4 comments about Ita Ford: Missionary Martyr.

1. but please read more than just here.
   
   See as well The Same Fate As the Poor by a member of her religious congregation of consecrated women. See "Here I Am, Lord": The Letters And Writings of Ita Ford. See also of course Voice of the Voiceless: The Four Pastoral Letters and Other Statements, Oscar Romero and the nonviolent struggle for justice, Oscar Romero: Reflections on His Life and Writings (Modern Spiritual Masters Series) and Archbishop Romero: Memories and Reflections.
   
   But please read far more than this brief brochure whose text really runs 45 brief 5x7 inch pages, organized into fourteen parts like a Way of the Cross--Way of Justice, with a fifteenth as mystical, Resurrectional epilogue.
   
   Early in this account the author, professor of Theology at Boston University and author as well of On Prayer: A Letter to My Godchild and a study of that missionary preacher Saint Dominic, to whom Sister Ita's Maryknoll congregation of religious women is dedicated, entitled The Dominican Tradition (Spirituality in History), Zagano evokes the image of Sister Ita looking out the subway train windows rushing into Brooklyn at the mosaics which distinguish each station.
   
   This serves as adequate image for this brief brochure, as we have blinding and often disconnected brilliant images, at times as unrelated as the dark and cloudy day of its first sentence. We find questionable references, such as calling December in El Salvador summer and summer winter. While Sister Ita was stationed in the poorest parts of Chile such is the case, not in El Salvador which shares our seasons.
   
   Painstakingly Zagano treats of Sister Ita's time in Chile with no reference to Pinochet, nor Allende. For this too we must read elsewhere.
   
   Often we are unclear of dates and of the passage of time, as few dates are given. This is not an historical nor academic work, but an impressionistic reflection, quite brief, of this holy life which even now calls us to committed action for the poor victims of war. We learn far more about El Salvador at that time from, for example, the Reverend Father John Dear's first person account in his partial auto-biography A Persistent Peace: One Man's Struggle for a Nonviolent World. Here we have hagiography from a roaring subway car.
   
   Several details are nevertheless evocative, if unanalyzed. FOr instance, Zagano never seems to get the Salvadoran Army's release of a young prisoner to the sisters was a way to kill the sisters, as they must cross several times a tumultuous swollen river to bring him up, resulting in the death of one of the nuns. This was assassination by "accident." Sister Ita's torture, rape and martyrdom under US direction was not.
   
   Read this book, but please read more, much more, about the pilgrim Church we are and whom we serve still and ever more. Amen.



2. It is difficult to try and write about someone ten plus years after the person has passed away.

   In this book, we have the life of a saintly person who gave up her status in the community and a professional career, to devote full time to the service of the poor.

   The book takes into account Sis. Fords's life.. ..and does it a straight forward and not emotional leaning manner. If Prof. Z. had more data, to work with....I am sure she would have a book double the size. As I understand, she is presently working on another book on the subject.

   The question 'why did she (I.F.) believe so strongly in 'helping the poor' that she gave up her life in their service. I knew Sis. Ford, briefly while in college,and can atest to the accuracy of the data in the book.

   Recommended for anyone who would like to be inspired by a down to earth soul who truly believed in the goodness of man...and untimately, paid the serve price for these beliefs.




3. It is difficult to try and write about someone ten plus years after the person has passed away.

   In this book, we have the life of a saintly person who gave up her status in the community and professional career, to devote full time to the service of the poor.

   The book takes into account Sis. Fords's life.. ..and does it a straight forward and not emotional leaning manner. If Prof. Z. had more data, to work with....I am sure she would have a book double the size. As I understand she is presently working on another book on the subject.

   The question 'why did she (I.F.) believe so strongly in helping the poor' that she gave up her life in their service. I knew Sis. Ford, briefly while in college,and can atest to the accuracy of the data in the book.

   Recommended for anyone who would like to be inspired by a down to earth soul who truly believed in the goodness of man...and untimately, paid the serve price for these beliefs.




4. It is difficult to try and write about someone ten plus years after the person has passed away.

   In this book we have the life of a saintly person who gave up her status in the community and a budding secular professional career to devote full time to the service of the poor.

   The book takes into account Sis. Fords's life ....and does it in a straight forward non emotional leaning manner. If Prof. Z. had more data, to work with,at the time...I am sure she would have a book double the size. AS I now understand, the professor is presently working on another book on the subject.

   The question 'why did she (I.F.) believe so strongly in helping the poor' that she gave up her life in their service. I knew Sis. Ford, briefly while in college, and can atest to the accuracy of the data presented.

   Recommended for anyone who would like to be inspired by a down to earth soul who truly believed in the goodness of man...and ultimately, paid the servere price for these beliefs.

2 comments about Held in the Light: Norman Morrison's Sacrifice for Peace and His Family's Journey of Healing.

