Customer Reviews

The Promise of Paradox: A Celebration of Contradictions in the Christian Life

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Congratulations (AGAIN...) to Jossey-Bass for a really smart strategic move --- originally published in 1980, Jossey-Bass (John-Wiley & Sons) purchased the rights, including the Introduction by Henri Nouwen and Voila!!! --- Like I said, another strategic masterpiece by Jossey-Bass.

I needed to read this book. As an avowed Christian, I benefit from the struggles of others who claim the name of Christ regarding their preferred faith flavor. As Palmer says in his introduction to this volume, " I find it hard to name my beliefs using traditional Christian language because that vocabulary has been taken hostage by theological terrorists and tortured beyond recognition." (p. xxi).

Palmer's treatise is truly captured early on in this volume when he writes, "Perhaps contradictions are not impediments to the spiritual life but an integral part of it. Through them we may learn that the power power for life comes from God, not from us." (p.2).

For Palmer, "The paradox that we can win only by forgetting about winning is Christianity 101." (p. 23).

This book must be savored like when a chef provides you with a teaspoon of warm broth to contemplate the care with which it has been created...with your eyes shut...slowly...allowing your soul to digest the essence of the delicacy you are savoring.

An incredibly powerful treatise...filled with life-lessons pertinent for today and tomorrow. Well, I guess that how truth actually endures.

Buy this book!!!

This is Parker Palmer's first book. A stunning approach to the central themes of Christian spirituality and introduces a new religious writer of major stature. This book, deeply rooted in the spiritual teaching of Thomas Merton, will have its greatest appeal for those wayfarers whose souls are thirsting for the fresh, living waters of quality spiritual writing.

It is a joy to re-read this book after experiencing Palmer's journey through the years. I found the book to be just as engaging today as it was when it was first written. I found the new preface to be one of the best articulations of an authentic and well lived faith that I have ever read. He honors not only his faith, but the faith of all traditions, by demanding that it speak beyond the confines of religious communities and our "inside" language. His work for years, and now his faithful words, embody what the Christian faith has known as "incarnational" theology - the word made flesh. I appreciate this wonderful contribution to the ongoing conversation between faith and the public square.

It is unfortunate what's happened to the word Christian. Frothing nutcases have usurped it in the name of intolerance and bad theology. And, oh yeah, that whole inquisition thing too, and all those wars. Things humans seem to fall into. But if you have a sense that at its core, the term Christian could actually mean something very significant, that it can connote a very deep and liberating approach to life, read this book. As a meditation on the ideas of the contemplative monk and writer Thomas Merton, as well as poet R.M. Rilke, and his own original insights into paradox, community, and education, Parker Palmer brings it together in a synthesis that is not only profound, but perhaps even more timely now than it was when he first wrote it in 1980. There's a reason the publishers decided to re-release this book right now. Read it.

The Promise of Paradox by Parker Palmer is a refreshing view of the traditional values and beliefs of Christian faith written 30 years ago and now in reprint. He writes his own introduction explaining the various changes in both his language and thought over the 30 year period. Henri Nouwen wrote the first introduction which is also included.
To live a faith in honest integrity one needs to come to grips with the ambiquity in life or the"belly of paradox" as he often refers. The spirit moves in ways that are often not of conventional wisdom and it is the holding of the tension between seeming polarities where the spirit grows, ripens, and truly connects with God. His message is one of unitive thinking rather than dualistic thinking and Parker Palmer lifts the reader to new dimensions and challenges with his message of love and compassion for all living creatures while embracing their diversity. A book for all faiths and all spiritual paths that leads one into greater connection with self and the God within.

If you are ready for a book that takes you where truth lives in the area between positions which seem to be opposites, not as an average or middle ground, but in the living tension, buy this book fast. It is amazing.

