3 comments about The Autobiography of Saint Margaret Mary.

1. I hesitated to purchase this book after reading the long, detailed negative review by an earlier purchaser, but ultimately decided to buy it.
   
   I have not regretted this. Yes, the book includes mortifications
   that lay people would not practise, but it is also rich in detail of her visions.
   
   I have yet to come across the worst mortifications mentioned by the prior reader. That may be due to the way I read, but they havenn't jumped out at me.
   
   Each section of several paragraphs or more is briefly summarized in a sidebar, making the book easy to navigate by topics of interest.
   
   The famous vision of St MM's heart being carried into a furnace and then being replaced, aflame, within her, is well described.
   
   I have no problems recommending this book for anyone interested in the origins of the Devotion to the Sacred Heart.
   
   John Lough



2. Margaret Mary Alacoque was a French nun and mystic, whom allegedly received instructions from of Jesus in the 17th century. I have alawys been inspired by decotions to Jesus's love and mercy, and think it is amazing that so many similar messages have been received by people throughout the ages, telling the world to have faith and implore in God's mercy and love as represented by the image sacred heart; an image whose physical representation may slightly change over time in order to impress the curent audience more deeply, but the core of the message never changes. People dedicated to promoting devotion to the heart of Jesus, who encouraged people to implore God's love and mercry, include but are not limited to Gertrude of Helfa, Birgitta of Sweden, Teresa of Avila, Therese of Liseux, and Faustina.
   
   I have heard much about how the devotion to that Sacred Heart, was most clearly articulated by Margaret Mary, and was interested in reading her autobiography, in order to learn more about the messages that she received and to see how the compared to those received by Faustina and her message of Divine Mercy. Like the work of Faustina, Mary Margaret's book was written in order to help her with confession. The introduction say that she implored one of the sisters to destroy the book upon her death.
   
   However unlike Faustina's book, Mary Margaret's autobiography contains little very few details about the nature of the messages she recieved in regards to devotion to the sacred heart. She often says that she "received advice" and leaves it at that, not specifying what the advice might be. She has a few details about her early life, but little commentary about life in the convent and how she interacted with people.
   
   This is a personal diary of hers, and where she mostly recorded her feelings about things but she often did not define what the things were, excpet in vague notions - "a conversation" here, "an act" there. It is vauge, but that is not fault of the author, as she was writing only for herself. However, the concequence is that the book provides very little information of substance from which a reader could draw inspiration or creat a role model. Faustina's diary was personal too, but she included much specific information about her dialogues with Jesus, and devotional practices recommended to her.
   
   Margaret Mary's writing style is not as easy to read nor as accessible, as if it were a conversation, as are the styles that characterize the work of Teresa of Avila, Catherine of Siena, or even John of the Cross seemed more clear. As a reader I also felt very much an intruder by reading the book.
   
   She does go on at leangth about different forms of mortification which she performed that were probably not uncommon during her life time, but I found incredibly disturbing as a modern reader. I appreciate the fact that people, particuarly those in religious orders and who were likely to become saints, felt unworthy of Jesus' suffering and crucifixion, so that they often looked for ways to humiliate themselves and cause themselves pain so that they could share in his sufferings. She talks about eating vomit of a sister and doing something with feces from some one else who had dyssentary. I don't know if the images are so striking because they are the few occasions in the book where she elaborates details to events, or if it is because the nature of the acts. I would not want this book in a house with children, who are likely to read deatials of saints for role models or inspiration.
   
   The book has very few instructions about devotional practices to the Sacred Heart. If you are looking for more details about the messages given to Margaret Mary from Jesus and how to please God through life, I think that Fr. Colombiere, one of Margaret Mary's spiritual directors, published a book that contains such information. It is interesting to note that Faustina's spiritual director died on the aniversary of Columbiere's death. I feel terrible leaving a negative commenary on a book by a saint, but the book was not at all what I anticipated, and I don't want other people to buy it as I did, thinking that it contained a certain type of guidance that it lacks. When I finished the book, the only images that remained were not apects of Margaret Mary's life that I felt I could imitate or a new source of prayers for a bedrock of devotion (the book didcontain prayers, but they are prayers found in most Catholic prayer books), but instead images of mortification practices she adopted.



3. I always give five stars to religious books. But this one really deserved it. Bravo!

5 comments about Light And Fire of the Baal Shem Tov.

1. This is truly a special book. What comes through these pages are not just words and stories, but a real taste of the light and fire of the Baal Shem Tov. As I read it I had the sense that the book was a true vehicle for transmission. I was also touched by the effort of the author as I read the book. It is obvious that putting the book together was for him an act of service, and the author's feeling for the stories and teachings comes through clearly.



2. Beginning with his first book, "Jewish Spiritual Practices," Reb Yitzhak has written books that convey some of the deepest teachings of great Chassidic rebbes -- in this case the founder of Hasidism, the holy Baal Shem Tov himself. Written with loving care, humility and the utmost respect to the Besht, Reb Yitzhak has created not just another collection of stories of this charismatic Jewish leader, but rather a unique text -- somewhat approximating a scripture -- that uses isolated stories about the Besht to tell the overarching story of not only the Besht's life, but also his spiritual path, a teaching that has long eluded our generation. Indeed, in "The Life And Fire of the Baal Shem Tov," Buxbaum succeeds in bringing the Besht alive in the spiritual imaginations of his readers -- transporting them, as it were, into the lost world of Eastern European Jewry and setting them at the feet of this great Master. This is a holy book that belongs in the library of every Jew who hungers for spiritual sustenance.



