Religion Books

I never realized that my being a christian was because I was not perfect but very messed up. How cool to know that my problems and pains are what attracted to Papa(God).

Do you ever think: "I don't pray enough. I don't read my Bible enough. I don't share my faith enough. I don't love God enough. I'm not committed enough. I'm not spiritual enough??? I guess I'm not a very good Christian." Well, do you ever feel like that? I've been ordained for 25 years and I can still resonate with those statements from time to time. That's why I so enjoyed this book.

Mike Yaconelli co-founded Youth Specialties Ministries and the Wittenbergy Door, a Christian satire magazine akin to MAD magazine. I used to regularly attend Mike's youth ministry conferences as a youth minister and as a young Episcopal priest. The thing that always struck me about him was his candidness and authenticity. He was known for his nitty gritty honest approach to spirituality. When he described spiritual struggles, you knew he knew what he was talking about, because you knew from your own experience the truth of his words. Sadly, Mike died about 5 years ago. Yet his Christian realism lives on.

His book is an attempt to convince us that Christian perfectionism is not about us becoming perfect, but about us being comfortable enough in our imperfection that we're willing to give our messy lives to Jesus. It's only through our acknowledgement of our deep personal need for God's grace that we can truly be in fellowhip with God. Not one Biblical character, outside of Jesus, is anywhere near perfect, and most are terribly flawed...like us. That's why they became saints! Confused? So am I. Read the book! It's truth will free you from the bonds of perfectionism and make you better Christian.

As a Christian, I believe that the most important tool to strengthen our relationship with Christ is through the reading of his Word. But there are times in our lives when we need a little extra boost of encouragement and that comes through the people God has placed in our lives and through their words and experiences. Messy Spirituality is an encouraging display of God's grace in people's lives and a reminder that in a world filled with people trying to measure up to the standards set before us not only by society, but by the church, it is okay when our lives sometimes feel like they are a mess. Michael Yaconelli provides a beautiful display of God's imperfect people no longer seeking perfection in their lives through the works that they do, but seeking God in their lives and through that, He works in them to impact the world around them, no matter how big or small that impact may be. I also appreciated his honesty in his feelings of inadequacy throughout his life. I feel that more Christians should speak up about these feelings we have so that we can come alongside each other and work through those times, instead of being fearful of the reaction of those around us. I would highly recommend reading this book and sharing it with others so that we can begin being more open about the messiness in our lives instead of trying to mask it to look like the "spiritual" people we feel we need to be.

This book spoke directly to me! Messy Spirituality is a keeper!

I am a mess. I have always and consistently struggled with discipline, being consistent. I guess you could say the only thing consistent in my life is my inconsistency. I love lists and enjoy marking things off of a list, but I am absolutely terrible at not just sitting around and being lazy. Here are the two things that suck up most of my time: TV watching and Spider solitaire. It's terrible.

So, I am a mess. But, this book spoke directly to me.

At first I questioned it. Was this book only going to give me an excuse to be messy, an excuse to not strive to be disciplined and consistent.

No, it didn't. But, it did give me the understanding that (what I would assume) most Christians struggle to be consistent, especially in today's time and society. Our life is busy and in our busyness, we don't slow down and allow ourselves time to spend with God.

This book allowed me time to explore why I try to hide my messiness; why am I not honest with people about what is going on in my life? Why am I afraid to say I struggle with being single? Why am I afraid to let people know I struggle with having a passion for the Word? Because somehow we are afraid to live authentically. Its as if we are afraid that if we live authentically then we won't be good Christians.

What Yaconelli does is calls us to live authentic lives. To realize that growth and maturity in faith comes at different paces for all people and at different times. By living his life authentically through this book he shows us that it is ok to be messy, to live messy lives and to call each other to be messy.

Bibically speaking, it is only when we live in the light that we can ever begin to address the sin and allow God to work.

So, if you find yourself busy and quickly putting God aside, then pick up this book. It helped me reevaluate my priorities and also allowed me to extend grace to myself in my busyness. This book, Messy Spirituality, is a keeper my friends!