THE PROMISE OF PARADOX: A CELEBRATION OF CONTRADICTIONS IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE
By Parker Palmer (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2008)

Reviewed by Darren Cronshaw

I enjoy a book, like The Promise of Paradox, that raises as many questions as answers. Rather than explaining away dilemmas of faith and complexities of life, Palmer embraces the mystery and reality of paradoxes. When prayer feels like a chore, a shopping list, or when it seems to bounce off the ceiling, I appreciate an approach that encourages prayer as a way of life. He challenges me to consider how open am I to deeply listening to God in the midst of struggles. Palmer most interestingly explores how we can be open to God through community, education and prayer.

With his wife Sally, early in his teaching career Palmer taught for a decade at Pendle Hill, a living-learning community near Philadelphia. They sought an experiment in interdependence and community life, and discovered a parallel need for boundaries and solitude. Palmer pleads for an approach to community not just for the benefit of personal nurture but for promoting economic and political justice in a society of competitive individualism. He asks, "How can I participate in a fairer distribution of resources unless I live in a community that makes it possible to consume less? ... How can I learn to share power unless I live in a community where hierarchy is unnatural?" (p.65) Shrinking world resources may push us more in the community-sharing directions which Palmer encourages, and which he himself gave up a large salary and successful career to find.

His appeal for reform in education is also still timely today. He urges collaborative learning rather than breeding exam-based competition, and celebrating diverse expressions of intelligence rather than focusing just on intellectual capacity. He appeals to teachers to be learners and to help students to engage with big questions: "as teachers, we must not only make room for the Spirit to move within us but also cultivate learning situations that will help students open up to that movement" (p.133).

Finally, his words on prayer are life-giving. Palmer draws on the Trappist monk Thomas Merton, a kind of patron saint of social activists, who appeals for an integration of spirituality with the struggles and mess of life. Palmer realises spiritual life is not orderly and pristine and suggests adding a new prayer to the well-known short list of "Thanks!" and "Help!", adding the simple "Bless this mess!" Prayer for Palmer is not special pleading for a scarce resource before someone else gets it, as if our identity depends on what we have. True prayer will help release us from the idolatry of such illusions and instead experience the fullness of God: `a life that returns constantly to that silent, solitary place within us where we encounter God and life's abundance becomes manifest' (p.114).

"This book is important not because it is written by a good scholar, but because it is written by a scholar who dared to wonder if his scholarship really led him to the truth. It is important not because it is written by a man who knows more than most people about the dynamics of community life, but because it is written by a man who gave up a large salary and moved away from a successful career to find community. It is important not because it is written by a man who has been a consultant to many on educational matters, but because it is written by a man who kept wondering if his own education didn't do him more harm than good and who gave much of his energy to a form of education not dominated by grades and degrees. It is important not because it is written by a man who knows the Bible well, but because it is written by a man who dared to let the Bible make radical claims on his own life and the lives of those he loves." (Henri Nouwen, "Introduction to the 1980 edition", p.x-xi)

Originally reviewd in Witness: The Voice of Victorian Baptists, Vol. 143, No. 8 (September 2008), p.21.

Book arrived very quickly - was in wonderful condition - and packed very well. Will certainly order from this company again.

This book was rich and filling and provided much spiritual nourishment for the baby Christian as well as the Christian who has been full but still desires pie and ice cream. His words spoke to me and gave me new insight into his thesis on paradox. As a learning experience as well as a spiritual one, the book is satisifying, discerning, clever. His sentiments are obvious but not until Palmer pointed them out did I really begin to understand their meaning especially with all the examples he provides.

I'm a Parker Palmer fan, but can't strongly recommend this particular book. The first essay which delves into Thomas Merton's thoughts on paradox was fresh and thoughtful. I could read that several times. I liked his essay on the Way of the Cross as well.

Yet the subsequent essays were reworkings of previous writings. I expected the book to stick to the topic of Christian and spiritual paradox and thought the essays on education didn't fit. They also lacked specifics on Parker's own teaching. I'd get the book at the library as I did and read the first two essays.