Customer Reviews

God Has a Dream: A Vision of Hope for Our Time

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It is nothing short of extraordinary that Nobel Peace Prize-winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu has managed to pack so much genuine spirituality, empathy, wisdom, humor and pragmatic advice into such a small, readable volume. His words just resonate, penetrating gently to the core, and his style is so friendly and self revealing, it feels like you are sitting around with a close friend, who happens to be exceptionally wise. There were many passages that were so powerful, so simply true, I had to stop reading and just take them in. He possess a remarkable perspective -- simultaneously visionary and practical, sweeping and intimate -- of the world and of humanity. I believe this book will speak to people of every religion, nationality, race and sexual orientation. This is a great gift from one of the world's greatest and most humble souls. In my view it is, perhaps, the most valuable and relevant spiritual book of our time.

Nobel Peace Prize recipient Archbishop Desmond Tutu brings humanity the words and path to take into our hearts for inner peace, and peace on Earth.
His breathtaking messages help to break down the walls in order to unify us all, as one race - humanity.

We are all One, and for humanity to "see through the eyes of the heart" is my dream, your dream, and God's dream for us all.

Take this Divine gift of wisdom into your heart, and BE a living example of living with compassion, understanding, generosity of spirit, strength and integrity in the face of adversity that this breathtaking book paves with golden insight.

Desmond Tutu has brought us all a poignant, moving, and extraordinary message. If only our political parties would read this, we would all unite for the common good of all. There is no bias or religious dogma in this book, it is for all of humanity, and is needed now more than ever.

This profound book truly demands 10 Stars. Highly Recommended!

Barbara Rose, Ph.D. author of Know Yourself: A Woman's Guide to Wholeness, Radiance & Supreme Confidence and Stop Being the String Along: A Relationship Guide to Being THE ONE

I believe what Jimmy Carter wrote on the inside cover, "that this book could change history." Remember the first picture of the earth from space? This book is a visionary view of the earth from the heart of a truly heroic insightful soul. Do not let the number of the pages fool you into thinking it is a quick read...it is rather to be savored and pondered. You will want to read it out loud to be sure others hear these words.
This writing brings perspective in a world that currently seems off center. Balance is what we need most as humankind faces all the days ahead. It will make you smile, laugh, sigh and perhaps cry, but you will be the richer for it all.

Watching a recent TV interview with Desmond Tutu, I become totally captivated by his personality, charisma and insight. I immediately bought this book in order to learn more about his experiences, personal views and life philosophy. This is the first time in my life that I buy a book in the Christianity section. I am not disappointed at all. The book is simple but very well written, incredibly comforting and truly inspirational on the future of the humankind. Take it as a religious book, a philosophical or an ethical essay: I believe that people of any religion, race and political background can enjoy the message of peace and hope of Desmond Tutu.

No one familiar with the writings of Archbishop Tutu will find anything new in this little book. Its value lies in the fact that it's a marvelous distillation of what Tutu has preached and practiced over his lifetime of reflection, prayer, and ministry. Accordingly, the book is a perfect primer for anyone new to Tutu. But it's also a convenient and eloquent summary for those who know and love his thought. For both audiences, the essays are perfect occasions for lectio divina.

Although the book's themes are ones that Tutu has worked and reworked for years now--the communitarianism of "ubuntu," the rainbow people of God, the value of redemptive suffering, the collaboration of God and the people of God, the importance of recognizing and accepting the astounding fact that God loves everyone equally and unconditionally, forgiveness and reconciliation--there is a clarity to their expression here that is really quite breath-taking. Tutu, like Henri Nouwen before him, has always had the ability to convey profound truths in simple, economic terms. But he's raised the art to its finest form in _God Has a Dream_. As a consequence, the careless reader might breeze through the volume without realizing its depth.

Let me recommend this book along with Michael Battle's wonderful recent book-length analysis of Tutu's theology of "ubuntu." Tutu has much to offer the twenty-first century, which already seems light years away from practicing the love that this South African archbishop preaches.

