Sunday, May 2, 2010

Book Recommendation: "The Shattered Lantern" by Ron Rolheiser

Subtitle: Rediscovering a Felt Presence of God.
 
The Shattered Lantern: Rediscovering a Felt Presence of God

It talks to the issues I have been inquiring about on the concept of relating to God. From the Preface:
"Faith is not the same thing as being able to imagine God's existence or even of being able to feel God on an emotional level. The mind is mostly unequal to the task of imagining God's existence and the heart is just as often as inept at giving us any feeling of it. But God doesn't cease to exist for that reason, nor is faith dead just because imagination and the heart have run dry."

The book covers the effects of an over-emphasis on things like pragmatism and individualism and stumbling blocks such as trying to "understand" God.

It also speakings to the dulling of the interior life in our society, which matters for everyone, not just those seeking to reconnect to a genuine sense of God.
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5 comments:

  1. Well, it was originally published in 1994 and republished in 2004, which means it ought to be in libraries by now. That's how I get a lot of books, but only if they are old enough to be in the system. I live across the street from the library in our town -- usually they are pretty decent about getting stuff in but it takes so long and you can't renew something they borrowed from another library.

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  2. We have a great library system in our county. I use it more for movies and music than for books. I buy way too many books.

    I just checked and the only book by him they have is The holy longing : the search for a Christian spirituality.

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  3. I have greatly valued both of the Rolheiser books that have been mentioned.

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  4. Hello Ray, good to hear from you.

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