The book has a lot of good ideas and good content. The fact that we are all messy and that being truly spiritual is messy is a great message. I mean Christians are not perfect by any means.

The chapters are a bit long for my taste, but Yaconelli kept the sub-sections in the chapters a bit more manageable. The book is to the point and doesn't stray off topic too much.

The toughest thing for me while reading this book was overcoming Yaconelli's voice. It's tough to express, but sometimes the way he states things to me seem skewed even though I know he means well.

A good overview of many practices designed to help one wake up
to another level of awareness and how to put that to work in
daily life as an ongoing commitment and practice.

In 'The Heart of the World', Thomas Keating writes: "...it is not enough to have transcendent experiences. We have to translate those experiences into daily life and into our humdrum routine." The skillful authors of 'Living Deeply, The Art & Science of Transformation in Everyday Life' offer readers thoughtful teachings and practical tools for doing just this.
While emphasizing the value of making one's practice one's own, the authors draw on the wisdom of respected consciousness practitioners, a wide range of additional research participants, and their own noetic insights to arrive at the conclusions they share. "The essence of living deeply is bringing awareness to the simple ways you can make your life and practice a more seamless and graceful partnership," the book states. The beauty of 'Living Deeply' is its clear and expert guidance towards this end.

How does one make oneself change for the better? "Living Deeply: The Art & Science of Transformation in Everyday Life" is a complete and comprehensive guide to how to change one's self, drawing from science, and countless philosophies and religions such as Christianity, modern day spirituality, others such as Native American cosmology and so much more. "Living Deeply: The Art & Science of Transformation in Everyday Life" is highly recommended for community library self-help collections.

An Awesome Study & Timely Book by
Marilyn Mandala Schlitz, Ph.D. and associates

Reviewed by: M. Joyce McMenamin,

THIS IS A STUDY VERY WELL DONE AND PRESENTED IN A MANNER THAT IS EASILY READ AND ABSORBED.

WHILE READING THIS BOOK, I WAS A LITTLE DISAPPOINTED THAT THE AUTHORS AND PUBLISHER HAD FAILED TO INCLUDE AN INDEX. THEN I QUICKLY REALIZED THAT A CROSS-REFERENCED INDEX, TO A BOOK OF THIS SCOPE, WOULD POTENTIALLY BE AS LARGE (OR LARGER) THAN THE SUM OF THE TEXT ITSELF. THINK ABOUT THAT FOR A MOMENT. THAT STATEMENT, IN AND OF ITSELF, PROPOSES THAT THIS BOOK IS A CULMINATION OF PERSPECTIVES ON A MASSIVE SCALE. YES, IT IS.

THE MAJOR THEME THAT BRINGS IT TOGETHER IS THE PRACTICE OF SELF TRANSFORMATION AND THE WISDOM OF THOSE, FROM VARIOUS CULTURES, TRADITIONS AND RELIGIONS, WHO HAVE BEEN PUBLICLY RECOGNIZED FOR, OR WHO FEEL THEY HAVE EXPERIENCED THEIR OWN TRANSFORMATION A VERY DEEP LEVEL. THOSE WHO ONE MIGHT SAY: LIVE DEEPLY.

