching for food, warmth, comfort, momentary surcease from suffering."

The Duty of Delight is yet one more wonderful gift to us from Dorothy, and it will prove to be an invaluable scholarly and spiritual resource. Robert Ellsberg and Marquette University Press are to be commended.
____________
* Entry from Easter Sunday, 1968 (p. 418) that could easily serve as the epigram for Dorothy's diaries.

Dorothy Day is the quintessential radical Catholic with a lifetime of arrests and writings to make her stands known. Few can equal her courage, as this book so aptly demonstrates. She chides herself constantly for being critical and speaking up, yet no one has the stamina to do so with her insight gained from experience. A comrade of Mother Teresa, Cesar Chavez and Fr. Dan Berrigan, she is in good company.
Who can not be impressed with her achievments and ongoing diary entries
of a litany of prayers? Life had no soft way out for her. Living among the poor, she endured the company of the homeless, drunks, addicts and insane persons. Likewise, coping with ongoing discomforts of noisy interruptions, lice, and ringworm, she proved her commitment to the otherwise forgotten members of society. She is best known for publication of the socialist newspaper,"The Catholic Worker", but
her personal memoirs and conversion story are not for the feint of heart. Truly she is a saint of our times.

This was such an excellent book. I picked it up at Urbana 2006 and read it that summer. I am working on going through my notes to teach a class on the subject of this book. I have recommended it to many people, but it is weighty. It is sad that so few people are familiar with Wright's work. He has done much in taking us back and grounding us in the story of the OT. For those interested, I highly recommend "Old Testament Ethic for the People of God." Again, weighty, but excellent.

I especially appreciate that this book takes into account the whole of the scriptural perspective, tota scriptura. I heartily recommend it.

a thorough approach to mission theology with Biblical explanations for the Author, characters, and setting

This is certainly the most impressive book on Mission to be published since Bosch's 'Transforming Mission' and will surely be Dr Wright's 'Magnum Opus.' This outstanding tome entitled `The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible's Grand Narrative' contains 581 closely reasoned pages and maintains that equally, the `proper way for disciples of the crucified and risen Jesus to read their Scriptures , is (both) messianically and missionally. ( p.30)

It should be noted that most books on Mission fail to provide an adequate O.T. basis for mission. David Bosch for example in his excellent book `Transforming Mission' gives us little if any. In this book however, Wright ( also a noted OT scholar as well as Missiologist) goes a long way to rectify this imbalance.

'The Mission of God' is not a light read but should be of great interest to all missionaries and Pastors as well as to theology and Bible students. Chris Wright has also designated that the royalties from this book will go to the to worthy charity Langham Literature.

John Goldingay, the author of Old Testament Theology, and professor of Old Testament, Fuller Theological Seminary writes of it:
"This marvelous book is all I hoped and expected, and more. . . .We are so fortunate to have the mature fruit of a lifetime's reflection on the missional nature of the Bible by this outstanding teacher, scholar and missionary theologian."

If you want an outstanding book on Mission which will be around for years to come: This is it!

I wish that I had had this book in hand many years ago. I've been on a journey of learning and discovery regarding the "metanarrative" of the Scriptures, and having reached a tentative understanding, I buy Christopher Wright's The Mission of God, and find that he has it all laid out for me. One of those books that makes you wonder why no one wrote it before and then makes you wish you had written it yourself. I have translated the New Testament into two indigenous languages of Mexico and have been forced to ask the big questions about what on earth God is doing anyway. It's been a great experience, and I think I'm finally coming to an adequate understanding of the good news of the Bible. I have read a lot of books related to the topic of The Mission of God, but none as exciting and stimulating as this one. And I don't consider Wright to be a great writer. What's great is the maturity and comprehensiveness of his thinking. A new perspective on almost every page. Wright has put it together for me. I'm reading it through the second time and have bought two copies to give to friends. All right, you may not be as excited as I am about the Bible's message about the coming of the kingdom of God, but if you are half as interested as I am, read this book.

Great Book!!!!!! My husband and I read through this when we started to consider marriage and absolutely loved it. We really enjoyed the interaction and activity oriented tasks as we were challenged to dig deeper and to prepare for marriage! Wonderful for couples that haven't been married before, opens the lines of communication as well as shedding light any assumptions each may be carrying about marriage. Great Christian book with a God honoring but realistic message. -mrs. hodawanus (:

While there are areas that really don't apply if you are middle-aged and getting married, we just skimmed those. The rest is very well thought out and creates a real atmosphere of learning about one another (that is, as long as you are truthful with your answers).