3. A profound and moving book on many levels. Israel ben Eliezer, the Baal Shem Tov or 'Besht' was the founder of the Hassidic movement among Eastern European Jews in the 1700's, which survives to this day in Israel, the United States and elsewhere.
   
   The author says: "...I want it to be a book in which the Besht is alive", and: "the main goal is spiritual understanding." He succeeds in both, through the care in which he presents and orders stories about the Besht's life. One can also see how the spiritual approach of the Baal Shem Tov resonates back through two millennia to Hillel, and beyond, and forward two centuries, and beyond, to include the late Rabbi Shlomo Carlson, Yitzhak Buxbaum's own Rebbe.
   
   There is another side to this work, perhaps not intended. One can also read it as a lesson in how the spiritual, cultural and traditional intellectual resources of an oppressed people can be drawn upon for their emancipation and liberation -- here spiritual -- or can be turned in many directions, not all for liberation. Looked at from this side, this is a very contemporary book, and could interest readers from many different traditions including from the Caribbean, Africa, Latin America and perhaps Tibet, or others, who struggle with parallel issues.
   
   For Jews, and others, far from the world in this book, or who imagine ourselves to be so, there is nothing wrong with discovering how to turn a bowl of kasha or borscht into a holy meditation; or smoking a pipe (of tobacco) into an ascent; and perhaps being able to use these in turn to develop compassion or love of people.
   
   The Baal Shem Tov's natural successor, it would appear from the book, would have been his daughter Edel. I wonder how things would have changed if she had been accepted as such.
   
   [Written in honor of the memory of Aimee Cesaire: poet, philosopher, politician of Martinique and elsewhere; died April 17, 2008]



4. loved this book. gives you a great understanding of the life of the Baal Shem Tov and what his vision was.



5. I highly recommend this book. An intimate portrayal of the Baal Shem Tov's life. You will finish the book and want to start all over again. This book will inspire the reader to examine his/her own life and how he/she can make improvements. Words cannot fully describe the impact this book will have.

3 comments about St. Maria Goretti: In Garments All Red.

1. This is the best book about a saint I ever read. I imagine it's because the writer was able to talk to people who actually knew Maria and because she is a more recent saint.



2. This book can show young preteens of today that, even in the "past" there was pornography, unwanted sexual advances, etc. Maria Goretti was murdered by a guy because she refused his advances. She even forgave him as she lay dying! I wish this was required reading for all youth. It is a very inspiring story.



3. 104 pp. PB. Impr. The beautiful, true story of the 12-year-old girl who in 1902 died a marytr to preserve her purity. Describes her virtous life, poverty, holiness, valiant resistance, heroic and lingering death, conversion of her murderer and over 500,000 present. This is the famous, popular, classic biography!

5 comments about My Life in Orange: Growing Up with the Guru.

1. I think that Tim Guest's work My Life in Orange: Growing Up With the Guru is an excellent look into the way the life of a cult through the eyes of a child. This book was of great interest to me as I live in Oregon, which was home to the Rajneeshpuram commune and where much of the controversy took place. I liked the way that Guest tells his own personal story while at the same time narrates what was going on with the rest of the cult, making it both a personal and chronological account of the cult. Guest has an excellent writing style. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in alternative religious groups.



2. I enjoyed reading this book but in the end was left feeling it was the work of a five star whinger. The author's descriptions of scenes from his troubled childhood are excellent. One always has the choice to see one's glass as being half-full or half-empty. It is obvious to me that somewhere down the line Tim went for the latter.Mind Bomb



3. Without reservation, I recommend MY LIFE IN ORANGE. You are in for a bumpy ride, however, on which your assumptions & judgments really need to be checked at the gate.
   This is about British disaffected Baby Boomers who first got into grassroots politics until they heard the siren song of the Raggle Taggle Gypsy, the psychic Pied Piper known as Bhagwan Rajneesh.
   MY LIFE IN ORANGE is all about a child's eye view of living in a collection of communes on three continents made up of people from disparate walks of life whose eyes are set on their quest for enlightenment, rather than on the prize of parenthood.
   I was an ex-Brit Baby Boomer who took a similar hike albeit through different terrain & my path once crossed with the Orange Cloud, as well as other guru groups. Perhaps my coming up as a "stranger" in a post-War society that set too much store in their ethnic purity, in an education system that thought their religion was the only one &, finally, behind 3 older brothers, all inoculated me against any male guru adoration. I, too, went in search of commune life, although my taste was more of the SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS kind, which doesn't exist off the silver screen, more's the pity.
   The telling of MY LIFE IN ORANGE is a profound immersion into Tim Guest's memories of idyllic communes before being dragged off by the adults in his life to treacherous territories where children are treated, at best, like a herd of goats. There are some hindsight insights blended into this feast of memories & stories about a time when a child's life was indeed free. However, as Tim so ably describes, the lines between freedom & abandonment, instincts & politics, ecstasy & emptiness, affection & antipathy are very thin.
   MY LIFE IN ORANGE will make you think about becoming a parent, an adult, a leader & a follower. It also has something to say about how a child looks at its parents' lives.
   PS: to all the defensive ones, there's little in Tim's telling that can be construed as anti-Bhagwan. It's in the mind of the reader, if they're so inclined, especially those who've not even read the book. Duh!