IN A WORLD THAT HAS COME TO FOCUS MERELY ON THE "INTENTION" SIDE OF LIFE, THE AUTHORS HAVE REMINDED US THAT THE KEY ELEMENTS TO ANY TRANSFORMATIVE PROCESS ARE AS FOLLOWS: INTENTION, ATTENTION, REPITITION & GUIDANCE. NOW, LET ME TELL YOU THAT I HAVE NEVER READ A BOOK THAT DIDN'T COME TO ME AT THE RIGHT TIME BEARING THE SEED OF PERSPECTIVE. YOU DON'T HAVE TO BELIEVE THAT, OF COURSE - BUT THAT IS, SIMPLY: MY TRUTH. SHORTLY BEFORE THIS BOOK WAS DELIVERED TO ME, I HAD BEEN DEVELOPING A NEW PROGRAM FOR CONSULTANTS, COACHES, MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKERS & CORPORATE FACILITATORS, THROUGH MY SENSITIVE PIE PRODUCTIONS DIVISION AND I HAD SPECIFICALLY OUTLINED THE FOUR ELEMENTS OF ANY TRANSFORMATIVE PROCESS IN A SIMILAR LIGHT, BUT IN A DIFFERENT "ORDER". TRUE TO MY OWN VERY DEEP, VERY PERSONAL & CONSTANTLY EVOLVING TRANSFORMATIONAL EXPERIENCES, THIS BOOK CAME TO ME AT THE RIGHT TIME - TO HELP (PERHAPS) VALIDATE MY OWN INSTINCTIVE DIRECTION. THAT HAS BEEN MY EXPERIENCE THROUGHOUT MY LIFE. I SHARE THIS ONLY TO HELP MY READER UNDERSTAND THAT MY ROLE, IN REVIEWING THIS BOOK, IS JUST A SMALL PART OF WHAT LIVING DEEPLY IS ALL ABOUT.

THE INSTITUTE OF NOETIC SCIENCES PERFORMED A DECADE LONG STUDY TO BRING THIS INFORMATION TO THE MASSES. I CAN ONLY SENSE THAT, IN DOING THIS, WE HAVE COME TO A PLACE WHERE, IN ONE BOOK, ONE NOW HAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO GAIN INSIGHT INTO A MAJORITY OF THE DOCUMENTED HISTORICAL PRACTICES OF THE PAST. PERHAPS THIS WILL HELP FREE INDIVIDUALS TO DEVELOP, OR VALIDATE, THEIR OWN UNIQUE & HIGHLY INDIVIDUALIZED TRANSFORMATIVE PROCESSES. TRUE SELF-TRANSFORMATION, NEEDN'T RELY MERELY ON HISTORICAL PRACTICES - IN DOING SO, ONE WOULD BE CONSTRICTED TO HISTORY AND WOULD NEVER FIND THE FREEDOM TO ACTUALLY TRANSFORM AT A LEVEL THAT IS NEEDED FOR THE FUTURE.

WE LIVE IN A WORLD WHERE FEW PEOPLE HAVE AWOKEN FROM AN EGO-BASED OR SURVIVAL-BASED DREAM. TO THIS END, I WOULD INVITE THE `WORLD AT LARGE' TO A CRAM COURSE IN SELF-TRANSFORMATION, WHICH CAN CERTAINLY BE OBTAINED IN A LITTLE MORE THAN THE TWO HUNDRED PAGES THAT ENCOMPASS THIS REMARKABLE AND COHESIVE STUDY OF EXISTING TRANSFORMATIVE PROCESSES. I CAN ONLY IMAGINE THAT THOSE INVOLVED IN THIS WORK EVENTUALLY FELT, THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS, THAT THERE WAS SOMETHING MORE, SOMETHING YET UNDISCOVERED ON THE TRANSFORMATIVE SCALE. PERHAPS THIS BOOK WILL SERVE AS A CATALYST IN UNCOVERING THE NEXT LEVEL OF TRANSFORMATION. AT A MINIMUM, THIS BOOK IS AN EXCELLENT PRIMER FOR THE INDIVIDUAL.

AT NO OTHER TIME IN HISTORY HAVE WE BEEN AT PLACE THAT IS SO FREE AND YET SO VOLATILE. THE PROCESS OF SELF TRANSFORMATION, IN FACT, AS THIS BOOK REMINDS US - HAS LESS TO DO WITH EGO AND MUCH MORE TO DO WITH A GREATER GOOD. YET, TRANSFORMATION, ONE MIGHT SAY, BEGINS `AT HOME' -- AND THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A BETTER TIME FOR INDIVIDUALS TO USE THE POWER OF TRANSFORMATION AS A CATALYST FOR SELF-GROWTH ON THE EDGE OF WHAT, FOR SOME, MIGHT APPEAR TO BE AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE AND FOR OTHERS WILL CERTAINLY APPEAR AS A MORE TRAUMATIC TIME.

