Radical Origins: Early Mormon Converts and Their Colonial Ancestors Review

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Radical Origins: Early Mormon Converts and Their Colonial Ancestors ReviewThrough exhaustive genealogical and historical research, as well as an interesting new hypothesis, Val Rust has endeavored to show that the roots of Mormonism extend well back of the 1830 date of the official organization of the Church. He has identified 583 of the earliest converts and carefully reconstructed genealogies and attendant family histories for each. The result is really quite fascinating. A majority of the earliest converts to Mormonism came from family religious traditions that uniquely prepared them to accept the radical new Church. Ancestors of Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, Parley P. Pratt and other lesser known founding fathers, have a religious heritage spread among the Antinomians, Seekers, Anabaptists, Quakers and other radical religions (including the Family of Love). Rust endeavors to show that a proclivity for free-thinking in religious matters as well as a family tradition of "seeking" a restoration of original Christianity was transmitted along family lines. Although treated elsewhere, I particularly enjoyed Rust's presentation of the strong New England influence on Joseph Smith's family, and the indentifying of specific congregations to which they belonged.
To my knowledge, an attempt of this kind has never been made before, at least not on this scale. And it would be safe to say that Rust succeeds quite nicely with his hypothesis. While those unfamiliar to Mormonism may find find some of the references to earliest Mormon history a little arcance, there is no denying that he makes a compelling case for a people prepared to receive a restoration of the gospel. A 40-page appendix gives ther names of all 583 early converts in this study, together with their known ancestors through five generations.
This is the kind of work that reshapes our view of history and encourages us to look in a different direction for an historical understanding of those spiritual forces that drive us all. We need more research of this kind.Radical Origins: Early Mormon Converts and Their Colonial Ancestors Overview

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Christians & Jews, Faith to Faith: Tragic History, Promising Present, Fragile Future Review

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Christians & Jews, Faith to Faith: Tragic History, Promising Present, Fragile Future Review
This book on Jewish-Christian relations is by a rabbi who worked on the American Jewish Committee's professional staff for thirty-two years, where he served as interreligious director, and who participated in eleven meetings with Pope John II and Pope Benedict XVI. Rabbi Rudin offers interesting, no-holds-barred information about Jewish and Christian history, why Christianity parted from Judaism and took a different path, and many other subjects.
He tells the meaning of the three names Hebrews, Israelites, and Jews, their origin, and how the names are sometimes misused, even to slander and humiliate Jewish people and their history, and how the name Israel and the meaning of the modern State of Israel are understood differently by Jews and Christians. He describes the early history of Judaism, about the Sadducees, Essenes, Zealots, and the Pharisees who are mischaracterized in the New Testament as over-punctilious pietists, while they were actually the opposite and are the parents of current Rabbinic Judaism.

He explains why the term "Old Testament" is not a term of endearment because, among other things, it indicates that the Hebrew Bible is outdated and superseded, and why Jews should not lump all people who are not Jews into a single homogeneous pile and call them non-Jews or gentiles, but recognize them respectfully as Roman Catholics, Lutherans, and so on, as appropriate. He speaks about the positive and negative legacies of Rome and Greece. He notes that Jesus referred to himself as "son of man," and this means what it says and not "son of God." It "appears seventy-nine times in the prophetic books of Ezekiel, Daniel, and Ezra and in numerous psalms. In its original usage, the phrase does not possess any unique or special theological meaning."
His section on "Who and What Killed Jesus" is very informative. He explains the history of the time, the role of the High Priest being a Roman designee, a Roman pawn, and not a political or religious leader of the Jews, and that crucifixion was not a Jewish mode of execution - indeed it was and is repugnant to Judaism. He notes that even Rome was horrified by Pilate's "cruelty as governor" and "remove(d) him from office and order(ed) his humiliating and disgraceful return to Rome." The Romans killed Jesus who was a Jew, not Jews.
He tells why Jews are unable to accept the idea that Jesus is the messiah and that there were many individuals who claimed they were the messiah. He relates some of the controversies about Paul among Christians. He addresses the age-old question "Has God abandoned the Jews?"
These examples show how much interesting and relevant material Rabbi Rudin has placed in his volume. There is much more. For instance, he concludes his book with a dozen pages, which includes a "Guide to Christian-Jewish Relations" and a "Discussion Guide" of several dozen questions that Jewish-Christian discussion groups can use to stimulate thoughts and insights.
Christians & Jews, Faith to Faith: Tragic History, Promising Present, Fragile Future Overview