I would recommend this book to anyone seeking to prepare for marriage and to know if they really are sure. Obviously, it must be taken seriously to really help at all.

My husband and I used this book as part of an 8 week Premarital Counseling course. We both found the book to bring up good topics for discussion though most of them we had discussed before. I would not describe myself as a very religious person but more of a spiritual person with strong Christian beliefs. That said, I found some "opinions" in the book to be narrow minded and that some of the bible passages were taken out of context. I do think that it was a good tool as part of our sessions but don't depend completely on this book for your premarital counseling. We also looked at The 5 Love Languages and Dave Ramsey's book Financial Peace Revisited. Those books as well as the insight from our counselors made all the difference.

So far this is a great book. It keeps my Fiance and I interested. And it's a workbook!

My fiance' and I are very pleased with this product. We are looking forward to applying what we've learned being engaged and married.

I have read many of the reviews of this book, and I noticed the variety of opinions Dance of the Dissident Daughter has inspired.

Each of us has an opinion of this story based on our personal experiences, and my spiritual experience is quite similar to Kidd's.

I can relate to the phases she had to go through in order to find peace with her path; I honor and respect her journey.

Read this book with an open heart. I did not believe that she was bashing men or Christianity; she had to set the programming of the church aside and find her own truth. This is what she inspires all women to do for themselves.

We all search for our individual spirituality...our meaning...and I feel that this book gives a beautiful example of one woman's search for her truth.

May you find yours as well.

Sue Monk Kidd captures the reader with her openness about how she became a feminist, almost by accident. This is a very personal account describing her experience of moving from accepted Christianity to feminism. I found the story fascinating and finished it in only 3 days. For the most part, the author simply told her story and how she interpreted the events she faced along the way. However, at various places in the book she began to generalize her experiences to all women, which made me agree with the reviewer who said her journey is not my journey.

What I found a bit disconcerting is that the author states that she made a living as a writer for Christian and inspirational magazines and yet on page 83 says that she suddenly realized that the Bible focuses primarily on masculine rather than feminine attributes of God. Actually, the primary message throughout the Bible is that the God who created the universe wants to have a personal relationship with his creatures, both female and male, and how that is achieved. Even the author would classify relationships as a domain which is more in the feminine rather than mascuine realm. Likewise, the majority of the 10 Commandments deal with relationships and in Matthew 22:36-39 Jesus said the 2 most important commands were loving God and loving your neighbor. I don't see how anyone can miss these more feminine qualities of God.

Maybe the fact that America is a much more egalitarian society than when the book was written in 1996, and maybe some of the recent books that I've read, like The Female Brain, which highlights some of the hormonal and internal changes that women undergo explain why I disagree with the author and don't view the elements of patriarchy in society as something that needs to be attacked. Also, Kidd identifies many identity issues as struggles for girls and women, which I believe are universal struggles regardless of one's gender.

However, even with these complaints I believe the book is important to read if one wants to understand and interact knowledgably with a feminist.

Sue Monk Kidd's journey resonates for me as I have long struggled with the way we tend to ignore or excuse the masculine priority that surrounds women's lives. Ms. Monk explores and ennunciates the "stacked deck" of everything from language and religion to the ingrained assumptions of women's secondary status in the world. True the balance has shifted somewhat, but as long as there are places where men have a "right" to beat their wives, where it is against the law for women to be educated, where it's a BIG DEAL to have a woman run for president, where we criticize a woman for being today's connotation of the word FEMINIST for speaking simple truths; we have a problem. Not one to be trivialized or ignored. Can you imagine the hue and cry that would erupt were we to refer to all humanity as "whitekind"? Ms. Monk is shining a light on the endemic prejudice women live with every day of their lives by sharing her journey, her questions, her fears, and confusion with us. I am grateful to her. I don't feel so alone.

Sue Monk Kidd expertly and openly shares her most intimate experience in finding the Divine in this well written and referenced personal account.

Finally, a book about the female goddess written by a woman with great knowledge and wisdom AND amazing research. The research allows us to believe that we are NOT being duped by a woman...like we've been duped by all the men.

This is an excellent book with such profound insight into a woman's soul. Every woman should read this. Sue should write another book filled with even more research!!!