ONE MIGHT ALSO SAY THAT TRUE TRANSFORMATION IS IN THE HEART OF THE ONE EXPERIENCING IT & NOT NECESSARILY BOUND TO A SPECIFIC PRACTICE. AFTER ALL, PRACTICES THAT STILL SOME, MOTIVATE OTHERS. IN THE WORLD OF TRANSFORMATION, I BELIEVE THAT THIS BOOK LAYS THE GROUNDWORK, JUST IN TIME, FOR INDIVIDUALS TO SEE THAT THE CHALLENGES THEY FACE TODAY ARE, INDEED, THE SEED OF THEIR OWN TRANSFORMATIONAL PROCESS, WHICH COLLECTIVELY WILL DETERMINE THE UNIVERSAL OUTCOME FOR HUMANITY & THE PLANET WE CALL HOME.

Reviewed by: M. Joyce McMenamin
Publisher & Producer and author of The Integrity Channel[m.j.m. estrada]
Network Abundance sponsored by Sensitive Pie Productions
March 2008 Edition of ER.U.DI.TION(TM)

This book speaks to the deep need of our times to turn within, wake-up to that inner wisdom, and most importantly, live from that place of Truth we discover through whatever authentic means connects us with that Truth.

In my work as a spiritual counselor in hospice, I have seen that so many people have left organized religion, but have thrown the baby out with the bathwater so to speak - in terms of not recognizing that one can still have a deeply spiritual life even if one chooses to not attend formal religious services. This book addresses the need many people have to find their own authentic, lived-spirituality.

A great hope for our times is that more and more people will join this inner revolution of transformation and that we will in turn become a kinder, more loving, respectful people - who live and act from that reverence for the sacred in everyone and everything.

Living Deeply is an inspiring book for those interested in the process of transformation and for anyone interested in living a deeply meaningful life.

Having loved The Da Vinci Code I'd thought I'd delve deeper since Holy Blood Holy Grail was the inspiration for it. Big mistake. This was an absolutely exhausting book to read. It seems to go on for over 300 pages of endless genealogies before it gets to the main hypothesis. It's an extremely slow read,at times repetitive and incredibly boring. The subject was interesting but getting there will kill you. Don't do it.

What an incredible book. Once you start reading it, you won't be able to set it down. The premise of this complex story is this- three different religions set out to discover the bloodline of Jesus and to accurately paint the picture of his life. With very little evidence this would prove a daunting task. While the book is controversial, it is all well written and a treat to have read. I even got yelled at by my boss for reading the book on company time. I've read it 4 times and each time is like the first time. There is a lot of information to process so get ready be blown away. It's awesome. Also, if you missed reading GE0RGI0U's masterpiece--FATES, go and read it. Fates (classic)

Well according to the gospels THERE IS! Is there something odd about the way Jesus was tried & convicted by Rome's accord? If you read the gospels with a historic eye THERE IS! People pick up the bible and read it along with what they question and you will come out with the same conclusion

i never got the product and i am still wating for someone to contact me.

The book arrived in excellent condition. Look like I had just plucked it off the shelf. No yellowing of pages, dog ears or tares.

I bought this book about ten years ago when I wanted to learn more about my birthstone and some other gems. I still use it today with my collection of rocks, gems and crystals. I'd say that even if you are not into crystals it's a great reference tool to have around...and while this particular volume doesn't have photos I still think it's one of the best on the market.

We wanted to get this book in Crystal Magic, Sedona, AZ, but they were out of stock. We bought The Crystal Bible instead. The Crystal Bible is a very good book, but if you need more information, Love is in the Earth will provide that. Very comprehensive, descriptive and it has number and chakra info that most books will not have. Melody has a lot of info if you want to soak it up. Very intelligent read for crystals.