4. I haven't read the book. Bhagwan himself said that is it easy to attack a man after he is dead. Guest is capitalizing on this concept. For the past several years I have been a Osho Rashneesh Sanyassi loyalist. That is until I read The God that Failed, an exclusive expose of Rashneesh by one of his closest members, bodyguard of almost a decade (?). I thought I would read about bitterness, he does have regrets and it almost cost him his sanity, but he also lived a something of a priveledged lifestyle, to include for a time, unmitigated sex and power, and he is grateful for that. Osho considers him to be his Judas.
   
   Now that I have entirely digressed, don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. Osho Rashneesh has mastered several disciplines in his lifetime, to include Buddhism, Tao, Zen, Hinduism, Sufism and the likes as demonstrated in his literature. IMO, there isn't anyone who has had such tremendous insights than Osho Rashneesh. And if you wonder about his credibility, he along with Ghandi are the only 2 sages with library rooms dedicated in their names in the Indian Parliament.
   
   On the other hand, there isn't anyone like him that took hundreds along for a ride into a mystical Hades. He had issues, to put it mildly. He was addcited to valium and nitrous oxide; and is said to urinate during his walks because of it. His 93 Rolls Royces was a complicated joke, poking his finger at Aristocracy, yet probably building some sort of legal capital/investment that couldn't be removed. Technically, I don't think the titles were in his name, just given to his estate. If it weren't for the drugs, he wouldn't have taunted the Regean administration to go after him with outrageous anti-Christian statements. He underestimated the US, Reagan and the Christian right. Reagan was done dealing with hippies and communists. Subsequentially, Osho Rasneesh's disillusioned staff commited atrocities that shattered any credibility that he may have had left. And the Muddy Ranch was bought as cheap real estate for a reason, it was a useless dry desert that became brutally hot in the summer and cold in the winter. But the building permits is what did him in, in a nutshell. The local govt. would not allow his commune to build a city, simlar to the likes of Salt Lake. The would not give any quarter. Like piranhas, the commune attacked themselves and locals.
   
   To love Osho Rashneesh is to love existentialism. He is the existentialist's existentialist. (his words) I have returned to Church, the church of my origin that I formally I would rather be dead than go back. There are comforts and challenges in living as another one of Christ's annointed. And I think Osho Rashneesh understands that, but he walked away from it under the influence of hedonistic narcotics.
   
   Unless Guest is able to testify on the brilliance of Osho Rashneesh and his contribution to the evolution of humanity, Guest's book is useless, which is probably why I haven't felt the need to read it.



5. The author, Tim Guest, opens his heart in this book about his childhood in the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh cult and how destructive it was to his family. "My mother and her friends wanted to surrender us, their children, to the love and support of the commune, in order to save us from the traumatic confines of nuclear family life."--pages 92 & 93. This is not a dry tome on the nature of cults. Some reviewers have judged the author, but this novel is not a whitewash, but an honest confession of his faults and his desire for a close relationship with his parents. It was heartbreaking how the cult children had to learn to rely upon each other for comfort and intimacy that was denied them with their parents. As a woman, I grieved over his deep longing for a meaningful relationship with his mother and his desire not to always have to share her with others.
   
   This novel also shows how an articulate intelligent woman, his mother, becomes slowly enmeshed in the Rajneesh cult and how the countercultural attitudes toward family ("the nuclear family itself was at fault: an unwitting agent of capitalist consumerism..." pg. 19 and "Marriage was part of the bigger swindle; a partriarchal conspiracy to subjugate women..." pg. 20) caused her to justify unkind behavior. It's almost a warning of how intellectualism can sometimes cause us to behave inhumanely. (I'm reminded of how college students were able to justify barbaric behavior during the Cultural Revolution in China.)
   
   Tim Guest has an amazing memory. Details, such as desiring slippery wooden floors to slide across while wearing socks, helped me to identify with Tim who had common childhood experiences even within the confines of cult life. This is not a lurid expose but an insightful look into how cults operate to focus power in the hands of a few individuals at the expense of their members. I couldn't help thinking, while reading the book, about the parallels of the cult to the intelligensia of our current culture that is promoting the Socialistic mindset and denying the importance of the individual (ie. to end competition, the striving for excellence, the rewarding of mediocrity, the tearing down of high standards, and so forth).
   
   I recommend this book for a serious study of cult life. If you're looking for entertainment, this will probably not interest you. It's a quiet, but well-written, book.

1 comments about A Strange Freedom.

1. I first became acquainted with the work of Howard Thurman when I found a leather-bound copy of Disciplines of the Spirit at an antique store. I was struck first by the practicality of his work, and then by the universality of his vision of spirituality and brotherhood. I am very excited to find this volume of his essays published. I hope it brings to many in 1999 and the millenium the practical, down-to-earth theology of this man who was a mentor to Dr. Martin Luther King

5 comments about Father Mychal Judge: An Authentic American Hero.

1. In an age that there is great suspect, and hostility towards priests, this book restores one faith in the many saints in our midst, who never gain newspaper headlines. I read the book before watching the CD about Father Judge, and it is a wondeful, easy read.
   
   I had it on my wish list for a long time, as I had heard it would be published soon. When I finished the book, and CD, I sent them both on to a friend, who will pass it on to someone else.
   