1. The Viet Nam war was brought into my awareness in a meaningful way with two events. The first was the attack on the USS Maddox in the Tonkin Gulf. My brother was a lieutenant on that ship. I suddenly realized how deadly the potential was to touch my own life. The second event was hearing about Norman Morrison's protest of the war. I was a senior in high school. His act put me in touch with the suffering the war was causing in a real sense, not only in the lives of the Vietnamese but also in lives here in my own country. I could feel inside myself the anguish. It turned me toward a path of protest and questioning everything I ever was taught about my country.
   
   I met Anne Morrison Welsh in 1987 when we were both Executive Directors of Group Homes for Developmentally Disabled adults. But, it was not until 1993 when she joined me in directing a group home for Developmentally Disabled artists, that she told me of Norman. Once again I knew that deep anguish of that time. We have been close friends to this day, and I watched the evolution of her life that she describes in the later chapters.
   
   When I read the book, I saw her soul shine through. The honesty with which she writes about the difficult but healing journey she has lived, witnesses the evolution of an open heart.
   
   We are presently again involved in a dubious war and her memoir offers us the chance to realize and acknowledge once again the suffering caused by our country's actions, as well as the suffering of so many American families of brave soldiers who will never come home to their wives and children. The meaning of Norman's act is brought home to us once more.



2. I was 11 years old when Norman Morrison set himself afire in front of the Pentagon to protest the napalmed slaughter of civilians in Vietnam. But I remember the 1965 event as if it happened yesterday. The high drama of a man killing himself by fire seared itself into my young mind.
   
   In the years since, I've thought about Morrison's self-immolation many times. Was it a genuine peace witness, or the over-the-top act of a disturbed man? Even by Christian standards, which put a high premium on sacrifice, is this kind of sacrifice appropriate? And on a less abstract level, was Morrison right to leave behind a widow and three young children? Was there a moral difference in kind and not just degree between his sacrifice and that of a familyless Buddhist monk or nun? Was Morrison's act more selfish than selfless?
   
   Anne Morrison Welsh, Morrison's widow, has been haunted by these sorts of questions too, and her memoir Held in the Light is a sensitive, touching, and honest attempt to chronicle her search for answers. The book begins with a phone call on a November afternoon in 1965 that alerted her to the fact that something awful had happened to her husband, and ends with long passages in which two of Morrison's children, Emily and Christina, reflect on their own efforts to come to terms with what their father did.
   
   One of the most thought-provoking aspects of Held in the Light is that it clearly underscores the irreducible complexity of human motivations. Norman Morrison was a young man who clearly agonized over the suffering of the Vietnamese people, and wanted to do something to end their ordeal. But he was also a loner and a man of paradoxes who seems to have had trouble at times making connections with people who were up close and personal (as opposed to anonymous people on the other side of the world). He was an impulsive man who believed in divine inspiration--"guided drift," as he and Morrison Welsh jokingly called it--and apparently received the "inspiration" to self-immolate only hours before actually striking the match. Although Emily and Morrison Welsh resist the possibility, it seems apparent from Morrison's final letter to them (quoted on p. 36) that he intended to offer up himself and Emily in a fiery, Abraham/Isaac-inspired sacrifice. God only knows why he changed his mind, at the very last moment throwing Emily safely to one side.
   
   Morrison's death left his family emotionally frozen, and their recovery took years. (Son Ben died while in his teens, leaving Morrison Welsh and the two girls. Morrison Welsh's description of Ben's last illness and death in Chapter 4 is heartbreaking, leaving the reader bewildered and angry: how much must this family endure?) A journey to Vietnam, a visit to My Lei, and the realization of how grateful the Vietnamese people were for Morrison's act (Chapters 6-8) helped the healing process, as has time.
   
   Has Held in the Light answered my questions about the propriety of Morrison's act? Not really. The book's third chapter is where Morrison Welsh asks the same hard questions, and some of the responses she heard from others and cites there are insightful. One of the most revealing is from Marian Manly (p. 46), who wrote "It is easy to dismiss Norman Morrison's dreadful act as the meaningless self-destruction of a deranged fanatic. It was desperate; it was futile; but it was not meaningless. What he was tryiing to say was: 'See what it is like for a man to die by fire. See it for yourselves. You, who make impersonal war, devising strategies and tactics in your air-conditioned offices, look and see!'"
   
   I get what Manly is saying. But in reading about the horrific suffering Morrison's action imposed on his widow and three children, I found myself growing angrier at him with every page I turned. And yet Morrison Welsh's book forces me to ask myself why, and in doing so to think long and hard about just what it means to be a witness for peace. And that kind of reader-unsettling is one of the best things a book can do.
   ____________
   * From T.S. Eliot's "Murder in the Cathedral," quoted by Morrison Welsh (p. 53) in her effort to plumb the significance of Norman Morrison's act.

No comments about Susanna Wesley : Servant of God.

5 comments about The Essential Edgar Cayce.