I am not normally a buyer of audiobooks, but I am glad I made an exception for Desmond Tutu's "God Has A Dream." The experience of listening to it effected me in a way that merely reading the book could not. His humor, his deep compassion, and the lyricism in his voice, transported me from sitting at my kitchen table sipping tea, to an intimate, five-hour, private audience with Father Tutu.

Intersperced in this delightful work are amazing nuggets of wisdom such as the insight that we expect that people act their very best naturally, which is why we are so deeply distressed when they do not. Among his large themes is the timely message that God loves us and our enemies equally. Though this idea can be hard to stomach in this age of perceived good vs. evil, it reminds us that unconditional love is the very essence of God.

I highly recommend the audio version of this work. It is a meassage that needs to be heard, again and again.

Many people teach the Christian creed from the perspective of those of us who have lived safe, happy and healthy lives with relatively few problems. As such, the message is often that the purpose of evils and problems in the world is to reflect original sin. That message can be an unsatisfying one.

Former Archbishop of Cape Town, Desmond Tutu, sees evils and problems as simply God's methods for developing us into our full potential as Christians. He presents the idea in such a loving and accepting way that every reader will feel God's strength and kindness while reading these remarkable pages. Think of Saul, the enemy of Christians, becoming Paul, the great Christian missionary, and the central message becomes clear.

The book builds a few simple ideas into their profound consequences:

1. God believes in us.

2. God's dream is that we will be His partners to transform the world into everything it can be.

3. God loves us as we are, even the worst sinners.

4. God loves our enemies as much as us. We need to become forgiving as He is.

5. God has chosen us to be the instruments of His goodness. We need to act so that His will be done.

6. To play our role, we need to turn suffering into an ennobling experience rather than an embittering one.

7. To understand what we need to do, we need to spend time quietly with God listening to His messages for us.

8. Ultimately, we should be confident that right will out and patiently believe that good will triumph in its proper time.

What makes the book so special are the many wonderful stories about how these lessons served the South African leaders so well as they struggled to overcome the repressive Apartheid regime that burdened that country. It's an uplifting, loving message from a kind, warm and generous spiritual leader.

As I read what are often familiar Christian words and lessons, I began to realize more fully how God wants us to live with perseverance and adherence to our faith. I also began to realize that we should uphold God's will in all that we do . . . by starting from a perspective of seeing ourselves as God's partners. It's a very inspiring and spiritually uplifting message.

If you would like to deepen and better apply your faith, I suggest you add this book to your daily Bible reading.

May God bless you!

I just read this today, and I can tell you this book restores my
faith in what religion can do, i.e. re=again, and ligio=connect.
To reconnect us with one another. Tutu asks us to extend love,
regardless of belief, while standing up for the greater good. This
is not moral relativism. It is humor and understanding and
compassion and a belief in a source that connects us all.

I am absolutely pleased to be the first to review and recommend
this book. This is beauty and strength and peace written in the
language of the human spirit. Tutu strongly suggests that it is
a universal language to which every one of us can respond.

So may it be.

The subtitle of Desmond Tutu's new book is "A Vision of Hope for Our Time," and it surpasses all my hopes and expectations. Forged in the long struggle to end apartheid, this book is a stirring call to hope and action. Whatever your religious affiliation or if you don't have one, "God Has a Dream" is a treasure of insight and inspiration delivered with wisdom and humor. God's dream? That human beings--you and I--learn to recognize each other as brothers and sisters and learn to live with each other in lovingkindness and peace. "As we learn to share Giod's love with our brothers and sisters, God's other children, there is no tyrant who can resist us, no oppression that cannot be ended, no hunger that cannot be fed, no wound that cannot be healed, no hatred that cannot be turned to love, no dream that cannot be fulfilled."

And whose task is it? Yours and mine.

Archbishop Tutu writes with such power and persuasion that I am convinced his words will be around for many years to come, inspiring people as much in future generations as they do now. In this short book (which took just a couple sittings to read over the weekend) he lays out what I suppose is best described as his philosophy/spirituality of life. In this way it is timeless, but it is also quite timely in that I came away feeling compelled to take my own sense of spirituality and turn it into action in today's world. I often thought of my spiritual seeking as a solitary, inward-looking process, but through Archbishop Tutu I can now see that it must also, by necessity, look outward as well.