3 comments about Warrior-King of Shambhala: Remembering Chogyam Trungpa.

1. As one who was there, I was very impressed by the accuracy and the balanced view of this account. I too remembered, and shed a tear or two.
   
   Diana Mukpo wrote about Trungpa Rinpoche, as his wife, John Perks, as idiot servant; this is the story from the point of view of a genuine student.
   
   Making it more than just a memoir, Jeremy has woven in the background and rationale for the presentation of the Shambhala Teachings, and illustrates how they relate to the more traditional Tibetan Buddhist teachings.
   
   Jeremy as scientist, convincingly presents the proposition that nowadays we accept scientific materialism as truth, religion, without ever knowing it. This point, illustrated though his own journey and hesitations, might be the most important insight, in terms of benefiting people right now.



2. This is an engaging and compelling look back at the author's life and experience with Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. It's well-told, candid, and fascinating, and recommended to anyone with an interest in the subject.



3. Most of us wonder what it would be like to live in an enlightened society. Perhaps we even yearn for that. Jeremy Hayward has written a completely absorbing narrative of his encounter with a warrior-king and the creation of an enlightened society. Perhaps if one of Arthur's knights had written such a narrative it would read like this. Highly recommended for an authentic and heartfelt rendering of his experience.

No comments about A Short Life of Jonathan Edwards (Library of Religious Biography).

5 comments about The Life of Muhammad.

1. Guillaume's reconstruction of Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah is possibly one of the best biographies written of anyone, though it is not for the novice or uninitiated regarding Islamic history. His attention to detail is sufficient that he retains the isnads, or links of transmission, for the various narrations of witnesses to the Prophet's life, allowing the reader to track the backgrounds of various characters and participants. While Ibn Ishaq's work might contain what some would call legends or impossible stories, nevertheless, one gains an excellent picture of the Prophet's life and deeds. The material below might be a little too technical for most, but considering the detractors and the nature of this book, it is necessary to use the appropriate terms and concepts in Islam.
   
   The principle argument of the critics posted on Amazon is that the translation distorts the original text. This has significant problems here, especially since their argument is primarily based on one passage. First, Ibn Ishaq's original text is lost. Thus, the account of the Prophet reciting a Sura that Gabriel did not bring to him (p166) regarding compromising with polytheism would not be found in the "original Arabic." What one critic is instead probably referencing is Ibn Hisham's heavily edited Sira which removed this account and many others he considered to be "embarrassing" to the dignity of the Prophet. Second, the account in question is attested to by al-Tabari in his Ta'rikh, or History, pp 1192-93. Third, Ibn Sa'd in the al-Tabaqat also accepts the hadith that relate this account, with only slight changes (Vol I, pp 236-37). Fourth, Ibn Kathir, on the basis of following al-Tabari's lead, also accepts the essentials of the account, though edited down (Tafsir, Vol. VI, pp 597-98). In this he cites "Fath al-Bari 8:292" in support of Allah removing falsehood that got into the Prophet's speech. Fifth, Qadi 'Iyad, in the Ash-Shifa, discusses this issue at length in an effort to refute it (pp 300-306). One of his arguments is that the hadith in question is not in the sahih collections, and that it is considered "da'if," or weak. Of course, if this is so, then the same goes for the phrase "the Greater versus the Lesser Jihad," where some claim that the greatest jihad is the fight against one's inner evil and not engaging in warfare. Ibn Taymiyyah cites this hadith as not only da'if, but even considers it a forgery. This hadith at least meets the same criteria as cited by Qadi 'Iyad for the one in question in Ibn Ishaq's work, so should we discard that as unauthentic as well?
   
   Of course, in his effort to refute this passage Qadi 'Iyad opens other cans of worms, such as stating that al-Shaytan (Satan) could deceive transmitters of hadith (which makes all hadith suspect) or that al-Shaytan could even be lurking nearby to speak like the Prophet and thus deceive the listeners, thus making the very Qur'an suspect. Naturally, neither of these possibilities are acceptable to Muslims.
   
   The evidence presented above demonstrates that Guillaume's reconstruction is at least faithful to the documents he had, and thus this rendition of Ibn Ishaq's Sira is accurate and acceptable. It is up to the reader to then sift through the material to see what he or she thinks is the most accurate, and what is possibly legend.
   
   As for the rest of the material, there are numerous nuggets of gold nestled in here, and if one does some serious thinking as they read they can pick out all sorts of fascinating material about the Prophet, his companions, and his campaign to subjugate neighboring tribes, and Makkah itself.
   
   If you are getting serious about studying Islam, you must study this work. But if you want a more simplistic and yet sympathetic biography of the Prophet that is still accurate, then read Sir John Glubb's "The Life and Times of Muhammad."