1. A lot of people assume that because I am a spiritual counselor that I engage in psychic readings. I don't. I counsel people about what may be going on in their lives and I intuitively "diagnose" their limiting beliefs that may be holding them back and then I help them work on beliefs that empower and heal. In fact, people who claim to be psychic generally bore me. I've met many people who have claimed to have psychic powers yet couldn't even balance their checkbook or remember to tie their shoes....
   
   
   WATCH OUT FOR THAT-----pole.
   
   Oh, wow... I didn't even see that.
   
   Uh, yeah...okay Mr. Psychic...
   
   
   But for some reason Edgar Cayce intrigues me. He seemed to get at a deeper level of things than most psychics do and what he pulled forward were many wonderful and exciting Truths that one can actually apply to their everyday life and that's really what the aim should be for those who study metaphysics/spirituality. Give me things that keep me grounded and centered...not something that sends me off to woo-hoo land.
   
   I don't need to place a crystal on my forehead while chanting to ancient reptillian aliens while levitating.
   
   As Ernest Holmes once said about some people's search for the Divine, "We look too far for reality. God is as near to us as our next breath..."
   
   Cayce does talk about reincarnation and past lives and about the ancient secrets of Atlantis and Lemuria in his "trance-induced" readings and again, it's interesting stuff, but we need to bring our focus to the present...we need to live the lives we have been given and who cares if we had a "past life"...
   
   By the way, I was Cleopatra's towel boy.
   
   The topics range from meditation and health to the Cosmic Christ and it is good reading and even though the "how-to's" are strictly up to the reader I consider it a pretty good read for those who are dedicated to their own spiritual growth and expansion.
   
   Now if you excuse me, I need to realign my chakras.
   
   Peace and Blessings,
   john, 'the Light Coach'



2. I read this book in 2.5-to-3days . . . I DON'T READ BOOKS!!! This book has changed my life spiritually and I would recommend to anyone who's curious and ready for what life's really about/awakening per se. Consciousness is/was my key to the spiritual path. No one said it was going to be easy.



3. I have been interested in the readings of the psychic Edgar Cayce for several years, and after visiting their headquarters in Virginia Beach, I became a member of his orginization, the Association For Research and Enlightenment. I've read so many books about him, he takes up a couple shelves in my library. I like this particular book a lot because, what it aims to accomplish is an overview of the philosophies of his readings. Because there are thousands of readings, one might find the task of delving into that somewhat daunting, so instead, here you are presented with a broad outlook of what they mean. What did the Cayce readings say about Jesus? About reincarnation? The Akashic records? Its all here,and its presented in a straightforward, easy to understand manner. the conclusions Thurston draws are spot on with the actual Cayce readings, and you can tell as you read how well he researched every topic included in this book. Its an excellent reading!



4. This author talk way too much about nonsense and then follow with a couple of Cayce's readings...and then talk more nonsense and then a couple offical readings and more nonsense and then readings and then nonsense....readings, nonsense, readings, nonsense...you get the idea. This and the Akashic Record book belong in dust collection shelve. I recommend There is a River and No Soul Left Behind.



5. This book attempts to boil down the voluminous amount of Edgar Cayce psychic material into the essential points.
   
   It does a good job of this I would say.
   
   Each chapter is dedicated to a key area of Cayce's teachings such as philosophy, reincarnation, Christianity, soul development, etc..
   
   This book will be interesting for someone who is new to the Edgar Cayce material or someone who is familiar with Cayce already but perhaps wants to review or organize their thoughts about him in their own mind.
   
   There are many fascinating and profound statements quoted in this book. I will just list a few of my favorites.
   
   Cayce indicated the 'sins' of the various nations (keeping in mind this was back in the 1930s):
   
   America - has forgotten "in God we trust"
   England - conceit
   France - lust
   China - isolationism
   India - internalization of knowledge
   Italy - dissensions
   
   He said Russia and China will become beacons of hope for the world.
   
   An interesting and related question is how did we get into this current state of having different countries, different languages, etc.. ?
   
   This goes back to the Tower Of Babel event in the bible where humanity's desire for separation caused problems. Before then I don't think there were any languages since verbal communication wasn't necessary.
   
   He gives an indication of the influences of the different planets and the description for Neptune was very interesting for me:
   
   Neptune: Attracted to the mysterious; mystical, idealistic, otherworldly, and devotional; attracted to the sea and other forces of nature.
   
   The teachings of Edgar Cayce can probably be summed up in the following statement:
   
   "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, thine soul, thine mind, thine body, and thy neighbor as thyself." The rest of all the theories that may be concocted by man are nothing, if these are just lived.
   
   Edgar Cayce's Story of Jesus
   
   The Lives of Edgar Cayce
   
   Mythic Troy: The Complete Story Legend Archeology and Intuition
   
   Edgar cayce's story of the origin and destiny of man
   
   Edgar Cayce's Egypt: Psychic Revelations on the Most Fascinating Civilization Ever Known
   
   Initiation

5 comments about Dreaming Me.

