Customer Reviews

Martin Buber's I and Thou: Practicing Living Dialogue

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Martin Buber's I and Thou: Practicing Living Dialogue is an excellent introduction and overview of Buber's I and Thou. Kenneth Kramer is extremely readable and conveys complex ideas in a manner that allows the reader to grasp the concepts with much more facility. Through the use of illustrations, referencing other work by Buber, side by side exerpts of Smith's and Kaufmann's translations, and additional insights offered by Kenneth Kramer and Mechthild Gawlick, Buber's challenging masterpiece is presented in a way that is engaging and understandable. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a "user friendly" introduction to Buberian thought. It is a great resource for students and teachers of philosophy, theology, or modern thought. This book made such an impact upon me, that I am keeping multiple copies on hand so that I don't have to lend my own.

I really liked how Kramer uses the parallel English translations to unpack the meaning of Buber's profound theological insights. He does this better than most commentators on the Bible.

It is enjoyable to read the personal stories of Buber's life and how they relate to the themes in 'I and Thou'. Kramer makes Buber come alive in a way that did not happen to me when reading Buber in seminary. So, I am very glad to have come across Kramer's book.

Kramer explains how the dialogical movement evolved as well. There is still a feeling of "outdatedness" to Buber's I/Thou, with its anthropocentric view and emphasis on language which deconstructionists have shown to be relative to culture and worldview. Yet the recognition of a change in consciousness when we switch from I-Thou to I-it remains as one of the most significant observations of any theologian of modern time.

Kramer's book sparked a good discussion among my peers, including a Jewish rabbi and a Protestant minister who claims Buber's book as his "second Bible".

I highly recommend this book for anyone wanting to get a better grasp on Buber and his theology.