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The Life of Meaning: Reflections on Faith, Doubt, and Repairing the World
 
 
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The Life of Meaning: Reflections on Faith, Doubt, and Repairing the World [Hardcover]

Bob Abernethy (Author), William Bole (Author), Tom Brokaw (Introduction)
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)

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Book Description

April 3, 2007
PBS's Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly, which Bob Abernethy conceived and anchors, has been described as "the best spot on the television landscape to take in the broad view of the spiritual dimension of American life . . ." by the Christian Science Monitor. "Finally," wrote the San Francisco Chronicle, "something intelligent on TV about religion." Now, together with his coauthor William Bole, Abernethy has turned his attention to making a book that asks all the big questions—and elicits the most surprising answers from a who’s-who of today’s serious religious and spiritual thinkers from across the spectrum of faiths and denominations.
In this thoughtful collection, extraordinary people give their personal and private accounts of their own spiritual struggle. Their insights on community, prayer, suffering, religious observance, the choice to live with or without a god, and the meanings that are gleaned from everyday life form an elegant meditation on the desire for something beyond what we can see and measure.
More than fifty contributors, including Jimmy Carter, Francis Collins, The Dalai Lama, Robert Franklin, Irving Greenberg, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Harold Kushner, Anne Lamott, Madeleine L’Engle, Thomas Lynch, Martin Marty, Mark Noll, Rachel Remen, Marilynne Robinson, Barbara Brown Taylor, Studs Terkel, Thich Nhat Hanh, Phyllis Tickle, Desmond Tutu, Jean Vanier, and Marianne Williamson.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Faith and doubt stand in loving tension in this splendid collection edited by Bole, a religion writer, and Abernethy, founder and host of the PBS program Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly. The book draws from the extensive interviews the series has conducted with religious luminaries and writers, some of whom appear more than once. The interviews are loosely arranged into themes of prayer; suffering and the problem of evil; encountering religious pluralism; preparing for death and the afterlife; and the varieties of religious practice. Not all of the contributors describe themselves as religious ("You know what an agnostic is?" asks the agnostic near-centenarian Studs Terkel. "A cowardly atheist"). Most of those profiled, however, have walked a long path of religious devotion, including Desmond Tutu, Jimmy Carter, Thich Nhat Hanh, the Dalai Lama, Anne Lamott, William Sloane Coffin, Martin Marty, Frederica Mathewes-Green and Phyllis Tickle (PW's former contributing editor in religion). With such an amazing cast of characters, it's practically impossible to go wrong, and this collection doesn't miss a step. The section on suffering is particularly perceptive ("I know that where there is no suffering, nothing happens," novelist Madeleine L'Engle says). This is a rich feast of accumulated wisdom. (Apr. 3)
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Review


"A rich feast of accumulated wisdom"–Publishers Weekly

"Filled with ideas of people from scientists to writers, the book dismantles the myth that postmodern thinking offers little room for faith."–Religion News Service

"If you want to know how a wide and divergent array of thoughtful American understand and practice their religious faith, no other one book can tell you more than this collection of honest and often powerfully moving reflections."–Peter Steinfels, Co-director, Fordham Center on Religion and Culture and religion columnist for the New York Times

"This is a feast of ideas and insights, a banquet of hard-won wisdom to which you can return time and again when your heart yearns for inspiration and your intellect for illumination."–Bill Moyers


Product Details

  • Hardcover: 438 pages
  • Publisher: Seven Stories Press (April 3, 2007)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 158322758X
  • ISBN-13: 978-1583227589
  • Product Dimensions: 7 x 1.4 x 9.5 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #717,525 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

8 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Survey of First Rate Religious Thinkers' Thoughts on Meaningful Life, May 18, 2007
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M. C. Spradling (Charleston, WV United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Life of Meaning: Reflections on Faith, Doubt, and Repairing the World (Hardcover)

Beautifully written, skillfully edited...Provides intelligent insights from a variety of religious thinkers regarding elements of a meaningful life in today's society. Would be outstanding for book reading clubs. Abernethy's interviews on his public television show always ask the questions I would want to ask the authors if given the opportunity. Now the insights are available in the written word. Thanks to Bob Abernethy for the stimulating, intellectually honest exploration of such a relevant subject.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Thoughtful and Engaging, July 23, 2008
An inspiring collection of 59 essays to help us make sense of the chaotic and painful world we live in. It is spiritual but not preachy, a book that I can pick up, read a passage, reflect upon, and feel better.

I particularly liked the essay devoted to Desmond Tutu entitled "Redeeming The Devil". Profound stuff.
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8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Engaging, June 1, 2007
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This review is from: The Life of Meaning: Reflections on Faith, Doubt, and Repairing the World (Hardcover)
One of those rare books that really makes you think...not only while you're reading it, but long after you put it down.
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Inside This Book (learn more)
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
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Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
United States, Jesus Christ, The Meaning Makers, Lives Well Lived, Oklahoma City, New York, Yom Kippur, Holy Spirit, New Testament, Southern Baptists, Church Health Center, High Holidays, Share Our Strength, World Trade Center, Being Religious-Mainline Protestantism, Kim Lawton, Being Religious-Catholicism, Phnom Penh, Being Religious-Buddhism, Judy Valente, Dalai Lama, Los Angeles, Kathy Kelly, Elie Wiesel, Second Vatican Council
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