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Father Mychal Judge: An Authentic American Hero Review

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Father Mychal Judge: An Authentic American Hero ReviewIn looking through the over some forty different books on a display in a local bookstore memorializing the Heroes of September 11th, I was struck by the fact that each human story is, in and of itself, precious and so worthy of being passed on. All who lost their lives on September 11th, and those who participated in the aftermath of that tragic day, in whatever role they served, brought forth their very best selves to share with others in need. There is a powerful eloquence resounding through the words and photographs that serve as reminder and memorial of these tremendous people and that terrible day.
Mychal Judge was the 68-year-old fire department chaplain who died of a heart attack while ministering to the injured and dying at the World Trade Center. There is the now famous picture of Judge being brought out of the rubble by five firemen that is incredibly powerful to view.
In a time when there is a great deal of cynicism and appropriate doubt about the leadership of the Catholic Church, Mychal Judge's life serves as the testament to the fact that there are indeed still priests who have not forgotten the true meaning of ministry, who continue to struggle to live a life that is Christ like, yet who remain all too truly human and authentic. Ironically, these men are often the same people who have the courage not to intimidated by the Church's petty hierarchical power games, rules and censures.

Judge was not a perfect person by any means. A Franciscan from his young adulthood, Mychal Judge was outspoken and unconventional. He was known to be difficult to live with in community at times. He spoke back to the reprimands of the Archdiocese of New York and went about his business of being present to others - often the poorest, dirtiest, most undesirable human beings around him. He was an acknowledged alcoholic who was devoted to Alcoholics Anonymous, to his own 23-year sobriety, and to assisting other alcoholics on a path toward recovery. He was also a gay man who acknowledged his sexual identity, while at the same time, giving authentic witness to his call to the priesthood. He was eccentric, bawdy and comical. At the same time, he was selfless when it came to being present to those in need. He never failed to rush to the most tragic or hopeless situation he was called to - whether it was to men dying of AIDS, to the lonely elderly women to whom he somehow gave laughetr and cheer, to the homeless around Penn Station in the church where he lived, or to his final ministry, to the firefighters and their families, of the New York City Fire Department.
As a result of his own very challenged life, Judge was able to be a tremendously authentic presence to other persons in pain. He embodied the idea that those wounded in life are often the best people to serve in healing roles as they can reach places in others that they themselves have been and give comfort and often peace.
Author, Michael Ford, covers Judge beautifully and I found myself marking my copy of this book with simply beautiful vignettes of Mychal Judge in action so that I can return to them again and reread them. Ford, previously published an excellent posthumous biography of priest and noted author, Henri Nouwen, entitled The Wounded Prophet, which also dealt with another remarkable human being who embodied the notion of wounded healer.
While never having met Mychal Judge, Ford has certainly done a fine job of meeting people who did know the man first hand and recording their stories of his life. He has synthesized all of this into a very well written, coherent tale of a rough and tumble New Yorker who literally gave his life to the people of New York City. A remarkable book. A fast and inspiring read. Highly recommended!Daniel J. Maloney
Saint Paul, Minnesota USAFather Mychal Judge: An Authentic American Hero Overview

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Hope in the Age of Anxiety Review