1. I found this book very hard-going in the beginning and nearly stopped reading it because Jan Willis comes across as a person who is in love with her own tragedy. I could hardly stand it how she 'milked' even minor incidences of her life for maximum drama and self-pity: she couldn't go to kindergarden - terrible; she was rebuked for not spelling correctly - a major emotional trauma; a documentary was made about her being very intelligent - an exploitation and so forth, page after page after page. Obviously, the racism she encountered is tragic but there is hardly any real appreciation for the many positive things in her life: that she had loving parents, a loving close-knit extended family, loving and motivated teachers who helped to bring out her talents.
   
   Luckily, when Willis meets her Buddhist teacher he makes her aware of her curious mixture of prideful self-pity. Unfortunately, when it came to writing her biography she seemed to have forgotten about these Buddhist teachings. I can understand that she was full of self-pity when she was younger - did not most of us feel the same as teenagers? But I would have wished that she had recounted those days more from a Buddhist (namely self-responsible) perspective. Still, I enjoyed reading about her experiences with Lama Yeshe which was the reason I wanted to read this book in the first place.



2. I've always had the impression that Western/American Buddhism was overwhelmingly white, upper-middle-class and academic - an impression and perhaps a prejudice (or a hang-up); in spite of having read and been influenced by the philosophy and practice through much of my adult life, I've always held any personal endorsement or affiliation at arm's length because of this - I'm not white, upper-middle-class, or an academic, and the (perceived) insularity of that particular world doesn't often seem to be very inviting.
   
   This is why this was such a valuable read for me - Willis belongs to a very, very small demographic - African-American Buddhists, and in DREAMING ME she traces a path from a Baptist upbringing in the segregated (and oft-violent) South to her present life as an academic and Buddhist scholar. Willis' recountings of her childhood were - to me - the most successful part of the book, with the grimness of Jim Crow-era Alabama rendered in cinematic detail. Willis also - with great success - draws parallels between the faith she grew up with and the philosophies she grew to accept as an adult. Beautifully written, she makes it almost seem effortless.
   
   Not a very well-known book, unfortunately - and I fear this may slide into obscurity. I would encourage checking it out.
   
   -David Alston



3. There is something intriguing about a story which chronicles a former Baptist's alteration towards adhering to the teachings of the Buddha Shakyamuni. Jan Willis is an African-American Tibetan scholar and translator, a professor of religion at Wesleyan University and teacher of Buddhism for more than 25 years. She starts the book recording her life prior to finding the Buddha's teachings, a life spent as a devout Southern Baptist in a segregation ridden south. The KKK was active in her area of Alabama, and at a very early age they had burned a cross in her parent's front lawn. Later she would go on to march in Martin Luther King's civil rights movement, adhering to the values she so strongly believed in. In 1965, with 7 other African-Americans, she enrolled in Cornell University where during her junior year she sailed off on a trip to India which greatly impacted her life. For a brief period she returned to the states to continue her studies at Cornell, but eventually she felt drawn back unto the East again. She left this time for Nepal and underwent intense study with the Tibetan master Lama Yeshe. She studied with him for more than 15 years, where she faced a problem most predominant in all our practices: sense of self, ego.

   This book is a fascinating look at a very small minority in the world of Buddhism, the role African-Americans have played in it's growth and the teaching of the Dharma. In the west, in my lineage of Zen, African-American's are probably the least represented group of all. While we have male and female teachers, and practitioners of several racial and cultural backgrounds, for some reason or another there is a very small pocket of African-Americans present. This is not due to any sort of discrimination but rather, to be frank, oftentimes the African-American individual can at times have a problem with breaking down ego. Something which has it's roots in the horrendous treatment this group underwent at the hands of a predominantly white America. This work is a fascinating look at practicing the Buddha Dharma in modern times with a voice of honesty, clarity, and incisive wisdom on each and every page. Enjoy this treasure.




4. Books like "Dreaming Me" are gifts or treasures that we rarely have the good fortune to discover. Ms Willis' journey is at times painful yet ultimately joyful. She shares this pain and joy in a compelling writing style that is filled with anecdotes and drama. No matter what your life experiences may be you are quickly drawn into the universal themes that every human being shares. As a white male living in the Northeast during the sixties I was on the other side of the world from a person like Ms Willis. Yet she made her experiences part of me. And like two parts of a greater experience I felt whole after reading this book. I highly recommend it. Thank you Ms Willis for putting your experiences into such a beautifully written book.



