The Life of Meaning: Reflections on Faith, Doubt, and Repairing the World (Paperback)

by Bob Abernethy (Author), William Bole (Author), Tom Brokaw (Foreword)
Key Phrases: memorial process, United States, Jesus Christ, Lives Well Lived (more...)

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)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Description

Extraordinary people will say extraordinary things, especially when it is Bob Abernethy and his team at PBS' Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly doing the asking. The Life of Meaning presents fifty-nine contributors speaking candidly about their search for meaning in their own personal lives, their experience of God, and for some, the struggle to reconcile faith and doubt. They include 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, Marianne Williamson, and many others.

Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly, which Bob Abernethy conceived for PBS in 1997 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. In The Life of Meaning, Abernethy, co-author William Bole, and the staff of Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly turn their attention to making a book that asks all the big questions-and elicit the most surprising answers from a who's-who of today's serious religious and spiritual thinkers from across a spectrum of faiths and denominations.

Bob Abernethy is the executive editor and host of Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly. Before launching the series, he had served as a correspondent for NBC News for more than four decades.

William Bole's articles have appeared in The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and Commonweal magazines.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Seven Stories Press (May 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1583228292
• ISBN-13: 978-1583228296
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #255,300 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 16 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

By	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.

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Engaging, June 1, 2007

By	Deborah Rahman (Snowmass CO USA) - See all my reviews

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.

5.0 out of 5 stars Reflecting, December 5, 2008

By	Mary Ann Johnston "Author of 'Sustained by Fa... (Vanderbilt, Michigan, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

People are more spiritually minded than they are given credit for. This book certainly reminds us that we each have deeply held beliefs that we gradually improve upon as we go along. And as we grow spiritually, we find more meaning in our lives. It is also true on a collective level. I always love to read about the development of life in all of its progressions and this book about covers it.
Sustained by Faith: Personal Awakening in God