More Book Reviews

Obviously, other things have been higher on my priority list lately than writing about the books I'm reading.  For awhile, there were things higher on my priority list than reading.  I know.  Shocking. I'm back to share a little about three fantastic books that I've finished in the last few weeks.

Faith:  Trusting Your Own Deepest Experience

This absolutely fantastic book by Sharon Salzberg explores the concept of faith from a Buddhist perspective.  I had heard people refer to this book a couple of different times, so when I found it at a book stall, I bought it.  I'm really glad I purchased the book instead of getting from the library because I highlighted most of the book (and libraries tend to frown on that.)  

Salzberg does a great job of weaving her own faith journey into the explanation of the Buddhist philosophies regarding faith.  You get to see real life examples of faith at work, and of her struggles with faith.  

For Buddhists, there are three kinds of faith:  bright faith, verifying faith, and abiding faith.  I found these concepts to be very interesting, and it definitely helped me understand my own faith journey more.  I also loved the idea of skillful doubt, and that questions are a part of real faith, not the opposite of it.  

I highly recommend this book for everyone.  

A Chosen Faith:  An Introduction to Unitarian Univeralism

This book is a collections of essays by two Unitarian Universalist ministers, John A. Buehrens and Forrest Church, exploring the six sources of their living tradition.   I found it fascinating.  For those unfamiliar with Unitarian Univeralism, here are the six sources:

• Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life;
• Words and deeds of prophetic women and men which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love;
• Wisdom from the world's religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life;
• Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God's love by loving our neighbors as ourselves;
• Humanist teachings which counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science, and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit;
• Spiritual teachings of earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature.

One of the things that I loved about this book was how different their perspectives sometimes were. I love the idea that we can believe and think different things and still get along and still learn from and support each other.

My favorite part of this book was Forrest Church's chapter titled, "The Cathedral of the World." The basic idea is that there is one light (truth, reality, God) that shines through all the windows of the cathedral, but there are different perceptions of that light depending on where we are in relationship to which windows.

In each the light and darkness mingle in ways that suggest meaning for those whose angle of vision is tilted in that particular direction.  (page 86)

Again, this is another book that I highly recommend, especially if you are open to finding light and truth from a wide variety of sources.

The Crucible of Doubt:  Reflections on the Quest for Faith

This book has been on my To-Read list since before it was released, and after reading several wonderful reviews, I decided I couldn't wait for it to be delivered, so I bought the Kindle version. There are things I love about e-books and things that I don't like so much.  For one thing, it took me longer to finish this because reading in bed was more difficult (angle, power source, etc.) Today, I pushed through and finished it.

As they did in The God Who Weeps, Terryl and Fiona Givens look at Mormonism through a wider lens, bringing in the words of poets, philosophers and mystics.  They present a view of Mormonism that is a little different from what I would assume most Mormons think on a regular basis, but in a way that is friendly to those who consider themselves active Mormons and to those that are more on the fringe of Mormonism.  Their message that doubts are normal and even helpful seems to be aimed at both the doubters and those who might harshly judge the doubters.

For me, the sign of a really good book is one that contains both things that I love and a few things that I disagree with or that challenge me in some way.  This book qualifies.  I did have issues with a couple of chapters, but overall, I loved the book.  It gives hope to those that struggle with faith or think they have none.