5. This book was read in one marathon session that flew by all too quickly. It spoke to the very core of my being. Having this story told in such a personal way deftly teaches the reader at every level. It's well written and one could easily be fooled that they are simply being entertained with a good read. There were many moments where I felt stunned with deep recognition of a life experience that mirrors a good portion of my own. I connected with this book deeply at the heart level. Most touching were the moments with her teacher, Lama Yeshe. His extraordinary heart helped her heal deep societal and personal pains which have traveled across generations influencing and shaping our culture in difficult ways. Thank goodness Dr. Willis chose to develop the good heart, rather than fight the good fight. One does not need to be in a culturally specific group or religion to recognize and feel Dr. Willis' experience. She reached into the depths of spirit and wrote in a way that touches universally. This lady has a heart that totally outsizes her brilliant, immeasurable intellect and her story will benefit countless numbers. I'm one unabashedly grateful reader.

No comments about Commentaries, Volume 2, Books III-IV (The I Tatti Renaissance Library).

5 comments about John Calvin: A Sixteenth-Century Portrait.

1. A Sixteenth Century Portrait Calvin.
   
   This book is not a biography but a portrait, a psychological characterization of a man who lived in the sixteenth century, who led a church, and is known as a major theologian through the centuries. The author William J. Bouwsma is correct in asserting that an individual, who is a major player in Christian thought, tends to get changed and distorted by scholars, ministers, therefore in people's minds to what he really was. The question for the reader does this book better aptly describe who John Calvin was then other biographies and descriptions. Which impression is more accurate? Both impressions could be distorted, but both cannot be accurate.
   
   I did not find this book an easy read. The language was simple; no over use of complex terms or confusing sentences. Logical flow does not exist in this work. Paragraph meaning is there, but consequential order does not edification. I found this work a bit rambling. I get the authors argument that Pastor Calvin suffered from depression and he did not solely study from Christian sources. I did not follow his thoughts Calvin's thoughts, philosophy and theology. I did not find this work systematic enough.
   
   The author calls John Calvin a humanist. This is not to be confused with the term secular humanist. The study of other disciplines can make bible study and the understanding of God more fruitful. Dr. Bouwsma states John Calvin did not find Scholasticism a productive way to organize education or thought processes. The author also makes the point this is how Erasmus thought about education. With this point of agreement the author ties John Calvin and Erasmus of Rotterdam together as to be of like mind. The author does not contend with or where the two depart in thought. The author was very dogmatic in pursuit in parallels with Calvin and Erasmus.
   
   If you are looking for a "fresh" look at John Calvin? This book is what you are looking for. This book may add a new twist to your theological perspective, but I did not find the work profound. It is not a theological or biographical work. It is a personality portrait which includes sparse theological thought and a small diet of biographical facts.



2. This book is organized into chapter topics such as Cosmic inheritances, Being, Knowing, Society, Polity and so on. The value of the book is the extensive quotations he has assembled from Calvin on each of the chapter topics. In that sense, the book functions almost as an index of Calvin's thought, and it's valuable for scholars looking for quotations from Calvin on specific topics.
   
   The title advertises the book as a biography, but it's not. Bouwsma states that the biographical facts of Calvin's life have been covered elsewhere, and he does not plan to revisit that ground. So we have a biography of Calvin which assumes that you have already read his biography elsewhere! Much of what Bouwsma argues doesn't make much sense without knowledge of Calvin's life and time. Dividing Calvin into arbitrary and abstract topic areas fragments his thought unnecessarily, distorting his life and thought.
   
   Bouwsma sets up a strawman to his position, that Calvin's debt to Renaissance humanism has been ignored. This is not true at all. In fact, Calvin's debt to humanism is virtually a truism of Calvin scholarship. Unfortunately, Bouwsma's approach here is typical of post-modern revisionary historical scholarship.
   
   Bouwsma's interpretation of Calvin is deeply problematic for a number of reasons. First of all, he portrays Calvin's thought as essentially a reaction to the uncertain times in which he lived, and to Calvin's own anxieties and fears. Calvin emerges here as depressed, anxious, and neurotic. That's a very one-sided view, and there's just not enough evidence to support that claim. It seems very reductive to interpret Calvin's theology as just an expression of his personal insecurities. What's missing here is any kind of larger historical perspective that can explore and appreciate the constructive dimension to his thought. Calvin is a hugely influential thinker who contributed to the development of modernity, but to read Bouwsma, one might think Calvin was merely an obscure pastor obsessed with his own anxieties.



3. It is important before committing to this text that one recognizes the author's distinction between a biography and a portrait. If you are looking for a narrative biography (or even a summary of Calvin's teachings) I would look somewhere else. In either of those categories I would have given this 2 or 3 stars. But this Bouswama's work is not intended to be either of these. It would almost be best described as a reflection on Calvin's psychology as expressed in his major themes. The themes chosen are not those that I would have. However, I would estimate that nearly a quarter of this text is composed of direct Calvin quotes, and the author displays a fairly high level of rigor and competence with respect to Calvin's body of work. There were times that I was unhappy with inferences made from some of the reformers statements and tracking some quotes to the source left myself and others I have talked to wondering about the consistency of the author's fidelity to context. However, on the whole it is a helpful text that provides a non-traditional (but not necessarily negative) view of John Calvin. I would not recommend it as an introduction, but it is an interesting analysis for advanced study.