2. This book is a translation Ibn Ishaq's SIRAT RASUL ALLAH, the original version of which has been lost to history. A. Guillaume translated an abridged edition by Ibn Hisham for his translation. THE LIFE OF MUHAMMAD is the result.
   
   The book is not in the form of an integrated narrative. Instead it's a series of stories, poems, accounts, recollections and other scraps of information collected by Ibn Ishaq bearing on the Prophet and his life and times.
   
   Don't plan on sitting down and reading this cover to cover. It's a scrapbook of information. To his credit, Ibn Ishaq attributes the bits and pieces of information he collects. In that sense, he's trying to do what professional historians still try to do, reconstruct the past and preserve it as best he can.
   
   And, he did a good job. There's a huge amount of information preserved in THE LIFE OF MUHAMMAD. If you're interested in learning more about Muhammad, you'll appreciate this book. I like it and gave it five stars.



3. Read this book as this is considered authentic and most revealing about Muhammed and his cruelty!! Excellent resource for debunking and exposing Islam and Muhammed! I highly recommend this tome!!



4. Ibn Ishaq was the earliest, and probably the most thorough, of Islam's historians. He never claimed that everything he heard was the perfect, absolute fact; rather, he very frankly writes "so-and-so said this, but so-and-so said that." Most of the discrepancies he cites are minor, and the vast majority of the incidents he cites are surprisingly consistent with what other Muslim historians say.
   
   Later, Ibn Hisham produced a "rescinded" version of Ibn Ishaq's work, including in his work an introduction that explains frankly that he cut parts that others might find offensive. It is actually this work that survives -- to date no complete copy of Ibn Ishaq's orginial work has been found.
   
   Meanwhile, however, other Muslim historians commented on Ibn Ishaq's work (before it was rescinded and lost) and quoted from it extensively. Guilliaume has taken these pieces and added them back in, and has indicated clearly what has been added, diligently citing the source of the addition in each case.
   
   While this book is not exactly light reading, it is fascinating, and essential for understanding the context of the Quran. The Quran and the Life of Muhammad should be read side by side to really get an understanding of how Islam developed over the course of Muhammad's life.
   
   Don't be put off by the extremely thorough names -- clan and lineage was an integral part of life in sixth-century Arabia so a person's name often is listed as "A son of B son of C son of D son of E of the clan F." It's even worse when they list four or five people that way, taking up two-thirds of a paragraph before getting to a verb, but just skip over this and read the great stories. This is a fascinating read and a fabulous academic resource.
   
   If you want something a little easier to read, get Martin Lings' book: Muhammad, His Life Based on the Earliest Sources. A work of impeccable scholarship, this book is shorter, easier to read, and, while it is largely based on Ibn Ishaq, it also includes some other sources considered authentic by Islamic scholars. Lings won awards in Pakistan and Egypt for the book, which is in its third printing and is sold all over the Muslim world.
   
   Again, the frustrating thing about any book on the life of Muhammad will be keeping track of who's who -- there are so many characters and many of them share the same name, so you have to make an effort to keep track of which Abdullah and which Sa'd they are talking about. (For example, at one point both of Muhammad's personal bodyguards were named Sa'd.) To add further confusion, the most polite way to address someone in Arabic is "Father of so-and-so" or "Mother of so-and-so" but Martin Lings is pretty good about using one form or the other consistently throughout the book. Also, there is a helpful index in the back of both Guillaume's and Lings' book for when you can't remember who's who.
   
   Either of these books is essential reading if you are studying the Quran or Islam.



5. If you really want to learn more about the early years of Islam and its founder, this book is superior to almost all modern interpretations of Islam, which are invariably tainted with pcism. This is the oldest "sira" (biography) of Mohammad and, as such, is very authoritative amongst Muslims. As for the comments made by some reviewers that the translation is "tainted," this is a false assertion. Regarding the issue of the Satanic Verses, the reason it's included in Ishaq's book is because it is found in the great historian, al-Tabari's volumes. And as Guiliame (sp?) makes clear in his intro, the original biography of Ibn Ishaq's is no longer extant and exists only in recessions, al-Tabari's being one of them. So Guilliame makes it a point to include al-Tabari's excerpts, with, if I rightly recall, an asterisk and in parantheses. That's what's called "scholarship"; the whining made by the (apparently mostly Muslim) reviewers are called "smokescreens."

5 comments about Signs and Wonders.

1. I was so fascinated with this book as a gift that my husband gave me for Christmas, that I in turn gave it to my Mother, Step-Mother and Grandmother for Mother's Day this year... knowing they would all thoroughly enjoy it as much as I have... I have the fortune of my husband reading a few chapters to me in the evenings every now and then... and even if he re-reads some of the same passages, it is still so wonderful to hear it again... You will not be disappointed, and if you pay attention you will see her strategy as it were.