   Father Judge was a true hero, loved his ministry, struggled as a human and shined as a light. It is painful still to re-visit 9/11, but this is the conclusion of a live well led and lived. Well written, introducing us into his life and his friends.



2. As a disheartened Catholic living in NJ with an excellent view of the NY skyline, I watched in horror as the World Trade Center towers came crashing down on 9/11/01. My faith, which I had already been questioning, was tested even further. As the days passed, we all began to hear the tragic and heroic stories to emerge from Ground Zero. One of the first was that of Fr. Mychal Judge. I was moved by his death and attended a mass in his honor at St. Joseph's in East Rutherford, NJ. It was an overflow crowd and we had to listen to the service from the street. It was very moving and the words of those who knew & loved Fr. Mychal touched me. After that I realized that I should not be touched by his death, but I should learn about his life. This was an amazing gift that God gave to me. I began reading about him, anything I could get my hands on. After a time of such turmoil in our country, and to me in my own backyard, it was as if the grace of this incredible man was walking me through my own grief and helping restore my own faith in God, the Church and our world.
   
   I was very anxious to read this book, and I must say, I was not disappointed. I think it did a good job of showing us who Mychael Judge was, both as a Franciscan Priest and as a very human man. It showed his frailties, his struggles and the heroic and inspirational way in which he handled these matters. It showed a man of true love and acceptance, one who encouraged a Church of inclusion, not exclusion. One who strived to make the Church a better place, who did not allow the faults of the Church to taint his love for God or Jesus Christ. Through stories told by friends, fellow Franciscans and those who knew him well, you get a better picture of the man Mychal was. And, after his death, the man that he was led me back to the Church and allowed me to have a place for God in my heart again. I like to think that this is something that would have made Fr. Mychal very happy. So that is my own personal tribute to him.
   
   The beginning of the book details the tragic day of 9/11/01. The author did an excellent job of making that terrible day seem real and gives us some understanding of what those on the scene were experiencing. Throughout the story, I also felt that I was there when Mychal was offering his own blanket to a homeless man, or when he was massaging the feet of AIDS patients when no one would dare touch them. It gave an excellent portrait of what he learned, what he did and how he became the true Hero he was to so many.
   
   I strongly recommend reading this book. You will learn about a wonderful man and it will restore your own faith in God and the people in His world.



3. I genuinely wanted to like this book, and was sorely disappointed. ... A case in point: Fr. Mychal spent a number of years at St. Joseph's parish in East Rutherford, NJ. The author's treatment of this critical, mid- career period in Judge's life (and the context in which this reviewer first came to know Mike Judge) is given short shrift. Ford relies entirely on an article in the Bergen (NJ) Record from the mid 70's and on some annecdotes from Fr. Michael Duffy ofm in his funeral homily for Judge. There is no indication that Ford spoke with any of the other Friars who shared ministry with Judge, or with any parishoners. Rather, Ford seems to be in a great rush to tell stories of Mike Judge, recovering alcoholic and (celibate)... man.
   Much of the book is riddled with cliches and trite bromides. The end result is a book, which while informative at times, fails to capture and communicate the story of a flawed, yet truly holy man. Mike Judge deserves a better crafted biography.



4. I met Father Judge once and it was a very moving experience. Everything said about him in Ford's book as far as I'm concerned it just the way he was. He made a fantastic figure in his flowing robe but he was never pretentious. He loved people and his every action showed it. He is a man that will not be easily forgotten and the book will help towards that end.



5. Some people might be put-off because this book deals honestly with a priest who struggled with his sexuality and with church teachings AND lived a life in service to God and neighbor. However, this book looks honestly and authentically at the life of Fr. Mychal Judge. Clearly the love of God shone through this man, and clearly the teachings of the Catholic hierarchy are not always the teachings of the Church, the People of God. I thought perhaps this book might be a little hokey (the subtitle makes Fr. Judge sound like a Marvel Comic superhero), but the book was truly authentic (albeit a tiny bit hokey at some very few points). Michael Ford's book will give you some honest insight into the complex yet simple life of Fr. Mychal Judge. I found it inspiring.

5 comments about E.W. Kenyon and His Message of Faith: The True Story.

1. Brothers and Sisters...I don't really believe that Brother Kenyon's biography should mean very much in direct reflection to God's Word or Brother Kenyon's teachings. After all...it's a biography. If you "know the Word" and you've read Brother Kenyon's teachings then you know what's right and what's wrong. Please don't take my opinion or any other reviewers opinion of Kenyon or his teachings to the bank based on this book, but read his works. The revelatory knowledge given to Brother Kenyon by the Holy Ghost in his teachings is truly awe inspiring; not to mention his poetic style of writing and how he so tenderly refers with awe and reverence to the Father and the Lord Jesus.
   
   Please keep in mind that people that have no vision will always talk smack about those who do. People who lack will always be jealous of those who do not, and those people who are small minded and lack mountain moving faith will live a life without healing, prosperity or any type of miracles. They will live a life that is not the abundant life that the Lord Jesus came to give us; that Zoë God kind of life.
   
   Read the book. It's not as good as George Muller's or Pat Robertson's autobiography, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.
   
