FASTING BY SCOT MCKNIGHT
You might never consider passing on the peach cobbler, but for blogger Jana Riess, Fasting by Scot McKnight offers a rich and satisfying look at the real reason for skipping meals, even in summer.
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS?
Comment on Jon Sweeney's review of the new Barbara Brown Taylor book: An Altar in the World
HELP! FACEBOOK IS A BETTER CHRISTIAN THAN I AM
"At first, I
felt very principled about
refusing the rampant promiscuity that seems to be
de rigueur
on Facebook: my online 'friends' were going to be actual
friends, thank you very much—people I wanted to hear from and
about."
A PBS REQUIEM FOR THOMAS MERTON
Airing nationally on December 14, the documentary Soul Searching and its companion volume give us new insights into the life, work and faith of Thomas Merton.
ADVENT CALENDARS FOR GROWN-UPS
Grown-ups deserve Advent calendars too, and this season I have discovered two lovely books—one sacred, one secular—that help adults discover the beauty of Advent and anticipate the joys of Christmas.
ONCE A CATHOLIC: ANNE RICE RETURNS TO HER FAITH
Curious fans, devout Catholics, and undecided spiritual seekers alike will find something valuable in Rice’s new spiritual memoir, Called Out of Darkness. In it, she details the transformations inherent in becoming what she calls “a writer consecrated to Christ.”
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO TITHING?
Passing the Plate: Why American Christians Don’t Give Away More Money provides a startling look at the state of charitable donations among American Christians, who give very little, if any, of their money to charity.
THE POET WITHIN
I love poetry—I love reading and writing it—but
for
years now I have
been what Julia Cameron, author of
The
Artist’s Way, calls “a creative anorexic.”
In other words,
the voice in my
head that criticizes
every line of poetry I write has
become more powerful than
the
impulse to create it.
WHY WE READ WHAT WE READ
Where does the
prompting to read what we
read come from? I would like to
hope that it
is
God’s gentle hand that leads us to abandon one book
and pick up
another.
THE RESTLESS READER
I wish I could say
that I am a scholar or an intellectual, but the
truth is that 18 years ago I
first read the bible, John of the Cross,
and Augustine, and have been looking
ever since for the fix those books
gave me.
INTERACTIVE FAITH
The world envisioned and helping to be formed by the
interfaith
movement is one where differences are of supreme value and life’s
highest goal is to come to a better understanding of “the other.”
THE JOYS OF RE-READING
Sometimes re-reading your favorite books can be more profitable than
reading new ones (or ones
that are new to you).
HOW GREEN IS MY BIBLE?
From our new Faithfully Reading blogger Jana Riess: "The Green Bible
makes it verdantly,
depressingly clear that the Bible assumes explicit
connections between
God’s blessings and an abundant earth."
THE WORDS OF JESUS:
A GOSPEL OF THE SAYINGS OF OUR LORD
WITH REFLECTIONS BY PHYLLIS TICKLE
Phyllis Tickle’s latest book is an attempt to reintroduce the intensity and
power of all of Jesus’ sayings by removing what she calls the “connective
tissue” from the gospel passages.
A NEW BOOK BY JEAN-PIERRE ISBOUTS
YOUNG JESUS: RESTORING THE LOST YEARS OF A SOCIAL ACTIVIST AND RELIGIOUS DISSIDENT
Having read
Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan, I was
surprised to find that
a book by a relatively unknown
writer could
impart a good deal
of new information and greatly deepen my
understanding of the
life and mission of Jesus.
JON SWEENEY'S ALMOST CATHOLIC
John Tintera begins his blog with Almost Catholic
