The shoulders upon whom we stand
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My good friend, Sue Eiler Daniel, gave me a copy of this book for my 66th birthday!  Little did I know that it would fill in the blanks, commit to text, and memoriaize the tumultous and caring times of the late 60's in higher education in Indiana.  The two wonen whom I loved and respected (other than my mother) most in my life are in this book (Bev Stone and Barb Cook), and the soon-to-be Dean Betty Nelson (then a newbie!), was a rising star.  Those of us who grabbed the golden ring and came back to Purdue-again and again-will not soon forget the women on whose shoulders we stood.  And this book shows how they elevated us, and would have celebrated our successes!
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This book should be read and acted upon by all those that turn away from the people described herein. As Simon & Burns have shown us, the corner touches us all.
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There are a number of states in which we find ourselves. Locked in the closet and hoping to find the key that will lead to a path of acceptance. Afraid when we do that instead we will find abuse, hatred and fear. Somewhere in the middle. Living a double life and hoping no one notices. Too ashamed or afraid to be who we are. Switching between facades and freely lying (mostly to ourselves). Hiding our real selves altogether. Living lives that do not match with who we really are. Doing more harm to others than good for ourselves. Having opened the door and begun the task of shedding our lies and deceptions in an effort to become our truest self while embracing the love and encouragement of the best people and enduring the scorn and ridicule of the worst humans. The freedoms of our group have come so far and this book explores where we have been through the vision of those who have walked the path when it was even more difficult to do so. This book tells the story of where we have been, where we are and where we could be going in well painted prose. It gives hope for the future and delivers a warning to those who would choose to deny themselves a chance to live to see the future that cannot soon be disregarded. A delightful and complicated message that is at once a heartening portrait of our potential and a gut wrenching reminder of our past.
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As an Entrepreneur, and happily married husband and father, this book was completely relevant and honestly, a needed read.  Harboring the stress of being extremely hard on myself from both running and growing a business, and being an engaged and fully involved father and husband, I feel that men like me are left in the shadows - and that's ok, that's how it goes.  We're the strong shoulders, the familial authoritarian, the business leaders and men to our wives - we hold up our wives and employees on our shoulders and do the best we can to keep them propped up and moving forward - and we grow weak.  As men we're supposed to carry on, and bury the burdens our shoulders are crafted to bear - and we do.  Though once in a while we seek celebrity - and when we're tired and our cup is half full, we still need to carry on, often unsung and uncelebrated.

This book gave me great perspective and helped me realize a lot of things - not least of which is that we carry each other.  One of the greatest burdens that we shoulder is that of our fellow Man, and we do that also, because it's our duty.

This book is inspirational to say the least... and, to say the most - it offers me a hope of creating a paradigm shift within my self, a necessary shift.  In hindsight, Mr. Sweetwood's story is a metaphor for my own.  I can easily remove parts of his story, inject a piece of my own, and experience the very same emotion that he did at that moment - through my own.

I've purchased the print version so I can add it to my trophy collections, and I look forward to reading it again.

Great read.
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So often we feel we have to have it all together as representatives of Christ - as if he really needs us to accomplish anything! Yet we can easily live in this constant state of feeling like we must be perfect and hold our families to these ideals, too. The reality is that because of Christ's redemptive work on the cross, God sees us as perfect even amidst our failures. What a much needed reminder!
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N.T. Wright is, of course, an exponent of the "new perspective" on Paul.  As one whose Christian faith is pretty deeply rooted in the "old" perspective, I approach Wright (known in my son's excellent Christian school as "N.T. Wrong") with some skepticism.  He is, however, a believing Christian who has rescued Paul from the distortions of liberal scholars such as A.N. Wilson.  His thought is not a product of that odd mix of circular reasoning and psychological projection that has passed for "higher" Biblical criticism in the West for 200 years.  I am happy to report that this lay commentary can be read by an old perspectivist with pleasure and gratitude.  Wright reopened my eyes and heart to two aspects of Romans that can too easily be forgotten by one steeped in the traditional reading:  first, Romans is about how God's covenant with Israel is fulfilled and extended to all the peoples of the world by the death and resurrection of Christ the Messiah; second, Paul not only instructs us to be grateful for God's free grace in dealing with our sin through Christ, but also exhorts us to lead changed lives through the power of the Spirit.  The traditional reader's "blessed assurance" can too easily become complacency, and one resting in justification by faith can too easily neglect the call, and the power, to turn from sin.  I am not saying that Wright has converted me to the new perspective.  I can't read Paul's text and believe that he is not talking about how an individual gets right with God, while at the same time explicating how the Gentiles can be admitted to the true "Israel".  Indeed, I come away from Romans marvelling at how these two themes are harmonious and intertwined, two sides of the same proverbial coin.  However, notwithstanding Wright, I am quite sure that the most important message of Romans is that our sin is imputed to Christ, and his righteousness to us, through God's free grace and our faith, whether we are Jew or Gentile.  By wrongly insisting that the Greek word usually translated "righteousness" instead be translated as "covenant faithfulness" or "covenant justice" or some other "covenant" compound, he deprives Romans of its central message, which is aimed at the individual heart.  This is a great error, one that directs a reader away from the true meaning of Romans, and potentially away from saving faith.  Wright is unconvincing in other respects as well; the idea that the "I" in Romans 7 (unlike the "I" in Romans 6 and 8) is not Paul, but Israel, ignores both the text of Romans 7 itself and the seamless bridge it forms between chapters 6 and 8.  In sum, Wright is well worth reading, but with this and all his books, the old adage applies with force:  Take the best, leave the rest.
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A great testament to the strength Christ gives to those who seek him and don't turn to the right or the left.
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The books looks at a lot of our current church beliefs, and compares them to what the Fathers taught.  The comparison is well done, and strengthens our conservative beliefs.  This is a book that true believers can take for granted.
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I love reading this story. I would like to believe there is a reason why God brings people together and sometimes puts obstacles in our path. When we come out on the other side we are stronger and better for it.
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Why do our bodies matter to our faith?