   And one last thing; if you don't know if you should read a particular book or not...get on your knees and pray and ask the Father if it is a good book and if it will be a blessing to your life (Psalm 84:11). Don't let others influence you when you can make your own decisions based on Gods Word, the Holy Spirit and your prayers. I believe you'll enjoy this book about this great man of faith. God Bless.



2. While it's apparent from some of the other reviews that this book may have flaws, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Well-written, well-researched. McIntyre offers fascinating glimpses of Kenyon's early years, and of the late 19th C and early 20thC church-era. The author may have a bias, but it's certainly no worse than one who has a bone to pick.
   
   McIntyre reveals that Kenyon poses a curious but sympathetic character: his teachings didn't quite follow the pattern of the giants of the faith that preceded him. The author shows that Kenyon's teachings were developed after enjoying a long walk with the Lord. They were nuggets of truth his heart was set on releasing to the Church, and were not intended to be followed as quick-fix formulae. I find that the modern W-F teachers (and W-F critics too!) focus on the shock value of some of Kenyon's teachings, thus missing the forest for the trees.
   
   McIntyre also describes some of Kenyon's failings but doesn't dwell on them. Imperfections do not disqualify one as a teacher of The Word. Robert Bowman's Word-Faith Controversy serves as a good counter balance to this book in evaluating Kenyon's teachings, many of which have done my heart good over the years while some others (which are probably wrong) remain controversial.



3. First of all I would like to attempt to bring clarity concerning 2 previous reviews by a certain reviwer. I would have liked to dialogue with this reviewer over email or something first but his information is not available as far as I could tell.
   
   I won't attempt to critique the whole of his reviews but I will attempt to reveal a number of seemingly inaccurate claims which I noticed right away (I had just finished the book and wanted to see what others had said about it).
   
   In his most recent reveiw he states, "McIntyre also did this with the issue of the sovereignty of God, and skimmed past the fact that Kenyon died of disease (a malignant tumor) and took medicine."
   
   In his first reveiw he also stated:
   "One of the sources cited by McIntyre contains information that contradicts what he says regarding Kenyon's death in 1948. He knows the information that contradicts him exists, but instead of acknowledging this fact, he simply doesn't mention it and then tells what he says is the "true" story of Kenyon. This fact alone disqualifies this book from being anything more than a reference so that Faith followers can say that questions are answered that HAVEN'T been answered."
   
   It's esepcially statements like this (i.e. "This fact alone disqualifies this book from being anything more than a reference so that Faith followers can say that questions are answered that HAVEN'T been answered") that clearly seem to be overstatment.
   
   McIntyre actually devotes roughly 8 pages to this single topic of Kenyon's controversial death (see pgs. 167-174). How could this be understood as "skimming past the fact?" McIntyre makes a strong case that Kenyon didn't die of cancer. The great weight of the evidence (at least as presented in this book) seems to indicate that he simply died of old age- his body just wore out. On page 170 McIntyre also states that Kenyon was once reported as having used half of an aspirin after a fall that badly injured his back (which he reportedly miraculously recovered from).
   
   McIntyre not only mentions seemingly contradictory information (like the death certificate) but specifically addresses it and discusses it openly in this same section (pp. 167-174).
   
   As far as the sovereignty issue, this is also specifically addressed and covered by McIntyre in that same section. On page 172 McIntyre references an article that Kenyon published in 1942 in which he wrote, "I had been praying, struggling, and crying to God for healing. That old chronic difficulty had me in bondage for more than three years."
   
   McIntyre then comments:
   "The fact that he would share that struggle openly in his publication suggests that he didn't find an extended battle with sickness contrary to his understanding of our redemption and the fight of faith for healing. Kenyon clearly believed that divine health was God's perfect will, yet he didn't feel that it was a contradiction to face some serious battles with disease."
   
   This reviewer also made the claim, "In 'dealing' with the issues, McIntyre ignored ALL of them and set up a straw man defense of Kenyon's teachings." It seems clear in light of the information provided above that this claim is, in the very least, a dramatic overstatement. This is especially evidenced by the use of the word "all."
   
   One of the other reviewers, though he gave the book a very good rating of 4 stars, expressed disappointment that he "really didn't find hardly any direct teachings from Kenyon or additional sermons that he never published." However, after reading this work I felt just the opposite. In doing a quick search I noted some 30 references in the notes to unpublished material. I suppose it depends on one's expectations.
   
   The fact is that this appears to be an all-around excellent work. It not only provides a great introduction to Kenyon (which it served as for me), but also provides a fascinating history of the times he lived in and of the developments in theology that were taking place. He clearly shows who Kenyon was influenced by (such as A.B. Simpson, A.J. Gordon, G. Campbell Morgan, A.T. Pierson, Andrew Murray, R.A. Torrey, Phoebe Palmer, Moody's Warriors, and a host of other saints) and brings light to the rumors about Kenyon- clearly documented light.
   
   This edition includes 39 pages of notes, 2 appendices, a glossary of terms, and a detailed index. I was a History major in college and as far as I can tell this work is a model of good scholarship and research. Combine that with a flowing and readable text and what more could you ask for? As far as I'm concerned (at this point in my research) this work is a masterpiece of Christian history.
   
   *Note: This review has been revised in response to another reviwer's reaction. After reading his response, I felt that this revision was necessary. I do apologize for the personal attacks, I do believe I was in the wrong, and I hope this revised edition of the review is suitable.