2. I HAVE HEARD MY FATHER TALK ABOUT THIS BOOK FOR MANY YEARS. BUT HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO GET A COPY AS IT WAS OUT OF PRINT. I WAS SO PLEASED TO BE ABLE TO GET ONE. THE BOOK IS SO INSPIRATIONAL. I LOVE IT.



3. Etter was a champion of the Faith. She lived through great emotional hardship and still served God unwaveringly. Through her God healed and spoke to a generation. She was the grandmother of the Pentecostal movement.



4. Bearing the emotional wounds of a tragic childhood, Maria Woodworth-Etter embarks upon the journey of motherhood only to lose her children, one heartbreak after the other. The sufferings of her life were so great that sorrow nearly broke her. I have read her book but I still don't undertand how she managed to endure. Who would have thought that God would chose such a person to imprint His Name and dispaly His power upon a generation?

   If God wanted to prove that He choses the weak and foolish things of this world in order to confound the strong and the wise, He found His vessel of choice in this little woman, Maria Woodworth-Etter.

   A shy and timid woman, barely able to utter a word in public, Maria Woodworth Etter became one of the most legendary vessels of God since the early church age. When she took the platform and opened her mouth He filled it with His Words, and with power. Her natural voice was small but when the anointing of God came upon her she could be heard clearly from a great distance. Travelers passing through the villages where her meetings were taking place would find themselves falling under the "slaying anointing" or "falling down anointing" as custom would call it, as they came near her meetings. Record has it that railroad men finding passengers falling down mysteriously would suddenly realize that Mother Etter was preaching nearby, and they would understand what was happening to these passengers in their railroad cars. In both the Old and New Testaments it is recorded that there were times when people could not stand in the Presence of the Power of God. And this was just one manifestation of her ministry.

   Some of the greatest miracles of God ever recorded were wrought in the ministry of this unlikely little woman. An awesome record of the outpouring of the Holy Ghost in her generation, this book is an inspiration. If He did it once He can do it again. And if He could use her, perhaps He could use...well.

   For every student of the great moves of God this book is a must read, and a keeper for your library. You won't want to part with it. I predict that you will make a special home for it on your shelf alongside the works of John G. Lake, Smith Wigglesworth, Kathryn Kuhlman and the few others like them.

   Not sure that you believe in miracles but would like to read about them and about the people used to perform them? This is a great place to begin. But remember, faith does not come from reading about miracles, it comes from knowing the miracle giver, and by reading His book. The books of Maria Woodworth-Etter will point you there.




5. An anointed(still!)record of the meetings of Maria Woodworth-Etter(1844-1924)in her own words and sermons as well as contemporary reviews, testimonies of healings, and eyewitness accounts of the real power and presence of the Holy spirit . Though the coming of the Lord for the church may not have come as soon as she seemed to be saying, I believe she spoke as the Lord directed in a prophetic voice. I would recommend this book to any one searching for God as well as to those who long to see His power today.

4 comments about A Passion for God: The Spiritual Journey of A. W. Tozer.

1. An elderly Christian gentleman once told me that if he could have only one book other than the Bible, it would be The Knowledge of the Holy by A. W. Tozer. The Knowledge of the Holy and The Pursuit of God, also by A. W. Tozer, are two of the best loved Christian books of the twentieth century. Their author, Aiden Wilson Tozer (1897-1963), is remembered as a modern-day Christian mystic, and, apart from its founder, the best known pastor in the history of the Christian and Missionary Alliance.
   
   This latest biography of A. W. Tozer, A Passion for God: The Spiritual Journey of A. W. Tozer, is the latest in a series of short, informative biographies of influential evangelical Christians by Lyle Dorsett, Professor of Evangelism at the Beeson Divinity School of Samford University. Dorsett's goal is to provide a biography of Tozer that portrays him as a real human being, one who was far from perfect but saved by God's great grace and used by God to lead other Christians into a deeper, more meaningful Christian faith.
   
   Like Dwight L. Moody, about whom Dorsett has also written a biography, Tozer had very little formal education and a lifelong passion to lead people to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Unlike Moody, who was never ordained, Tozer was ordained by the CM&A in 1920. For the remainder of his life, he served the Alliance in pastorates in the U.S.A. and Canada, as editor of the denomination's magazine, The Alliance Weekly (later The Alliance Witness), and through his many widely popular books. A. W. Tozer did more to spread awareness of the CM&A than any other spokesperson.
   