"We are earthen vessels that have been given the extraordinary privilege of and honor of bearing the love of God Himself in our eyes, our toes, and all the other members that make us up.  That which was regarded as worthless has become the temple.  The body is a beautiful ruin, a tragic glory.  It has been stained and broken by the burden of sin, but purchased by the blood of Jesus and made new through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit." (p. 229)

This is the beautiful prose found in the summary of Matthew Lee Anderson's new book Earthen Vessels.  It's beautiful not just because of the fine literary construction but because of the beautiful Truth it conveys.

Anderson's book explores the beauty of the body, this image of clay, and the disregard it's been given in Christian circles throughout history and why the Bible teaches a different story.  Life on either side of eternity is embodied.  And while we struggle with sins of the flesh, we ought not forget that though corruptible today, this flesh will be raised up incorruptible one day.  We also would be wise to remember that our bodies are not our own.  They were made by the Potter's hand, and they are the Temple of the Holy Spirit.  They ought to be treated as God wills and not in ways we think is best.

On the more critical side of things, I did find Anderson's book a bit highbrow.  I think its place would be more at home on an Academic reading list in seminary than as a $15.00 choice at the local Christian bookstore.  If I had to wager, I'd say this is a Master's of Divinity Thesis or a Theological PhD dissertation that made it to publication.

There are a lot of deep Truths to be uncovered for the diligent reader, but unless you're into grueling hours of late night study with looming final exams, I'd take a pass on Earthen Vessels.

I received this book from Bethany House Publishing for review.  All opinions are my own.  This review was originally posted on my blog: Manifest Blog, Entering the Manifest Presence of the Divine.
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What tells us we are men? Is it how we look on the outside? Is it the way we behave? Unfortunately, if you are looking for these questions, you might as well go away now, for this book is not meant to be read by ideologues who think they need an idea to know.
We have all tread the mass of upgrades to our lives called "women," hopping from one to the next without fulfillment. Some of us have also played the nice guy/poindexter role into night and day until our wallets broke and then we were left without anything. We have tried to be male in so many different ways, but there is one that outshines them all. It is the one that lies above the grave of impossibility.
In his excellent and thorough essay, Keen urges us at the end of the first chapter not to skirt through the book but to read carefully each passage. We've been stranded for too long on a desolate island, asking for attention. Our hearts and minds have been callously stupefied by our advances, and by our society and time, which have been of no help to us at all. Being manly doesn't mean we necessarily have to exaggerate our strength in order to *look* like a man. Instead, the prayer is that we might express something greater within ourselves and not be afraid of how manly we look to others.
One of the first things we must do, Sam says, is to challenge our misconceptions about WOMAN. This is "WOMAN" with all caps. She's the undying witch who comes to scare us, night after night, after we have fallen asleep. The little boy who fears the witch is still there has not left us, for we have not gotten over our very private concerns about who She is.
The quintessential journey into the heart, for a man, starts at the place where he begins to accept the uncertainty of his maleness. Beyond this, he has always an abundance of tools and source material to solve his ordinary problems in everyday ways, and if he can play up to the mastery of this experience he will eventually become a man. In chapter ten, Keen writes about this, telling us a quote by Martin Luther: "Our good is hidden, and so profoundly that it is hidden under its opposite. Thus our life is under death, love of ourselves under hate of ourselves, glory under ignominy, salvation under perdition, justice under sin, strength under infirmity, and universally every one of our affirmations under its negation."
Indeed, our strength does come from its opposite.
If we are to escape past the predicaments that have held us in and reveal the secret knots that we have tied, not only for ourselves, but for our love of the world, then we must undertake the questor's journey into the root of the darkness. Are we men or are we not? Read on...
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In John 17:3 One reads: And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. Despite this seeming injunction to KNOW God, many would push Him away into such a far place in their attempt to glorify His image that He becomes neither possible to know nor even remotely interested in us, either as a group or as individuals. In this little gem Terryl and Fiona Givens remind us that it is possible for us as children of God to know our Father and to be about His business, the business of finding eternal life which actually began in the far distant past. We continue that quest in this vale of tears separated from the only true source of happiness. They remind us that we see through a glass darkly at first, but that we can come to know even as we are known and that it is not just an idle statement, that we can know God. It does not lessen His greatness or glory, but rather adds to it. They poignantly remind us that we can be "joint heirs with Christ if it so be that we suffer with him that we may be glorified together."