I first saw this book in my local New Age store. There was a well loved copy on the counter, that anyone was able to flip through for reference. This was my first indication that this book is a must have. The amount of information surpasses all of my other crystal books, and really makes you feel confident about working with crystals. The only downside is that there are no pictures. However, this is easily rectified by buying the other books in the 'Love is in the Earth' collection. They are all good buys, and I highly recommend them.

This is an extensive collection of information that is unsurpassed. My only complaint is that I didn't realize when I bought this book that it has no pictures of the gemstones whatsoever. At first, I was dissappointed, but now I just jump on the internet if I need to take a look at the stone in question.Other than this, you honestly will have a hard time finding a more thorough book on gemstones than this one.

Love is in the Earth was recommended to me by a family member after spending a lot of time together discussing various rocks and gems from our beautiful earth. His mother, a jewelry designer, had gifted me with a stunning tourmulated quartz necklace, which peaked my forgotten interest in geological wonders. Having loved to collect rocks and stones since childhood, yet lacking any education on mineral properties, I found this volume exciting, fascinating, and academically comprehensive.

The only drawback I found to this book is that it lacks any photography or depicting illustration to assist me in identifying whether a stone I hold is indeed the same as the one being described in my reading. Having a visual comparison, particularly in a full-color photograph of each entry, would help me immensely. I think this book would be even more enhanced by offering images of each stone, and perhaps that could be considered for a future edition. However, this point is only due to my budding understanding of rock, crystal, and mineral identification. I pair this volume with another book, the Crystal Bible, to have my visual reference. Love is in the Earth offers me the expansive and comprehensive text that I have yet to find equaled in another book. I appreciated that I could read text specific to variations within a mineral family. For example, there is not just one entry titled, "Quartz", but sub-headings individually written and devoted to variations of stones within the quartz family.

Admiringly, the author meets the interest of everyone, whether a reader is a metaphysical or new-age being seeking healing and personal understanding, or a geological rock-hound looking for sound scientific mineral properties and understanding. The author's solid science education credentials, along with her well-rounded human approach, enhance this feature. For the depth of the knowledge shared in this volume, it is presented in an easy-to-follow, and quick-to-reference format that is as accessible to the casual arm-chair reader, to the hands-on field-seasoned geologist.

Excellent accompaniment to the U. S. Catholic Catechism for Adults. It highlights and focuses on the most important aspects of the doctrine. I'm using it as a reference source for RCIA students.

We use this with the US Catholic Adult Catechism in our Men's Group to really get into the catechism and how to use it with a persons daily life. It is in depth yet is easy to understand and read.

Jem Sullivan has written a terrific companion to the new U.S. Adult Catholic Catechism that will be a welcome resource to anyone charged with leading a faith-formation program or discussion group. Each of the catechism's 36 chapters is given a two-page plan for an hour-long session. Included are summaries of doctrinal teachings, reflections, discussion questions, prayers, and excellent suggestions for further reading. And unlike the U.S. Adult Catholic Catechism, the guide contains references to the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Highly recommended.

UPDATE: After spending additional time with this book, I'd probably knock off a star or two. While the format is very good, combining prayer, doctrine, and reflection, far too often the discussion questions are of the navel-gazing variety. A perfect example is found in the chapter on Baptism: "What does Baptism mean to you personally?" Let it suffice to say that the questions would benefit from a more cognitive approach to learning.

WE ARE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR GOOD ADULT CATACHESIS AND THIS GUIDE TO THE U.S. CATHOLIC CATECHISM IS JUST THAT GOOD. IT IS PERFECT FOR THE LEADER OF A ADULT FAITH FORMATION PROGRAM OR R.C.I.A PROGRAM.

A couple years back my dad got demoted and was potentially going to lose his job. He was facing a lot of uncertainty and was not sure how to deal with it. I first read The Places That Scare You: A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times in a high school philosophy class when I was dealing with a lot of my own personal problems and found it incredibly helpful and selected this book as an introduction to Chodron. Since reading this book my dad has started reading several other books about buddhist spirituality and has pursued meditation, all of which have helped him immensely both then and now. This book serves as a great tool for maintaining spiritual health and a comprehensive introduction to Buddhist spirituality and Pema Chodron.