   Although he had little formal education and no formal seminary training, Tozer read widely and deeply in the works of great secular thinkers like Aristotle, Plato, Spinoza, Descartes, Hume, Hegel, and Karl Marx, as well as the early Church Fathers, and other great Christian thinkers like Bernard of Clairvaux, Peter Abelard, Madame Guyon, John Newton, the Wesley brothers, and many more. Tozer believed that there was much to learn through reason, "But knowledge of God and the human spirit and the soul can be grasped only through the Holy Spirit" (96). He believed that reason was a valuable tool, but, he insisted, [God] "is above human reason and He is above human science" (qtd in Dorsett 96). Like Moody, Tozer wanted Christians to "enter into a deeper life with Christ." He was convinced that God wanted his people to "know Him" not just "about Him" (125). When faced with a difficult passage in the Bible, Tozer urged believers to "[g]o to God first about the meaning of any text" before consulting human authors. Once when he was accused of disliking the Scofield Bible, he said that on the contrary, "I've worn four of them out, and I have number five now at home . . . I just don't believe its notes. When it starts telling me things are otherwise than they are, I just write that off. But he does divide up things nicely for you" (qtd. 139).
   
   A major part of Tozer's appeal in his sermons and books was the obvious fact that he read much wider than was common for most seminary and Bible college graduates. Also, it was very evident that he knew God intimately. He had experienced the deeper life that he urged other believers to seek. What Tozer found in the CM&A was a celebration of "Jesus Christ as Healer, as well as Savior, Sanctifier, and Coming King." All too many believers, Tozer was convinced, "tend to substitute logic for life and doctrine for experience" (qtd. 126). The cure for such a shallow relationship could be found in the "Four-fold Gospel" as taught by the CM&A's founder A. B. Simpson.
   
   Perhaps the finest feature of Dorsett's book is how he reveals to the reader the human side of A. W. Tozer. The Tozer we encounter in A Passion for God is one whose zeal for God's house brought great pain to his own. No doubt in part due to the very difficult relationship he had with his own father, A. W. Tozer found it near impossible to relate to either his wife or his children on an emotionally intimate level. He seems to have wanted only a surface relationship with his wife, Ada, and remained always distant from his children. His youngest child and only daughter, Rebecca, knew him best. She once said that the estrangement between her parents may have been due in part to the fact that her mother was a romantic to the core, whereas her father eschewed sentimentalism and displays of emotion, and seemed to fear intimacy" (142). Rebecca also noted that her mother never read anything but the Reader's Digest. There was something that drove a wedge between her parents, something that she was never able to understand. From the children's perspective, both parents remained distant from their offspring. According to their son Lowell, "We were known ironically as `the Tozer kids.' But we were not a unit or tight-knit family. We were a family full of individuals" (qtd. 108).
   
   A. W. Tozer and his wife Ada both suffered from depression, but neither knew how to be healed. Ironically, as Dorsett concludes, both confessed to friends late in their life together that they had lived a lonely life. Even after the children were grown and gone, and his pastoral and other duties were lessened, Aiden seems to have kept himself busy so as to have "no time to develop the marital intimacy that they had both learned to live without" (158). After Aiden's passing in 1963 and her remarriage to Leonard Odam in 1964, the former Mrs. Tozer said of her first husband: "My husband was so close to God, a man of such deep prayer, always on his knees, that he could not communicate with me or our family. No one knew what a lonely life I had, especially after the kids left home" (qtd. 144). Of her new life with Odam, she said, "I have never been happier in my life. Aiden loved Jesus Christ, but Leonard Odam loves me" (qtd. 160). As for Aiden, shortly before his death, he confided to a fellow pastor, "I've had a lonely life" (qtd.144).
   
   A. W. Tozer is remembered as "one of the great spiritual giants of the past century." Whether already a Tozer fan or one desiring an introduction to him, Lyle Dorsett's A Passion for God: The Spiritual Journey of A. W. Tozer is an interesting and delightful read. The only criticism this reviewer can make is to note the absence of an index. Only novels should be published without an index.



2. As much as I love Tozer the author, I knew little of the man himself. What a blessing that one of my favorite professors when I was student at Wheaton College, Dr. Lyle Dorsett (now at Beeson Divinity School), who also happens to be a renowned expert on C. S. Lewis, has written a biography of this great Christian leader. Until this biography, I was not even aware that two previous works on Tozer's life existed or else I would have devoured them eagerly. Despite knowing nothing of these older bios, it was my great fortune to write Lyle a few years ago and discover that he was in the process of writing A Passion for God: The Spiritual Journey of A. W. Tozer. When the book made it to pre-order on Amazon, I put in my order right away.
   
   A Passion for God is a difficult book, not something I expected on opening it.The primary difficulty? It contains a mere 150 pages of genuine biographical material, leaving a tad unquenched readers' thirst to know more about the man who has been routinely labeled a genuine 20th century prophet. This is not to say that the scholarship here is inadequate, far from it, only that the private Tozer remains an enigma, even to those who knew him.
   