With erudition and sensitivity they take us on a journey through scripture and literary comment that helps us to be aware of what we knew and what we can know regarding this most important of all truth. The beauty of their work is in its validity and in realizing that the truly great thinkers of all time knew the source of their wisdom and what gave them utterance. When scholars would give us a picture of deity that is so far removed from anything understandable nor even possible to love the Givens remind us of our relationship to this God we worship and His divine Son, a relationship that not only allows, but begs for our understanding. This does not lower nor degrade the glory of God, but enhances His greatness when we truly realize the vastness of His love. The God we worship not only feels all we feel and by similar processes, wills us to feel all He feels. The spectrum of affection, presently limited in us is filled out completely in Him, not because He is less personal than we, but because He is more. That this should be a threat to one's understanding or the scholars as they explain God to us only evidences that fact that the god they explain is not the God who would have us know and love Him. This God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was their friend and He can be "known even as we are known."

This is one book (I read it on my Kindle) which as I followed my course through it, I actually regretted seeing my coming to its end. I wanted more, not because they did not cover the subject, but because of the way I felt as I read its pages and marveled at its content. It rang true to my soul which rejoiced in its message. Why, this was and is the essence of the entire struggle. We are strangers in a strange land, sojourners separated from our kind as we follow the admonition of Paul to the Philippians: Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. It is with fear and trembling we often approach this subject, but the Givens remind us that we are approaching a loving parent. This should and will bring joy.

In times of extreme, trouble or joy, this message will bring great happiness and it is a book to be read when searching for answers or longing for joy. If you really want food for the soul and a richness of understanding of what we may really be about, pick up this book. You will not be able to put it down. My only regret is that I read it so fast, since I could NOT put it down. I am going to read it again and probably again. As life has its ups and downs this gem will remind us of the glory that is in each one of us and ALL of God's children, everyone who walks this earth. We all share that divine spark.
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A beautiful masterpiece work.  The art and the music are so inspiring.  A wonderful tribute to the feminine mystique.  I recommend that all women of wisdom see this gorgeous gift to the divine feminine.
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This beautiful little book is a treasure. The Transfiguration of Christ is an image of Christian hope for the whole creation--an image never more relevant or necessary than in the present time.  Gatta takes us on a pilgrimage through literature, art, and music that reflect on that image, reminding us of our human calling to be "partakers of the divine nature" by grace--a calling that we may indeed refuse, but that will always remain the destiny for which we were created.
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Strange way that Jesus calls us to see who he is; however, once he is in charge of our lives we not only see him, but the Face of God, the incarnate God among us. Amen.
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At a time when most Christians are functionally strict monotheists in a Muslim sense, not acknowledging or appreciating the fact that we are created in the image of the Trinitarian God, this book serves as a welcome reminder of the true riches that lay at the very heart of our lives as believers. Taking as his guide the 14th century Flemish mystic Jan Ruusbroec, the author explores the meaning of God as Trinity in the spiritual life. As the title suggests, the Common Life has a double meaning: We participate in the communal life of God (what Ruusbroec terms "marriage") while at the same time reaching out to God's creation (other humans and the world) to image the communal life of God inour own lives. Replete with detailed primary quotations, some quite lengthy, the result of this book's reading will be a deeper appreciation for your own life's journey into God and a closer communion with your neighbor, and hopefully your enemies may be loved more deeply. I find that this book goes well with Maloney's "Uncreated Energies". Both have a technical side that prohibits easy reading, but with prayerful attention much fruit can be reaped here.

The works of Vladimir Lossky, especially his&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/The-Mystical-Theology-of-the-Eastern-Church/dp/0913836311/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church</a>, and Kallistos Ware's&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/The-Orthodox-Way/dp/0913836583/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">The Orthodox Way</a>,<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/The-Inner-Kingdom-The-Collected-Works-Ware-Kallistos-Works-Vol-1-Ware-Kallistos-Works-Vol-1/dp/0881412090/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">The Inner Kingdom: The Collected Works (Ware, Kallistos, Works. Vol. 1.) (Ware, Kallistos, Works. Vol. 1.)</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/How-Are-We-Saved-The-Understanding-of-Salvation-in-the-Orthodox-Tradition/dp/1880971224/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">How Are We Saved?: The Understanding of Salvation in the Orthodox Tradition</a>would also compliment this reading. Enjoy!
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The size of this book belies its profundity.  It is probably the best I have every read on the subject of how we live together in the body of Christ. I will read it over many times, because the concepts, though simple and easy to grasp, are deeply convicting, and not often seen in the normal church experience.