Pema is accessible... Her writings are very helpful and exemplify the very compassion she teaches for herself and for ourselves and others...Her writing is grounded while pointing to the "ineffable". She makes Buddhism and meditation more ... well, meaningful for those in the trenches...all of us...very healing...simply good advice that she makes even clearer!!!Thank you Pema Chodron for your life and sharing so much of it. Another great book!!!

It's a best of some of her writings, and it's really good. It's a nice concise set of one and two page sections from her other books. Something that I found myself reading a second time.

Once in a great while a book like this comes along. It's so honest and plain and challenging at the same time. The short chapters and conciseness furthermore make it all the more accessible.

This book is quite enlightening. I can forsee reading many more of Chodron's books.

This is absolutely the best book I have ever read. It is so intriguing that I have read it at least twice and have extensively highlighted and marked the text.

It is got to be one of the greatest masterpieces of our age.

Carl

This book was recommended in a tape I had heard of a 1992 Retreat given by a Jesuit. It was all it was cracked up to be. Clear, informative and thought provoking.

Came only 2 days after purchase, in perfect condition! These gifts brought great joy! Thanks!

Fr. Nolan wrote this book over 25 years ago. It has recently been republished to celebrate its 25 anniversary by Orbis Press, a progressive Jesus centered Catholic press.

I have read books exploring the real Jesus by Marcus Borg, Geza Vermes, Brian McLaren, Dominic Crossan and other more recent authors, and frankly, I was not expecting any new insights from this book.

It is wonderful, and for its small size delivers a picture of Jesus from the more historical perspective that seems, to me, could have been written last year.

It strikes me how many of the insights of the above mentioned authors and Nolan are "in the same ball park".
They point out that Jesus taught the "kingdom of God" as a way of living and being that God wants to exist NOW on this earth. Jesus has little to say about heaven and how to get there. Jesus cares for the poor; opposes the domination systems; wants his followers to form a community of love, caring, and faith -- not in the future, but in this very present.

This book is very short, but very rewarding. Make time for it.

Nolan wants to understand what people saw in Jesus before anyone could call him "the risen one". There was a movement of Jesus' followers before Easter or Pentecost. What was it like? Nolan's clear, common-sense approach presents reasonable distinctions between Jesus' own teaching and the theological interpretations of later followers. He notes where the later interpretations do or don't fit with Jesus' own words, or with the context of Jewish history. For example, concerning the accounts of Jesus execution, Nolan notes that the gospel accounts say that Jesus gave himself up to the executioners, believing that this was God's will. But the accounts also report that Jesus was a wanted man, and the authorities in Jerusalem argued as follows:

"This man is performing many signs. If we leave him alone like this the whole population will believe in him. Then the Romans will come and sweep away our temple and our nation .... it is more expedient for one man to die than for the whole nation to be destroyed." (John 11: 48-50)

Nolan points out that this logic was very traditional. The wanted man must be handed over lest the entire community suffer on his account. Perhaps, Nolan suggests, this was the real sense in which Jesus was "a sacrifice for the people". And possibly it was this threat of punishment from imperial overlords which was later ascribed to God -- so that it was God who had Jesus die rather than make all of humanity suffer.

--author of "Different Visions of Love"

I really enjoyed going through this Bible study over the summer with my friends. Each day is very easy to read, and to the point. Her imagery of what Jesus was going through during His time on Earth is very vivid and very moving. There were a few lessons which I didn't connect with, but over all a great study for anyone who would like to learn more about our Savior.

Very good devotional, but not as in depth as her others. Good for a lighter, shorter devotional to start out your day.

This book was in excellant condition. I would consider buying again as everything went smooth.

As usual, Beth Moore has done what every Bible teacher should do--she has pointed the reader to a closer walk with Jesus, a stronger relationship with Him, and a deeper commitment to Him. Each lesson is short, to the point and thought-provoking. This book is well-worth the investment, and I have already given one as a gift.

