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34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
FROM THE EXCELLENT CO-AUTHOR OF THE ECUMENICAL TENT OF ABRAHAM, ANOTHER GEM OF CATHOLIC SPIRITUALITY, October 18, 2007
This review is from: Welcome to the Wisdom of the World And Its Meaning for You: Universal Spiritual Insights Distilled from Five Religious Traditions (Hardcover)
For a generation or more American Benedictine Sister Joan has produced for our comfort, consolation, counseling and certain spiritual guidance works of great wonder and wisdom, and this one no less.
Based only upon her life's work writing, she should receive a degree as Doctor of Theology honoris causi. Who knows - perhaps she already has earned one through coursework and dissertation but does not wear it upon her sleeve as others do. In any case her writing is always outstanding and well received and above all helpful.
Within the thirty chapters of this generous book she addresses questions from letters sent to her by her readers. These questions include Where is God? What does it mean to be a spiritual person? What's wrong with me - why can't I change? as well as questions regarding the meaning of life, aging, happiness, community, etc. She draws for each of these questions from the deep wells of the world's religions which she has closely studied, and, as a Benedicitne nun, intimately lived almost all of her long and fruitful life.
We are fortunate to find her wisdom so generously shared with us here as she addresses questions from correspondents, the real questions which concern every one of us, answered with the universality of human spirituality and traditions. She answers not as Dear Abbey nor Anne Landers answers, but with the depth of the wisdom of our universal religion, not nit picking and exiling, but drawing all of us together enclosed in her warming embrace and contemplative wisdom. Each response therefore is not so much an "answer" to life's persistent questions but a meditation for us all to share as we struggle towards ultimate meaning, as we struggle to love even our enemies as we are commanded to do. Sister Joan makes that difficult path straight; like the Wise Virgins her lamp is well lit.
A valuable gift for all who search, thus for everyone. An excellent gift for your closest friends and family whom you love, and for those whom you do not, as well, in order to establish the peaceful ground for loving.
Sister Joan is a blessing for us all. Please read her books.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Heartspeak, March 9, 2008
This review is from: Welcome to the Wisdom of the World And Its Meaning for You: Universal Spiritual Insights Distilled from Five Religious Traditions (Hardcover)
According to Chittister, "The truth in every age lives with questions in progress."
The one thing that is never in question for me is that a Chittister book is inspiring, insightful and seems to make a positive contribution in my life.
In this book, Joan deals with some rather universal questions in each chapter - questions common to all inhabitants of this planet. She addresses these questions with insights from other cultures and 5 different faith persuasions.
I recommend this book. It was a blessing for me.
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38 of 48 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good in some ways, but clearly better for some readers than others, September 4, 2007
This review is from: Welcome to the Wisdom of the World And Its Meaning for You: Universal Spiritual Insights Distilled from Five Religious Traditions (Hardcover)
This is the first of Joan Chittester's books I've read and, as a Roman Catholic, I am well aware of the discussions -- that's a charitable term, because some of the talk on all sides is quite acrimonious -- about her writing. I picked up this title because I was interested in the syncretic approach implied by the subtitle: "universal spiritual insights distilled from five religious traditions".
Each religion is dealt with in historical sequence and, within each section, the writer poses big quesions -- "How do I know the right thing to do?" "Where is God?", for example -- that she thinks can be addressed by the wisdom of a particular religious tradition. She relates stories of the various traditions and, in broad strokes, describes the touchstones, the primary beliefs. With regard to her descriptions of the primary beliefs, particularly as she summarizes these in the epilogue, it is probably important to emphasize that she shares her view of what constitutes those beliefs.
And that's a sticking point, I think, for some who might pick up this book. It seems unlikely to me that formal authorities in any religion would confer a "nihil obstat" (a statement that a book is without errors) on this title. Although my interest was not in parsing (and certainly not in contesting) any of her statements about Christianity, there were some things that gave me pause and thus caused me to pull back a bit from becoming fully absorbed in her discourse. Put differently, it was easier to relate to her treatment of questions in the context of other religions than in the context of my own. A caution, then, that this book might serve better as a window on other religions than as a statement or reflection of one's own religion.
Of course, this is problematic for the Roman Catholics who believe that Roman Catholics have a duty to present a narrowly constructed version of the faith. Those people certainly will not benefit from this book and in the strongest possible terms I would advise that they avoid it. Speaking directly: you already know what you think of Sr Chittester; this book will do nothing other than to confirm your views.
This is not a hard book to read. The writing is straight-forward and, in places, elegant. It does, however, end with a thump: a summation of the author's view of each of the religions and -- well, that's it. The final sentence: "Islam sets out to be the community of God on earth and struggles with every breath of every day to be it." All right, then, lesson taken on board: we are not supposed to think that the September 11th hijackers showed their religion, truly. But for the book to end there seemed abrupt, almost as if the author has been called away to the phone.
For me, three stars means I'm on the fence about a book; five is an unreserved endorsement. I'm glad to have read up -- i.e., not on the fence -- and, to some, I recommend it. But if your view of your religion, whether Hindu or Buddhist or Jewish or Christian or Muslim -- is a narrow one, this book is probably not for you.
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