4. I must say at the outset that my title is a tad misleading, and for that I apologize. The one good thing that can be said about this book is the fact that Mr. McIntyre brought out some historical facts that nobody had access to until recently. That said, I must be less than enthralled with the overall book.
   
   The basic purpose of this book was to clear Kenyon charges of heresy teaching made by such persons as D.R. McConnell, Hank Hannegraaff, and Dave Hunt among others. And if McIntyre had actually done that, he would have made a valuable contribution to a reconsideration of Kenyon's teachings.
   
   But instead of doing that, he began with a presupposition: despite mounds of evidence to the contrary, Kenyon did not teach heresy. In 'dealing' with the issues, McIntyre ignored ALL of them and set up a straw man defense of Kenyon's teachings. He spent three chapters presumably defending Kenyon's teaching of the 'born again' Jesus, yet he didn't really discuss that issue. Instead, he used the modern terminology JDS (for Jesus died spiritually) and insinuated that great Christian leaders of the past such as Calvin or present like Billy Graham taught the same doctrine of atonement as did Kenyon. The simple fact is that this was a bait and switch routine that should have no place in an honest airing of the facts. McIntyre also did this with the issue of the sovereignty of God, and skimmed past the fact that Kenyon died of disease (a malignant tumor) and took medicine. If one is open-minded approaching it, he will invariably come to two conclusions: first of all, Kenyon had an inflated opinion of his own teachings as witness by the subtitles of his books (for example, "The Two Kinds of Righteousness" is subtitled "The Most Important Message Ever Offered To The Church"), and the man was also a person who simply did not live his life in consistency with what he claimed the Bible taught.
   
   On at least five separate occasions in the book, McIntyre also misquoted or misrepresented by quote the people he was critiquing, particularly D.R. McConnell (just check the cross references that McIntyre cites and you can see this for yourself). He also resorted to name calling - right after condeming it, no less - by labeling critics of Kenyon's doctrine as users of 'heresy hunting tactics.'
   
   Simply put, the one valuable contribution consists of the story of Kenyon's early background that has been mired in confusion for some 20 years. But otherwise the book falls short all across the line: poor argumentation, misrepresentation, name calling, and miscitation of quotes. The irony is that many people who will endorse this book level those precise same charges at Word of Faith critics.
   
   IN RESPONSE TO ANOTHER REVIEWER
   
   I will take equal time as necessary to respond to another reviewer's points. His remarks are followed by my rebuttal.
   
   "In his most recent reveiw Maestroh states, "McIntyre also did this with the issue of the sovereignty of God, and skimmed past the fact that Kenyon died of disease (a malignant tumor) and took medicine."
   
   In his first reveiw maestroh also stated:
   "One of the sources cited by McIntyre contains information that contradicts what he says regarding Kenyon's death in 1948. He knows the information that contradicts him exists, but instead of acknowledging this fact, he simply doesn't mention it and then tells what he says is the "true" story of Kenyon. This fact alone disqualifies this book from being anything more than a reference so that Faith followers can say that questions are answered that HAVEN'T been answered."
   
   
   These statements make me question whether this reviewer even read the book thoroughly. McIntyre actually devotes roughly 8 pages to this single topic of Kenyon's controversial death (see pgs. 167-174). How could this be understood as "skimming past the fact?" McIntyre makes a strong case that Kenyon didn't die of cancer. The great weight of the evidence seems to indicate that he simply died of old age- his body just wore out. On page 170 McIntyre also states that Kenyon was once reported as having used half of an aspirin after a fall that badly injured his back (which he reporetedly miraculously recovered from).
   
   REVIEWER RESPONSE (MAESTROH)
   
   The FACTS are these - and you will find them distorted in this alleged 'true' story. I didn't say McIntyre didn't MENTION them, I said he SKIMMED past them. Kenyon's death certificate contained the cause of death as a malignant tumor. When discussing this issue, McIntyre poisons the well by saying that it was presented by a 'ministry critical of Kenyon' as though that makes any difference. (After all, did the ministry 'forge' the death certificate? If so, it would be relatively easy to prove). But what McIntyre DID NOT MENTION is this: Geir Lie, a strong proponent of Kenyon, demonstrated beyond reasonable doubt that Kenyon did die of a malignant tumor. Lie even had letters from Kenneth Hagin and Kenyon's daughter contradicting the tale McIntyre told (basically, Hagin admitted lying about Kenyon's death). McIntyre NEVER mentioned this which certainly calls his honesty into question. Why? Because McIntyre cites Geir Lie's work REPEATEDLY throughout so it is clear he was aware of it. The reviewer seems to think that if McIntyre MENTIONS something, it means he DISCUSSED IT IN DETAIL, which is simply not true.
   
   And the 'great weight of evidence' the reviewer refers to is actually nothing more than McIntyre's non-professional medical opinion. The author clearly thinks that because no X-ray exists of Kenyon's cancer, this means he didn't have it. But this is wrong on a number of counts. For starters, 90% of physician diagnosis is based on medical history and a physical exam. Cancer is usually diagnosed by CT (invented in 1972 or 24 years after Kenyon's death), MRI (1979), or biopsy. X-rays were in their very early days at the time so that is irrelevant. And finally, since McIntyre is not a doctor himself - and not related to Kenyon - he wouldn't have his medical records, would he? If he did, it is still doubtful he knows what he's talking about. McIntyre's case for a 'healed Kenyon' is based SOLELY upon his desiring it to be true.
   