I am on day 11 of this study, and have already learned alot. I have felt a close connection to the Father, but felt like I needed to have a closer relationship with Jesus himself(and get a better feel for the relationship of Jesus with the Father/the Trinity). That's why I bought this study. It's already "working" and I enjoy Beth's teaching alot. I've done many of her group/video studies, this is my first independent one. She's fantastic and brings a good mixture of "heart" and "head" to Bible studies.

I should mention that at the end of each day's lesson, she has a segment called, "Praying the Word". She didn't give any guidance on how to do this segment(i.e. where to find a passage to pray, how to pray it), though she does give an example on each day's lesson. At first this was frustrating to me as I don't yet have much experience with praying scriptures. But just persevere, practice it everyday, and you'll get better. Some good places to look for scriptures to pray: Psalms, 2 Samuel, Isaiah. I think praying the scriptures is an extremely worthwhile skill/practice so you'll be glad to learn how!
God bless you and I pray you're blessed by this study, too.

Newbigin has a gift for making the profound understandable and the complex accessible to the lay reader and the church professional. This is must reading for anyone who is serious about evangelism in our pluralistic, post-modern society.

I cannot recommend this book too highly. Newbigin shows us how to avoid the pitfalls of liberalism and fundamentalism, and how to express the Gospel unequivocally in today's language. My heart raced throughout the process of reading this book and, when done, I started over and read it again.

This is simply a must read for bible believing christians. This is not a book that rants and raves about "bad pagans". No, this book is a very thoughtful work on the subject of the biblical gospel of Jesus as related to the various societies and cultures in a modern/post-modern setting. An eye opening work that should be learned from.

Though slightly pessimistic about the future of the church in the West, Newbigin provides a needed challenge to the modern church. The church in North America is in a new situation--there are a plurality of cultures represented in our major cities, and this plurality is spreading to smaller towns. How does the church reach out to and minister to their neighbor who is Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, or Jewish--when the impression given is that some of these individuals of other faiths are more devout and holy than many Christians that we may know? What is a proper posture to take when standing for "the fact of Jesus?" How is the church to minister in a post-Enlightenment context, which has created a different worldview from that which dominated for the first 1800 after the coming of the Messiah?

This book is a good read--it provides challenges and a loose framework for how to move forward.

Lesslie Newbigin was (and is, through his writings) a celebrated missiologist. While on the surface of it, this book gives the impression of being an eclectic mix of ideas, there is a fundamental cohesion to the book. In fact it represents a fundamentally new approach to missiology.

The book may arguably be said to have one underlying theme: epistemology, or the theory of knowledge. That is, how can we know? How can we have confidence in the gospel "in the midst of a plurality of cultures and religions"? Newbigin, in his own words, has "relied heavily on the work of Michael Polanyi." Polanyi's epic work "Personal Knowledge" was published nearly fifty years ago, and reveals what might be said to be a coherence theory of truth. That is, if one's beliefs should cohere as a whole, this should be a good indication of truth. Polanyi, however, adds a radical twist to this. He writes about "the coherence of commitment". That is, once one has formed a responsible opinion about "truth", one needs to commit to it passionately, and publish. Only in this way can one both display integrity, and submit one's "truth" to the scrutiny of others -- to be affirmed, modified, or perhaps even overturned. It is not hard to see how this relates to missiology. In terms of this view, the gospel requires commitment and proclamation. This in turn leads to a confirmation of its truth in various ways -- or it may lead to a revision of Christian beliefs and practices.

Newbigin further applies Polanyi's epistemology to virtually every aspect of Christianity. He undertakes a broad task of synthesis, or reconciliation, within the Church. He suggests "a third way of understanding Christian belief" -- a method which seeks to take Scripture on its own terms, and which (he hopes) would be acceptable to Christians of virtually every persuasion. This represents, arguably, much of the drawing power of Newbigin's ideas.

