This book by Karen Armstrong is a bit different from the general vein of books that I review. While her most popular work is definitely A History of God. this book explores her personal journey. It is a first-person narrative biography, and it is an example of a growing genre: deconversion. Armstrong spent seven years as Read More …
I’d like to offer up another book by Rowan Williams. This little book is the best introduction to the sayings of the Desert Fathers that I’ve encountered (particularly for Anglicans and Protestants). Who are the Desert Fathers? Well, in the third and fourth centuries AD, Christianity was gradually growing in acceptance within the ancient world. Read More …
Have you ever prayed with an icon? If not, this short book is a great place to start, or you could start here as well. Williams takes three specific icons of the Virgin Mary and walks the reader through the process of praying with them. As he writes, you get a glimpse of how an Read More …
Before dealing with the book itself, I have to give a shout-out to this amazing series: The Classics of Western Spirituality. If you are serious about studying the great mystics of the West (including those from Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and many less well-known traditions), then you need to read books from this series. Each one Read More …
I should begin by way of disclaimer to note that Thomas Merton is my favorite author and New Seeds of Contemplation is my favorite book by him. So, I’m not likely to be impartial at all in this review. Merton was a monk with the soul of a poet (well, he was a poet before Read More …