   Dorsett chooses to open his examination of Tozer with the quote, "I've had a lonely life." Indeed, as enormous a spiritual giant Tozer most definitely was, he proved a tough man to know. Even his family felt the distance, especially his wife Ada. Dorsett portrays a man who at once was close to Jesus and yet remote from the others who loved him. Once Tozer left the home of his youth, he eschewed visits, even going so far as to resist visiting his wife's family, despite his mother-in-law being instrumental in introducing Tozer to the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
   
   Tozer himself had been converted in 1915 shortly before his 18th birthday, praying to receive the Lord in the attic of his family's Akron home. Having been born into a poor dirt farming household that later moved to the Rubber City, Tozer never forgot his humble roots. He took his disdain for wealth into his marriage to Ada in 1918; after his death it was revealed that he'd been giving half his paycheck back to the churches he had pastored, had refused a pension in the Christian & Missionary Alliance denomination in which he served for decades, and had taken no royalties on the paperback editions of his bestselling books.
   
   Tozer pastored briefly in several poor churches in West Virginia and Ohio before ultimately receiving a call to Southside Alliance Church in Chicago, where he pastored for most of his life. He didn't like to drive, so his family lived close to the church for years, even after the humble wooden church was replaced with a far grander building.
   
   Dorsett ably recalls Tozer's rise within the C&MA as the leaders of that group rapidly understood they had a winner on their hands. Or more like a blaze. For wherever Tozer went, people caught fire. He went on to be a radio preacher on WMBI, the voice of Moody Bible Institute, and eventually garnered a nationwide audience.
   
   In 1960, Tozer, who lamented his skills in pastoral counseling, accepted a call to do nothing but preach at Avenue Road Church in Toronto, serving for three years before succumbing to a heart attack on May 12, 1963.
   
   A Passion for God reveals much more of Tozer's life than I just summarized. A few worthy notes:
   
   * Both Tozer and his wife battled depression. Tozer once told his younger assistant pastor, Raymond McAfee, "If you want to be happy, never ask for the gift of discernment."
   
   * Tozer was a very staunch pro-American patriot and was deeply affected by World War II, maintaining a special admiration and care for soldiers and their families.
   
   * Fearing that he'd succumb to too many human compliments, Tozer would avoid greeting his congregation at the door of the church after services, preferring to visit his church's nursery and talk with young parents.
   
   * Family devotion times at the Tozer household appear to have been just as difficult to schedule and pull off as they are in some of our homes.
   
   * Students, especially at Wheaton College, Moody Bible Institute, and later at his church in Toronto, adored Tozer and his messages. Tozer returned that affection, maintaining a lifelong soft spot for young people.
   
   * Tozer wrote one of his most famous works, The Pursuit of God, in one day while traveling by train to speak at another church.
   
   * Despite not having much education beyond fourteen years, Tozer devoured as many books as he could read, electing to read widely on many topics, particularly writings of pre-Reformation Christians who had been largely ignored by Protestants of his time. Tozer himself never attended college or went to seminary. He routinely cautioned potential pastors about problems with the seminary system.
   
   * Tozer spent hours in prayer and study in his office at the church, often prostrate on the floor. He even wore a specially tailored pair of pants that allowed him to pray longer while kneeling.
   
   * For years, D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones tried (unsuccessfully) to get Tozer to come to London to preach at his church.
   
   * Tozer defined workaholism, somehow managing to squeeze life enough for two people into one, yet when not traveling always made it home for the family dinner.
   
   * Tozer later regretted some of the harsh statements he made about movies with Christian themes.
   
   While A Passion for God is a deeply needed book on Tozer, I finished it discontented. When the forwards, appendices, and index are removed, this book is a scant 150 pages. Because Dorsett revisits some issues repeatedly (Ada Tozer's longing for a more intimate relationship with a man much more devoted to God than to his wife, for instance), each revisit adds little to what was already said, diluting the fullness of the material even more.
   
   Sadly, the one truth I hoped would be revealed in this biography never seemed to gel for me: What made Tozer's spiritual journey so profoundly different from all the other evangelical preachers of his time? Nor did I get a good feel for the one defining aspect of Tozer's life that set him well apart from his contemporaries: his love for the mystic writers of Christianity. How and why did he latch onto them when they were largely ignored by others?
   
   Dorsett also mentions that in later years Tozer received some critiques for being overly ecumenical, though he devotes only a page or so to this unusual fact about Tozer. This is definitely an underdeveloped thought considering Tozer railed against the increasing worldliness and liberalism he saw stealing away the heart and soul of Evangelicalism. In what may have been an overdevelopment, Dorsett devotes several pages to racial issues in Chicago toward the latter part of Tozer's ministry there. In truth, Tozer did not have much to say on the issue other than he didn't want to ignore reaching out to the black community of the time, nor did he like some of the contention, both from whites in his church and blacks in the surrounding neighborhood, that was forcing his congregation to relocate.
   