However, Newbigin's epistemology is not without its problems. Not least, Polanyi himself considered that there would be "absurdly remote chances" of successfully applying his philosophy to Christianity, and that even a witch doctor "may gain a limited justification within a society" (p. 318, Second Impression 1962). Further, it seems doubtful that Newbigin gives adequate account of how a living God might find a place within an (apparently) closed theory of truth.

All having been said, Newbigin is intellectually agile, he writes with conviction, and his ideas have a considerable reach. He also shares many interesting insights gained in missions over nearly forty years, as well as important observations on the Church in the West.

The World of Myth was my textbook for a college course on world mythology. It is a handy reference that brings together several myths from different societies under the general headings of: Creation, Flood, Afterlife, Apocalypse, Hero, Place/Object Myths, and so on.

The good news: it's useful to have these myths together in something of a synoptic format, such that the reader can easily draw lines of similarity and difference. All traditions are viewed equally, without preference to one or another as necessarily "more true". The author doesn't appear to take sides. Christian stories are told alongside those of ancient Greece, India, Africa, and so on. This seems like a reasonable way of doing business when it comes to mythology in an academic context.

The bad news: while I appreciate the work of Joseph Campbell and Carl Jung, their ideas do not represent the whole of scholarship on mythology. I agree with an earlier reviewer who pointed out a bias in the book toward universalist views. It would have been nice to see a broader palette of ideas represented, beyond just a couple of sentences in passing. Scholars such as Levi-Strauss, Malinowski, Burkert, Kirk, and Propp all presented interesting ideas that would be helpful to a study of mythology. There are certainly others as well, but these come to mind immediately.

In favoring the psychological/universalist view, we miss the ideas of the functionalist and structuralist schools (among others) and end up assuming too much about the "facts" of mythology. So while there's no bias in this book with regard to a particular religion and its set of stories, there is an academic bias that comes through in the author's prefatory remarks for each section.

Overall: while I think the coverage is not as broad as it could have been, for a basic understanding of myths, this is a good text. The real strength is in the organization of myths by category, to give students a feel for how societies have expressed similar (though not identical) ideas in their storytelling.

Thanks for the great service. I receieved my text book super quick and the communication was top notch. So I recommend this seller to everyone who needs text books for college.

I purchased this book for a college class - not only was it more economical to purchase from Amazon, but delivery was much quicker. This book is great as reference material, very easy to follow with a good layout. Index is actually useful to find specific mythological references through out the book. For the person who is just looking for some brief overview's of creation, flood, and god myths it is a good addition to the bookshelf.

Leeming is perhaps the premiere authority on comparative mythology today. He is the author and/or editor of numerous titles on the subject. The quality and depth of coverage of "The World of Myth: An Anthology" is no exception to his legacy of excellence. The book is loaded with bibliographies of the finest works ever written on the subject of mythology and religion. It is ideal as a foundation to mythology for anyone who wishes to take a personal journey through history, literature and religion.

Having reviewed this apparently popular textbook for a course on comparative mythology I am teaching, I can hardly believe that any university would permit its use, let alone that Oxford University Press would consent to publish it.

Leeming, based on his collected works, is a single-minded polemicist for universalism, goddess theology, and Jungian interpretation. All of his introductions present this interpretation as fact, and all the books in his recommended bibliography support it or can be distorted in order to do so. No dissenting voices are given so much as a footnote.

Worse, however, is Leeming's undiscriminating use of sources for the versions of myths he anthologizes. His main sources for Greek myth are the literary but highly unreliable Robert Graves (who retold myths in order to advance the thesis of his own _The White Goddess_) and Ovid, who despite his excellence as a poet can hardly be presented as an accurate mirror of Greek attitudes. Leeming also quotes an entirely erroneous passage on Mithras from _The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets_, a neopagan polemic written by Barbara Walker, whose only qualifactions are memberships in several mineralogical societies, and _Lost Goddesses of Ancient Greece_, from which he draws a version of the Pandora story reinvented, entirely out of the author's imagination, as a goddess myth.

It is difficult enough teaching modern students to appreciate the difference between primary and secondary sources without this muddying of the waters. Avoid at all costs.