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Reviews: Roger Rosenblatt / Jane Pauley / Publishers Weekly / Spirituality and Health / Booklist
Roger Rosenblatt
The News Hour with Jim Lehrer
“Beautifully and straightforwardly written, this book offers many gifts – a new understanding of Jesus, a revived sense of wonder in the Bible, a first rate essay on the reconciliation of culture and religion, and an education on how to live.”
Jane Pauley
“A timely exploration into the spiritual foundations of the decisions we make in our everyday lives. This is a book that can be meaningful to people of any or no religious persuasion.”
Publishers Weekly
"Though they are fundamental to Christian devotion and practice, the New Testament Beatitudes can become so familiar to the faithful as to seem almost bland. Writing with a barely banked passion for personal and social transformation, psychotherapist and minister Kolbell aims to restore the Jewish roots and subversive edge of these blessings uttered by Jesus. Kolbell, the former Minister of Social Justice at New York's Riverside Church, evinces an enthusiasm for his subject matter that is scarcely restrained by his rich and allusive prose. In the process of elaborating the essence of Jewish law, Kolbell argues, Jesus urged his listeners to seek the intention behind the words, and to let that intention lead to action...This slim volume of reflections on how to live out such difficult virtues as self-denial and forgiveness is enhanced by the author's willingness to share his own experiences and by his close acquaintance with the Old and New Testaments. In his insightful and heartfelt approach to some of the most challenging verses in the Gospels, Kolbell offers modern readers an interpretation of the Beatitudes as timeless as it is up-to-date."
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Spirituality and Health
Erik Kolbell, a freelance writer, psychotherapist, and former Minister of Social Justice at Riverside Church, New York, starts off with the following fireworks and keeps us on our toes all the way through to the end of this soul-stirring book: "The burning of houses of worship, the bombing of clinics, the shooting of children by children, the baiting of races, the vilification of immigrants, the gating of neighborhoods, all lead me to wonder if it is in our nature to always divide ourselves against ourselves. But when I sit awhile with the Beatitudes, I am taking a tonic for what ails my soul: their restorative powers remind me that not only does God speak a universal language of unconditional love, he expects us to do no less."
This hard-hitting volume examines the eight pillars of "a life of faith in a world of doubt." Jesus, the rabbi, shows us that the path of discipleship consists of meekness, empathy, righteousness, peace, persecution, purity, poverty and simplicity. Just take a moment and let those codes of conduct sink into your consciousness. What do all of them have in common? They go against the grain of contemporary culture. Jesus does not take the path of ease and comfort, and neither can those who follow him.
Loving our enemies is no piece of cake. It takes plenty of practice and an open heart. How about spiritual poverty? Are you up for this challenge? Kolbell offers this definition: "Spiritual poverty means I stand empty before God and naked to the world with absolutely nothing to either commend or condemn me; I refuse to see myself as the sum total of the heft of my resume or the paucity of my credentials, the breadth of my riches or the extent of my debt, the quality of my friends or the disdain of my enemies." Not a bad definition of spiritual maturity. Day by day and in every way, we are challenged to drop out of comparison and competition games. Become a zero.
Kolbell spruces up his meditations on the Beatitudes with quotations that hit the mark over and over. Here is an example: "Legend has it that John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, learned that a British general by the name of James Oglethorpe had caught one of his servants stealing a bottle of wine and beaten him severely for it. Wesley confronted Oglethorpe and asked that the general find it in his heart to forgive the poor servant. 'Sir,' said the officer. 'I never forgive.' To which Wesley replied, 'Then, sir, I hope you never offend!' " This exploration of the meaning of the Beatitudes is exceptional because it is infused with a deep respect for the spiritual practice of justice. www.spiritualityhealth.com
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Booklist
In exploring the meaning of the eight Beatitudes, psychotherapist and minister Kolbell wonders whether it is human nature that compels us to place ourselves against one another, to choose conflict rather than the more difficult path of peace. He devotes each brief chapter to a particular verse--"Blessed are the poor in spirit," "Blessed are those who mourn," and so forth. In these simple blessings, he finds the solace of counsel on how to live a life of faith in a world of doubt. Carefully and thoughtfully examining each line and word, he offers his interpretations of what ails modern Western society and what we can choose to do to change it. Moreover, he shares anecdotes from his own private and professional experiences to better illustrate pathways toward a more meaningful life. As if delivering a good sermon, he turns the personal into the universal. By asking the hard questions that need to be asked, Kolbell asks us to consider our roles in the society that we create.
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