   Leonard Ravenhill discussed his friendship with Tozer in a few teaching tapes I've heard of his, so I was surprised that nothing came of this in the book, especially since I know that Dorsett likes Ravenhill, too. Dorsett also noted that Tozer spoke at several Keswick conferences, though this is not developed at all. I would have liked to have known more about Tozer's affiliations with some of the trends and schools of Christian thought of the time.
   
   Dorsett's writing style is light and easy to read, though a tendency to move forward and backward in time makes the sections on Tozer's childhood and early ministry more difficult to follow than they should be. And while I love Lyle's passion for certain topics within Christianity, he makes his presence as author a bit too obvious on issues near and dear to his heart, something I loved about him when I had him as a professor but others may find intrusive.
   
   A trade paperback, A Passion for God sports an attractive design, with an easy-on-the-eyes typeface and good whitespace. It includes a few pictures, too. For anyone interested in Tozer, it's a worthy read, especially since it shows even a great Christian who knew God intimately can suffer from feet of clay.



3. A.W. Tozer is a man whose ministry has fascinated me. A man who held closely to biblical, Protestant theology, he was also a man who loved the old Catholic mystics. He had little formal education, yet had the ability to hold the most educated of men and women at rapt attention. He had a single-minded devotion to Christ and the highest respect for the Scriptures. Reading "A Passion for God" has only increased my fascination with him, for here we see more strange and seemingly irreconcilable opposites. Biographer Lyle Dorsett has written a study of the man that deals as honestly with his faults as with the areas that are laudable. And in this case the faults are almost shocking.
   
   Tozer was a man who loved Scripture and loved nothing more than preaching its truths to all who would listen. "A.W. Tozer heralded biblical truth. He loved the Bible and unflinchingly preached what he believed people needed to hear, regardless of what they wanted." Yet he was a man who neglected the mission field in his home. "On and off over the years, Aiden exercised his role as head of the family by encouraging times of family devotions. These never lasted more than a few weeks. As one son explained, the children just did not want it and they were seldom all together for extended periods in any case."
   
   Tozer was a man who dedicated himself to reading, study and prayer and who delighted to be in the presence of God. "There is no way to measure the hours he spent in a typical day or week reading books and wrestling with ideas, but it was substantial. In a similar vein, we know that he increasingly devoted many hours each week praying, meditating on Scripture, and seeking deeper intimacy with the Lord Jesus Christ. During the 1930s Tozer read voraciously, and he also developed a magnificent obsession to be in Christ's presence- just to worship Him and to be with Him." Yet he was a man who was emotionally and spiritually distant from his own wife. "By early 1928 the Tozers had a routine. Aiden found his fulfillment in reading, preparing sermons, preaching, and weaving travel into his demanding and exciting schedule, while Ada learned to cope. She dutifully washed, ironed, cooked, and cared for the little ones, and developed the art of shoving her pain deep down inside. Most of the time she pretended there was no hurt, but when it erupted, she usually blamed herself for not being godly enough to conquer her longing for intimacy from an emotionally aloof husband."
   
   These strange inconsistencies abound. Tozer saw his wife's gifts for hospitality and encouraged her in them; yet he disliked having visitors in his own home. He preached about the necessity of Christian fellowship within the family of Christ; yet he refused to allow his family or his wife's family visit their home. For every laudable area of his life there seemed to exist an equal and opposite error. This study in opposites leaves for a fascinating picture of a man who was used so greatly by God, even while his life had such obvious sin.
   
   We are so accustomed to reading that we often give little attention to the book as a physical object. We interact with its words and phrases but think little of the art involved in actually putting together the book. In this case I thought it was only fair to draw attention to the exceptional design qualities of this title. The cover, the design, the printing, the details are all top-notch. The book is a pleasure to read both for the content and the book itself.
   
   Though certainly not an exhaustive biography (weighing in at just 164 pages before the indexes and appendices) "A Passion for God" is nevertheless a good and valuable one. Those who have enjoyed Tozer's writings will find here the life of a man who can and should be much admired for his deep spirituality and for his overwhelming love for Scripture. They will find here also the sad reality that Tozer, as have so many men before and after him, was willing to sacrifice his family on the altar of ministry. They will wrestle with the great irony that as Tozer grew closer to his Savior he seemed to grow more and more distant from his wife and family. His life stands as both an inspiration and a solemn warning.



4. I couldn't wait for this current biography of A W Tozer to be released. Tozer is one of my heroes. His classic, The Pursuit Of God, is about as good as it gets in terms of the heart seeking a deeper relationship with our Creator and Redeemer. Tozer's writings have stirred up within me a great hunger for a more intimate walk with my God. The author, Lyle Dorsett, has done an outstanding job of interviewing family, including all of Tozer's 7 children, as well as pastoral associates and close friends to present an accurate portrayal of a man-on-fire for God but at the expense of his own family relationships. This book is honest, well-researched, and highly recommended!!!