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Hope in the Age of Anxiety ReviewTo be honest, I thought this book started out a little slow, but I was soon pleased by a series of nice surprises. Focusing on hope and its correlates (including faith, spirituality, and values), the authors tap a very wide variety of resources (including literature, films, philosophy, music, anthropology, psychology, sociology, and religion). Fundamentals of a variety of belief systems are artfully woven throughout the book, including but not limited to Christianity, Buddhism, African, Australian aboriginal tribes, Aztec, and Native American beliefs. Their definition of hope includes a four-channel emotional network of mastery, attachment, survival, and spiritual subsystems. Fairly heavy reading at times, this book is not a simplistic self-help book, although self-help recommendations are among the pleasant surprises that keep appearing. There is a prolonged and interesting discussion of the development of a sense of hope, faith and spirituality, as well as a chapter dealing with promoting hope in children. The authors discuss "eight centers of value" (Higher Power, nature, social customs, economics, diversity and equality, science, the self, and others). There is also a discussion of "spiritual types" (follower, collaborator, independent, mystic, reformer, and sufferer), and there is a brief assessment (18 items) of the types. This is one of few books I've encountered that speaks directly to the importance of "time mastery" (optimal use of the time available to me). The book concludes with two chapters related to the links between hope and medicine/health. As I noted above, fairly heavy reading at times, but well worth it for a balanced and positive multivariate perspective concerning hope.Hope in the Age of Anxiety Overview

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Your Spiritual Gifts Can Help Your Church Grow Review

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Your Spiritual Gifts Can Help Your Church Grow Reviewone of the best, if not the best books on the spiritual gifts. must read.Your Spiritual Gifts Can Help Your Church Grow Overview

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The Chronology of the Old Testament Review

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The Chronology of the Old Testament ReviewWhile the other reviewer is correct, that printing the charts is quite difficult without the proper tools, the wealth of information included in this volume are worth twice the price even without printed charts. Some of the problems solved in this book I had been looking at for years without a feasible solution. Some of the problems solved, I didn't even know were problems.
Dr. Thomas has degrees in mathematics, geology, chemistry and education. He is an ex-evolutionist. He relies on the King James Version of the Bible, and the texts from which it was translated. Highly recommended for anyone who is beginning to doubt the veracity of God's Word.The Chronology of the Old Testament Overview

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The Other 80 Percent: Turning Your Church's Spectators into Active Participants (Jossey-Bass Leadership Network Series) Review

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The Other 80 Percent: Turning Your Church's Spectators into Active Participants (Jossey-Bass Leadership Network Series) ReviewIn a typical church 20 percent of the people do 80 percent of the work, but that does not mean that all of your focus should be on the 20 percent, according to Scott Thuma and Warren Bird in this book. In business you can often maximize profits by concentrating your energies on the top 20 percent of your clients, but the biblical standard for kingdom ventures if different.
The authors' research reveals that the general trend to lack of participation in the life of a church is attributable to a number of causes:
*Individualism and consumerism have infected the sheep and made them less willing to follow.
*Some Christians have experienced disappointment with the church as they know it, and now want a life of faith apart from the church.
*Church leaders are partly to blame for setting expectations to low and exercising leadership poorly.
*The problem is partly an organizational one, requiring rethinking of the activities of volunteering and committee work.
*The problem is also a spiritual problem, arising from a lack of understanding of what it means to be a follower of Jesus.
The book goes on to describe the characteristics of the committed 20 percent and the characteristics of the less-committed 80 percent. Because the causes of non-involvement are complex and differ from church to church, the authors advocate creating a listening team to listen to the 80 percent and a learning team to learn from them. They then suggest a range of ways, starting with prayer, in which you can seek to address the problems and reach towards spiritual maturity for 100 percent of your congregation.
I found the book very helpful, and highly recommend it to all church leaders.The Other 80 Percent: Turning Your Church's Spectators into Active Participants (Jossey-Bass Leadership Network Series) Overview

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Souls in Transition: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of Emerging Adults Review

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Souls in Transition: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of Emerging Adults ReviewThis is absolutely a seminal piece for those interested in adolescent development, the transition to adulthood, and/or religion. In a wonderful extension to the first book (Soul Searching), Souls in Transition provides a rigorous, yet amazingly accessible, account of the forces and mechanisms at play in adolescents religious lives as they make the transition to young adulthood. The balance the book is able to maintain between using rigorous methodology, empirical evidence, and engaging explanation is quite impressive. The book will be of great use to academics, religious leaders, and the public alike.Souls in Transition: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of Emerging Adults Overview

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