4. William J. Bouwsma considers John Calvin the least known and most misunderstood of all the great figures of the sixteenth-century. Bouwsma's unique attempt to elucidate John Calvin for a contemporary thinker is contextually driven and methodologically persistent. John Calvin: A Sixteenth-Century Portrait aims to read, understand, and interpret Calvin within his sixteenth-century setting.
   In order to give the reader a clear picture of Calvin and through him the mood of his generation, Bouwsma begins with Calvin's anxiety. This aspect of Calvin's life gives the contemporary reader, in Bouwsma's opinion, the opportunity to get a glimpse of an anxiety-filled age. This approach allows Bouwsma, at least in theory, to understand Calvin even better than Calvin understood himself. Taken together, the external influences and internal struggles show Calvin as a man who saw himself in a world on the edge of a great calamity, even divine judgment.
   This aspect of Calvin and his society is the point of departure for Bouwsma's major thesis: humanism is the umbilical cord between the "labyrinth" and the "abyss" in Calvin's thought. Bouwsma uses "labyrinth" to denote the safe, yet problematic philosophical worldview the Europeans inherited from the Hellenistic and Hebraic cultures. While these two worldviews were woven together with relative ease in antiquity, the Renaissance would unravel and lay bare the problem. Bouwsma believes Calvin has but a glimpse of this and knows that his sixteenth-century context is a labyrinth of dangers, but still safer than the "abyss" of doubt.
   Bouwsma asserts that as Calvin tried to alleviate his anxieties he clung to certain assumptions inherent in the labyrinth. The issues brought forth by the labyrinth include the cosmological inheritances such as an intelligible universe, a cyclical view of time, and the imago dei. In addition to this view, Calvin continually strove for order through moderation, control, and high moralism. Finally, Calvin's "cultural baggage" in Geneva was his strict adherence to rational religion (i.e., the mind rules the other human faculties and is capable of grasping reality). Ultimately Calvin was unable find solace in the complexities of his inherited philosophical culture and sought an opening.
   The opening for Calvin was Humanism. Here, Calvin found a way to hold to the eruditio while pursuing persuasio. The task of the preacher is not just to explicate the scriptures; it is also to move the listener to action. Humanistic rhetoric allowed Calvin to do this in a manner he found comfortable.
   In a strange semantic twist Bouwsma's opening for Calvin finds its way into the "abyss" where a rhetorical culture had presuppositions about the human condition, the possibilities of knowledge, human experience of the world, and the organization of life. Bouwsma now uses "abyss" in a manner which left Calvin on the edge of an ambiguous unknown. What is human? What capacity do humans have for knowledge of God? What is God? What is the human role in the drama? Bouwsma treats these questions and more as he moves Calvin through the abyss.
   Bouwsma concludes by looking at Calvin's programs as they appear in society, polity, and the church. Calvin's moderation is evident in his social thought and the power of God places the government in a subordinate position to the church. Bouwsma is aware that those fans of Calvin at either extreme might not be pleased with his account, yet he is quick to point out the complexities in Calvin that are often overlooked by both margins.
   Bouwsma succeeds in offering a unique contribution to the corpus of Calvin scholarship. He takes a serious look at Calvin in his historical context while looking at Calvin's historical context through Calvin's eyes. This is achieved by extensive referencing of primary sources and pertinent secondary sources. Bouwsma weaves the abundance of quotations together in a surprisingly readable manner.
   In light of widespread confusion and misunderstanding over Calvin and his thought, this book offers a "man behind the myth" picture of John Calvin. A related issue stems from the church audience to which Calvin continues to speak. Bouwsma's intended audience is of secondary importance here. The first section, "Quest for the Historical Calvin," is instrumental as a contextual compass. While this book is not intended for a small-group discussion or as a devotional aid, it is accessible to the average reader, thanks in large to the first fifty pages.
   Two words of caution must be added to this review. Bouwsma does an outstanding job of giving a close-up of Calvin and a panoramic of the society, but does he get a glimpse of the local, the towns? What about Geneva and Strasbourg? Bouwsma inadequately treats the immediate physical setting and its relationship to Calvin's thought. He makes use of the events in Geneva and Strasbourg only in passing. It is clear that Calvin was influenced by the world at large. It also follows that he must have been greatly influenced by the events on his doorstep. Bouwsma only uses these events with reference to Calvin's continued struggle in feeling overwhelmed with work and frustration with the local polity. The additional information in this area would strengthen the book as a whole and portray a more accurate scene of Calvin in his context.
   Second, at times Bouwsma's attempt to get a portrait of the sixteenth-century from Calvin's perspective paints an inaccurate picture of the relationship between the two. For example, Bouwsma uses "drama" as a window that the modern reader can see into Calvin and out toward the world. The weakness is that Calvin's relationship to drama was only an ostensible one. Drama, then, is a tool to introduce the role of the believer in Calvin's thought and then becomes a symbolic shape as the drama is "played out." If one is not careful he or she will miss the portrait for the background.
   These two criticisms aside, John Calvin: A Sixteenth-Century Portrait is a great tool for any study of Calvin. One would do well to own it and use it.