3 comments about Spiritual Radical: Abraham Joshua Heschel in America, 1940-1972.

1. After completing "Spiritual Radical," I sat on my parent's couch in their NYC apartment, emotionally, if not physically, trembling. A myriad of thoughts and feelings streamed through me as if I were a video that one watches on the internet. On the ride back home to Brooklyn, I composed--in my mind--what easily could become a 20+ page essay, "Was Abraham Joshua Heschel A Prophet?" That's how moving and evocative I found Professor Kaplan's biography to be.
   
   Besides giving me so, so much insight about Heschel, the man, I learned much about Heschel the theologist/philosopher, the historical period in which his work took place, the points of view of the various segments of both Judaism and Christianity--individual, organizational, and theological--and so much more it would take several pages to list them all.
   
   Indeed, words like brilliant, superb, and/or profound to describe the quality of the Kaplan's writing would be understatements! If I may borrow a phrase from the title--even if English language purists would shake their heads--his work evoked in me "radical amazement." For sure, of all the biographies I have read over the years, his is the BEST I have ever come across--surpassing McCollough's "John Adams," and Cook's biography of Elanor Roosevelt, to name two that I esteem. Besides the clarity of the writing, what particularly impresses is how fair he was, given the necessity as a biographer of being truthful to his task, even if that required being critical--at times--of someone he obviously loved.
   
   Finally, I can only imagine the profound and time-consuming labor he must have gone through to determine not only what to put on paper, but what to leave out! I believe his judgment concerning the latter places him, as much or more than anything else, in the top echelon of the vocation of biographers!
   
   Abraham Joshua Heschel -- Spiritual Radical -- is a masterpiece!
   
   Steve Rosner
   Brooklyn, NY



2. I can personally attest to the point Kaplan makes in this splendid book that Rabbi Heschel touched many lives beyond the Jewish community.
   
   In my recently published autobiographical novel LAST RITES about a young man who follows his grandfathers and father into the ministry only to find out he made a big mistake, I write about Heschel's effect on the main character Tom Reed. At this point in the novel he has left his parish in rural Connecticut and is on a "study sabbatical" in New York where he wants to find a secular job so he doesn't have to return to his bishop for reassignment.
   
   " The next day I took the bus up to Union Seminary where I registered for my independent study program for the second semester. I went to the opening day of a few of the classes, mostly to get the reading lists. Father Panovsky's course on Russian Orthodoxy looked interesting, but the course that I found most intriguing was Rabbi Abraham Heschel's seminar on the prophets, given across the street at the Jewish Theological Seminary.
   
   "At Rabbi Heschel's first seminar he had us go around the table and introduce ourselves. He looked surprised when I identified myself as an Episcopalian clergyman on sabbatical, and he was even more surprised when he learned how much Hebrew and Aramaic I knew. The Heschel seminar was the only course I stayed with, and I even had a couple of conversations with the great man in his office. We talked about the "anti-religion" theme that runs through the prophets and also the history of Christian anti-Semitism--what Jules Isaacs called the church's "teaching of contempt." I read several of the books he recommended and felt more in tune with his thinking than I ever did with any of my seminary professors."
   
   I can only wonder what the great man would have made of my book ETERNAL TREBLINKA.
   
   --Submitted by Charles Patterson, author of "Last Rites," "Anti-Semitism" and "Eternal Treblinka: Our Treatment of Animals and the Holocaust"



3. The second volume is even better than the first...Kaplan does not idolize Heschel; he shares the frustrations and shortcomings, but also the richness of his writing, his work and his soul.

5 comments about Vanya. (New Leaf Library).

1. Great book, must read for anyone that loves missionary type stories. Power of God is displayed in this young man's life. Fantastic.



2. I loved this book; the adventure, the trials and triumphs, and the amazing ending. A fascinating story from beginning to end. It is another favorite in my personal library. A treasure!



3. Vanya was a young man drafted into the Soviet Army in 1970. He had been a believer for only two years, but during that time he had internalized the Scriptures, even though he didn't even own a Bible. His first priority upon arriving in the Ukraine for Basic Training was to find a private place to pray each morning. Thus before he had been in the Army for a week he was already in trouble for his religion.
   This book chronicles, using the God's-eye view approach to telling the story, the relentless persecution that followed, culminating in his heroic death by torture for refusing to recant. Fearless before the might of the Evil Empire, Vanya was the stone upon which many stumbled and were broken, but only became more hardened to all efforts to conform him to the Soviet Ideal. Though plagued by doubts, Vanya found his faith miraculously strengthed in his darkest hours, and left behind a trail of new believers and demoralized interrogators wherever he was taken.
   