   ISSUE TWO:
   "As far as the sovereignty issue, this is also specifically addressed and covered by McIntyre in that same section. On page 172 McIntyre references an article that Kenyon published in 1942 in which he wrote, "I had been praying, struggling, and crying to God for healing. That old chronic difficulty had me in bondage for more than three years." McIntyre then comments:
   
   "The fact that he would share that struggle openly in his publication suggests that he didn't find an extended battle with sickness contrary to his understanding of our redemption and the fight of faith for healing. Kenyon clearly believed that divine health was God's perfect will, yet he didn't feel that it was a contradiction to face some serious battles with disease." "
   
   REVIWER RESPONSE
   
   The reviwer did PRECISELY what I was talking about. McIntyre views sovereignty through healing - ignoring two major facts. First, in the Faith movement that Kenyon fathered, it is ENTIRELY up to the believer to have Faith and God has already done all He's going to do about sickness (sickness, of course, can't be God's will). Secondly, he doesn't address the wild-eyed deununciation of God's sovereignty found by this statement of Kenyon's: "It seems God is limited by our prayer life, that He can do nothing unless a man asks him. Why this is, I do not know." THAT is what I mean about sovereignty. According to Kenyon, God can't do anything unless man asks him. The Faith movement repeats this error with, "God can't do anything on Earth without man's permission." Surely this is worthy of discussion - and a defense if that's even possible. Yet nothing from Mr. McIntyre.
   
   The most controversial teaching of the Faith movement is the notion that Jesus was born again. As I stated earlier, McIntyre never discusses it as Kenyon or his followers actually teach it. He goes and grabs quotes from others like John Calvin and insinuates that Calvin and Kenyon taught the same thing about the atonement when their ideas were poles apart.
   
   Furthermore, in 'debunking' my review, he ignores the OBJECTIVE FACT that McIntyre misrepresented what McConnell said FIVE DIFFERENT TIMES by my own count (sometimes the quote was accurate but the information distorted by McIntyre). One only has to take the McIntyre footnote and compare it to the McConnell context to see this fact for himself.



5. Having read several of Kenyon's life-changing books, McIntyre's book is an extremely interesting read. The book is well-written and is extremely well researched and documented. With a wealth of quotes, anecdotes, and details of Kenyon's life heretofore unpublished, McIntyre totally disarms the critics, removes misconceptions about the message of faith, and properly restores Kenyon's reputation as one of the finest of God's end time writers.

   If you are one of the many Christians whose ears have been poisoned by listening to other misguided ministers malign and criticize E.W. Kenyon's books as heretical, you owe it to yourself to read this book! From it, you get a glimpse of Kenyon's heart and motivation in writing his books, his great love for his Lord and for people, and solid proof that Kenyon's message was firmly planted in orthodox soil. (In my opinion, anyone who labels Kenyon as heretical after reading McIntyre's book is attempting to willfully misunderstand Kenyon's writings.)

   I would highly recommend any honest, thirsting heart that wants to know God better and anyone who wants to be everything that God wants him to be in Christ, to read all of E.W. Kenyon's books. The revelation that Kenyon unveils in the Word of God makes "ordinary" Christianity extraordinary, and will totally change the person who grabs hold of it. No wonder the devil hates Kenyon's books!

   Thank you, Joe McIntyre, for writing this book and "setting the record straight." Proverbs 18:17, John 7:51

5 comments about Lost in the Amazon: The True Story of Five Men and their Desperate Battle for Survival (Discovery books).

1. If you want an exciting read, this is the book! However, get the BOOK, not this audio reading. After reading the book and wanting it for my collection, I accidentally ordered the audio version. Figuring it might be interesting to listen to in the car, I opened it. Bad move. The narrator feels he has a talent for voices and dialects he should not attempt. One of the key figures, 'Darcy', sounds like a flamboyant gay decorator, instead of the New Englander that he is supposed to be. I find myself getting more irritated at the butchering of the voice effects and less able to concentrate on what is a very intense adventure and an excellent read for teens through adults.



2. This book chronicles the trip of 5 men through the Amazon. Though the trip was planned and charted, details like inaccurate hand-drawn maps drawn by people who had never been there, food left behind "because it was too heavy", boat accidents, money running out, and other surprises along the way changed the trip entirely. The trip that was intended as a photographic expedition turned into a spiritual excursion. The adventure carries you along though the book.



3. Just imagine the martial-arts blowhard from Napoleon Dynamite boring everybody to death with the story of how God saved him from having to walk in the rain for a few days. That's this book. The author manages to embody all the worst of hick America; he's weepy, bombastic, swaggering, ignorant and self-important all at once. It's something of a feat, I suppose, but one hardly deserving praise.
   If you want to see how much better the Brits do this sort of thing, read Benedict Allen's book Through Jaguar Eyes, a funny, understated and literate account of a much braver journey through the same part of the world.



4. As I read the book I continued to wish that the author had been eaten by a jaguar or left on the tree. DON'T believe the title. I'm guessing the author could become lost in the local Wal-Mart if he didn't have his guides. He never was lost in this "adventure".



5. If they have a worst book contest, this one will be a contender. Save your money.

5 comments about Turning Toward the Mystery: A Seeker's Journey.