5. This is one of the finest academic historical biographies to have appeared in the past couple of decades, and will provide nearly anyone with an insightful and in depth introduction to one of the most important figures of the early modern age. It must be stressed, however, that Bouwsma will not please everyone. He is a professional historian, and not a theologian nor an apologist. Many hardcore Calvinists might not enjoy the style with which he deals with his subject matter or his theologically neutral stance in discussing Calvin's work and thought. But most students of theology and all students of history will discover in this a study of Calvin that not only discusses his thought, but relates it to the particular period of history in which it was produced. Too many Calvinist treatments of Calvin discuss him in almost ahistorical fashion, as if his thought were developed in a vacuum. As Bouwsma demonstrates, however, the was very much the product of the Late Renaissance as much as he was the Reformation.

   One review below states that Bouwsma claims Calvin was a pagan. This is an important misunderstanding, the correction of which will take us to the heart of Bouwsma's central argument. Absolutely nowhere does Bouwsma assert that Calvin was a pagan, but his central argument in the book is that Calvin was deeply entrenched in renaissance humanism. The humanists went back to the pagan writers of Greece and Rome as literary models as well as alternative sources of inspiration to medieval Catholicism. As Bouwsma quite correctly points out, humanism was in no way antithetical to Protestantism. Calvin was absolutely not a pagan, nor does Bouwsma make that claim, but he did study the pagans such as Cicero and Quintillian, and modeled his writing style on them.

   Many biographers delight in the smashing of myths of their subjects. While Bouwsma might not please hardcore Calvinists, in that he isn't deferential or assuming that Calvin articulated truths nearly as authoritative as those of the New Testament, he also does not try in any sense to defame or criticize Calvin. On the contrary, he goes out of his way to debunk many of the negative myths concerning Calvin. What he does try to do is provide the most accurate portrait he can of a major figure of the 16th century, both his positive and negative traits, and situation him in his time and place. In this he succeeds marvelously. This volume could stand for some time as the premiere biography of one of the two most important figures in the history of Protestantism.

5 comments about The Other Side of the Mountain: The End of the Journey (Merton, Thomas//Journal of Thomas Merton).

1. IF You are a died in the wool Merton fan this journal is a must read. It (along with the other 6 volumes) helps the reader understand the person behind the books. It took me a long time to read this book because I chewed on a few pages each day and tried to picture the last year of Merton's life in my mind as I compared it to my own struggles. I loved the book! Give it 5 stars.

   IF you are looking for quick insights to the contemplative mind and think Merton is a good place to look, you are correct, but this is not the volume for you. Remember this is a journal, not a book. It is open with Merton's struggles and anxieties. Often Merton quotes small portions of other works and sketchy notes that are important to him, but confusing to the reader. You probably will not finish the volume. Give it 1 star.

   IF you are interested in the biographies of notable Christians, and I am, you will find this volume intriguing, inspiring, and at times troubling as you wrestle with the imperfections of a person that many put on a pedestal. Give it 3 stars and prepare to wrestle.

   IF you journal, and I do, you will feel an urge after each section to go to your own journal and fill in a few pages. Give it 5 stars and sharpen your pencil.

   That's as much as I can say about this book, but it should be enough for you to know if you want to add it to your library.




2. I found this book at my local "Catholic" bookstore and it re-arranged my head for the better. After being a pretty regular journal writer, I found myself completely taken with the "place" that Merton created as he wrote day-to-day. I discovered that I simply "lost track" of about four decades of my life......either that or his style and words brought me so completely into my past and present that time lost all meaning and I was both myself now and myself then. Since I read his last journal as my introduction to Thomas Merton in general, I have read several of his journals.......I still cannot believe that he died in Thailand when I was in high school since I feel his
   presence in Fall River MA each night as I write in my own little book....must be the sign of a truly awesome writer.

   Patricia Walsh




3. I would suggest this book to the scholar anxious to follow Merton's life story ,but it is certainly not a book for those interested in developing their christian faith and needing a book to help them know the Lord more.It is so full of contradictions,I am not even sure that it represents an adequate picture of firm christian life , let alone monastic life.I would imagine that his experimentation with so many other forms of spiritually led him to lose his identity.And what of the statement in the previous volume that he was to remain faithful to "M" all his life.A year later he was burning her letters without even opening them!A rather open form of fidelity! The book is probably a must for historical scholars,but for those wishing to find a book that steers the pilgrim in the rough and tumble of spiritual life, this book is not for you!