   His death accomplished what his life couldn't: the Soviet Army admitted defeat and never again applied its utmost force to a believer in hopes of turning him from the faith.



4. This true story is testimony to the fact that miracles still occur. I was very inspired to exercise my own faith in the face of great opposition. Vanya's faith was such that he almost seemed naive to the problems of being so open as he was in a Soviet system.
   
   What a testimony!
   
   -doug



5. This is a book about God's faithfulness to His own in spite of suffering, persecution and death. It is about one man's relationship with the Living God, to whom he had abandonded himself totally. It's a book about what is truly important and worth clinging to when there is absolutely no other hope. I read the story of Ivan Moisyev years ago with tears, awe and humility and the memory of Ivan's story of faith, suffering and, ultimately, martyrdom for the cause of Christ still haunts me. It left behind on my soul the burning questions, "If I were faced with such terrible persecution how would I respond? Would I remain faithful to Christ to the point of death? Could I really love and forgive those who might so terribly persecute me?". All these years later I'm left with the challenge to be willing to surrender everything, including my life to God in Christ.[...]

2 comments about Father and Son: Finding Freedom.

1. No fairytale this, but an honest sharing of the realities that tested this father-son relationship from the perspectives of each. A tribute to the strength of love.



2. This is a deeply emotional book about broken lives and redemption. Reading the brutally honest story of this father and son team touched my heart. If you have a rocky relationship in your life that you don't think can ever be made right, this book will give you hope.

5 comments about Joan of Arc: In her own words.

1. I've begun reading this, along with 3 other books I purchased. It is not a narrative read, and more along the lines of a journal or notes, but it is excellent, and breathes new light into Joan of Arc as a woman beside & within her every belief.



2. I bought this book several years ago and it is one purchase that I do not regret. Wonderful for grabbing a thought, it often ends up in the pile of my inspirational books. There is nothing like a word from Joan before facing the day. As history, it is an excellent tool from which to derive direct quotations from one of the greatest enigmas of all time. JOAN OF ARC: IN HER OWN WORDS puts the reader in contact with the mind of the saint and the events which she faced so courageously. Her boldness, her femininity, her adandonment and her triumph are all there.



3. This was a good book. It enlightened me to many things I didn't no about Joan of Arc. Like her childhood which it covered very well and even mentioned her dreams of becoming a solider and father's nightmares and even her favorite spot to play.
   It covered her military conquest in great detail and made it interesting in a way I have not before on her. But I have to question the parts that reveal personal information on Joan's dreams. She was illiterate her entire life, right? So how did the author get the documents to prove this.
   
   The trail sequence was also very well done. The questions and answers, even though very redundant, were both enlightening and showed Joan's personality extremely well. The references to the saints were like said in the notes slightly changed to make it make more sense.
   
   All in All, good book but contradicts itself in some parts. Probably when the author was changing the letters to first person instead of third, but that is mention in the notes. There are also some randomly blank pages in the notes leaving parts out. The book is very accurate and is a good read for people who wish to learn more about the heroine.



4. I read this right after buying it, but it was published in 1996 and the publisher apparently went out of business in 1997. I would like to know whether it is my copy or the entire edition that is defective - the Notes end in mid-word ("Excluded with then are passages merely rou-") on p.147! Then p.148 is blank, and there is no p.149/150, after which the pagination resumes with p.151.



5. Reading Jehanne's own words is simply an amazing experience. The way the book is written, you can almost hear her speaking with all the passion & fervor she posessed. Reading this book is like being there, back in time, actually watching & hearing all as it happens.

5 comments about Torn Veil.

1. A must read. It is a captivating story of a Muslim woman who finds Christ and gives herself completely to Him regardless of the cost.



2. This is such a simply told story and appears to be honest and straight from the heart. I am amazed - God can do anything. I also heard Gulshan's story in her own voice and words on uTube. She is a real person of Pakistani origin.



3. A very interesting biography of a Muslim girl's conversion to Christianity. Very inspiring and humbling story. Recommended for Christian people, those week in faith will not believe this truly remarkable story.



4. This is an amazing book and I would recommend it to all Christians, and perhaps more importantly, to anyone else who is open-minded about the claims of the Christian faith. The book describes how a Muslim girl, Gulshan Esther, is miraculously healed of a severe physical disability by Jesus when He appears before her. The book also details Gulshan's rejection by her own family when she becomes a Christian, and her great courage and determination to serve Jesus and tell His people what He did for her. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

   For the reviewer below, Susan Mathew, who wanted to know Gulshan Esther's contact details, here is her address and telephone number:




5. This is a wonderful story of a muslim girl who is miraculously healed from her life long sickness by the special touch of jesus.Rather than rejoicing with her, she was forsaken by all at home. But God through his wonderful ways is using her as a powerful testimony around the world. This is the best gift for a muslim friend of yours.