1. In "Turning Toward the Mystery" Stephen Levine shares his own spiritual journey - from heroin "junkie" to ardent spiritual seeker - it's quite a journey indeed!
   
   I found Mr. Levine's writings to be very poetic - sometimes flowing, sometimes disjointed, but always leading the reader to another insight. And, although there were times when I wasn't quite sure what he was saying, I had the feeling that his words were simply planting a seed, and the greater awareness of their meaning will come in time.
   
   Overall, I found this book to be a truly interesting, enjoyable, & insightful read. I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in spirituality and/or Buddhist concepts. It has a lot to offer!



2. Levine makes a statement about a third of the way through the book that we have to distinguish between the "action," and the "person." Indeed we have to see "pain" as not personal, but as impersonal so that we don't associate pain with our own little ego struggle, which is filled with fickle judgements, moral values, and fears -- all of which do not qualify as "universal." If pain is "our" pain, then we can't open to the wider Pain and hence cannot feel empathy for the world - which is the ultimate "goal." Our struggle is the world's struggle and our pain can parodoxically open us to the world. James Hillman, in Soul's Code and other writings comes to this through philosophical roots (phomenological) and wrote bestsellars - so there is something striking a chord here.
   This is essential mid-life stuff, and I recommend it hardily. Think about someone in your life you have trouble forgiving. Then ask if you want to go to your grave not forgiving? I don't, but I can't guarantee I won't - or that it will make a difference. But somehow at the stage in my life ( I am 56) I recognize this struggle to forgive as not a moral issue ("should" message), but a basic "life" issue. It isn't about thinking thoughts, but feeling deeply. Levine lays bare the essential stuff that is being indirectly and obscurely and misguidedly being talked about today in the frame of "personal relationships." This is not the place to uncover these issues because, again, personal relationships are small and impoverished if they don't move to the the big relationship between you and the world. Sounds like mumbo-jumbo? The book isn't. This really is essential reading, particularly for those in mid-life who stand at the mid-point between looking back and looking forward. How do we do this? Levine's book demonstrates how.



3. What a delight to read and to savor the messages in this writing. The author clearly reveals his own journey through the somewhat messy process of becoming more fully human and holy. These revelations are minor compared to the wisdom that is distilled in wonderful reflective statements about the entire process of growth. Reading this book is a most useful and prayerful exercise



4. This is an autobiography of the author's spiritual journey to enlightenment - in the end it is not clear to me whether he ever became fully enlightened. He has certainly recounted numerous experiences that naturally lead to enlightenment. I found this book interesting in parts, but not consistently so. I did not like the writing style which seemed disjointed, and so the story did not flow for me. The book is OK, but now that I have read it, I feel my time would have been more productively employed reading something else.



5. "I walked through half my life as if it were a fever dream, barely touching the ground," Stephen Levine writes in his 252-page memoir, "my eyes half open, my heart half closed. Not half knowing who I was, I watched the ghost of me drift from room to room, through friends and lovers, never quite as real as advertised" (p. 37). Levine is a Buddhist meditation teacher who also works with terminal patients. I discovered him through his 1997 book about conscious living, A YEAR TO LIVE. His memoir offers Levine's intimate account of his "wandering awareness gradually drawn toward the light. The process of a long spiritual practice steadily met by a mysterious grace" (p. xii).

   In his memoir, Levine frequently finds himself "up a dark river, but not without a paddle" (p. 90). And that's really the whole point of his book. "No matter how closed the mind or frightened the heart," he tells us, "the mystery is always at play" in our lives (p. 20). Levine was "born a hungry ghost" (p. 3), carried a stolen gun throughout his youth (p. 5), and was arrested four times before he was nineteen (p. 9). After being incarcerated in Rikers Island Penitentiary for drug possession (p. 25), Levine then moved to psychedelic, tie-dyed San Francisco in 1965, where he met Allen Ginsberg, Alan Watts, Ken Kesey, Gary Snyder, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Timothy Leary, Wavy Gravy, and Neal Cassady, while the Grateful Dead jammed on (pp. 64-5). He was divorced twice before meeting his soulmate, Ondrea, at a Conscious Living, Conscious Dying retreat in 1979. "I write about early internal struugles," Levine says, "not to add to the self-serving drama of a memoir, but for the benefit of any who might find in my confusion some way out of their own" (p. xii).

   Along the way, we find Levine turning inward and embracing "the way of things" through meditation practice. "Turning inward," he observes, "leads to the uncovering and healing of our small self, our personal myth, the mental construct in which we mistakenly believe our true self is housed. And as we look deeper for something yet more real, in sudden wordless understandings, levels of awareness are revealed that direct the pilgrim home" (p. xi). It is Levine's journey inward that transforms mystery into a larger-than-life memoir.

   G. Merritt

2 comments about Ireland's Saint: The Essential Biography of St. Patrick.

1. Separating myth from man is never an easy task, and St. Patrick lived during a time when both life and legend were considered part of history. Jon Sweeney provides authentic context and thoughtful illumination for Bury's 1905 scholarly biography of Patrick. The result is a wonderful tale of a humble, heroic and heart-led man.



2. A very readable and enjoyable book. It wasn't clear how much was edited out of the The Life Of St. Patrick And His Place In History, but the marginal notes made me feel the book was up to date. I was glad to learn about the history of Ireland. I didn't know Ireland was converted to Christianity before England. The book also shed light on the so-called fall of the Roman Empire.