4. As an avid Thomas Merton fan who owns almost every book this Trappist monk ever wrote, I have been eagerly anticipating each new volume of the Merton journals as they have been released over the past few years. This final volume is the last in a simply superlative set, every volume of which is a "must have" for any Merton devotee.

   As the books are journals that were not really intended for publication, the voice is not "Thomas Merton, Best-Selling Author and Religious Thinker". The voice we hear now is "Thomas Merton, Sinner Just Like the Rest of You, But Doing the Best He Can". And the bottom line is that I really like this voice! I like Merton! Not just the best-selling author Merton, but the every-day guy Merton - who makes mistakes, gets angry or even irratible, and sins in spite of himself.

   Highly recommended for any Merton fan, but also of interest to religious scholars and biographers (the books are well indexed) and even everyday folks who are merely interested in the life and times of a Trappist monk in the 20th century.




5. As in other volumes of the Merton Journals, the volume editor provides an introduction and background for the text. In this case, the editor's introduction is weak in summarizing this journal and closing the seven volumes - but the words of the journal invariably speak for themselves. The journals are a joy to Mertonphiles. As with the previous volume (Learning to Love), the text is a bit distressing. Merton is petty, catty about his fellow monks, rarely reflective, and seems to live the life of a Bon Vivant - drinking wine and beer, picnicking, going out on the town, etc. - not the usual vision of a cloistered contemplative monk of a "strict observance." At times, he appears to be a perpetual college student. One can't help but wonder if he wrote and lived as he did just to prove to later readers of his work that he was not a saint. One particular event in this volume seems to be significant - even more than the celebrated meetings with the Dali Llama. His reaction to the death of his Aunt Kit in a ferry accident in New Zealand reveals the loneliness of a man orphaned in his early teens, leaving the reader to wonder how much of a persona he put up and how truly insecure he was.

   As the final volume progresses, it appears that Merton is just going through the motions in keeping the journal. Some entries are casual or offhanded - his departure from Gethsemani, for example. He also hints about not returning. One feels he is living in a dream or living a dream. He is letting go of his past. He discusses getting his affairs in order with the Merton Trust at Bellarmine. He speaks of not having his papers (of which he says there are plenty) "merely to rot or get lost in the monastic library." He wants his papers to be read and seems to be planning for how people will view him in the future.

   A few final words on the Journals of Thomas Merton. It was well worth reading the seven volumes and they are now a permanent part of my library. They covered the majority of his life as a religious, and a bit of the time before. The editing and preparation of the journals was very well done. The volumes are meticulously indexed, a great help to readers and scholars. The journals are unvarnished Merton. The text bears careful word-by-word reading because flashes of brilliance and insight appear quite unannounced. Publication of the journals is a literary event, but not necessarily a spiritual event - his spiritual legacy has been distilled into his other books. These will continue to be the medium by which most people will come to know Merton.

5 comments about All the Way to Heaven: A Surprising Faith Journey.

1. This beautiful tender book reveals the voice from the hiding place. Elizabeth's life is an inspiration. I also enjoyed her website http://www.elizabethsherrill.com which gives some more glimpses into the life of this amazing woman.



2. ...or any other from this era of writing, you will especially enjoy this book. While it is lovely and worthwhile reading on its own, stories about these Christian writers made it a double blessing for me - highly recommended!!



3. Elizabeth Sherrill goes all the way to the truth and to Jesus in her autobiography. She never faulters in the truth about herself and the people who have been meaningful during her life, yet writes without rancor showing that Jesus has brought healing and reconciliation where her "dragons" are concerned. This was one of those great reads where I tried to sneak in 10 minutes here and there throughout the day so I could journey on with Sherrill. I was never disappointed; found myself underlining sentences and passages. Was sorry to see the book end.



4. All The Way to Heaven by Elizabeth Sherrill is a beautiful story of growth and compassion that involves the reader in every aspect of the journey and carries the reader from a child's struggle to understand until the complex and complete answer on the very last page. Every moment of loss, indecision or struggle is only a step closer to the truth. And do we ever and always need to hear that. The entire book is an insightful and uplifting masterpiece of human endeavor. Elizabeth Sherrill is a dynamic and intelligent person with understanding of all human frailties. Yet her courage, her tenderness and her compassion is a magnificent testimony to love and faith.



5. Such a rich, cohesive tapestry of one's inner life! Elizabeth Sherrill has had a bit of practice writing about other people - but taking hard, honest looks in the mirror and typing away ain't easy. The human trials are what make All the Way to Heaven such a deep, engrossing story. I also loved the mini-profiles of the many people in her life - especially Mea.

2 comments about Pope John Paul II: A Life in Pictures.

1. Full of History, wonderful story's and great pictures and illustrations! Makes a great book for anyone!



2. I bought this as a gift for my grandmother. She really liked it. I didn't get a chance to read through the whole thing but it's a very thick hardcover book. Lots of pictures and lots of information and facts about his life. Great tribute! These types of books are always pricey but the pictures are worth it!