Welcome to The Wisdom of The World and Its' Meaning For You

by Joan Chittister

Status

Available

Call number

200

Publication

Publisher Unknown

Description

Certain questions are common to all of us as human beings. Why was I born? What's important in life? How do I know the right thing to do? What does it mean to "make a difference"? What's wrong with me -- why can't I change? Such questions are so deeply human that they transcend time and place, religions and cultures. In this inviting book Joan Chittister presents the insights of others from different cultures throughout history who have grappled with the same kinds of life questions that plague us here and now. Through stories and wisdom literature from major religious traditions -- Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam -- Chittister highlights practical, universal truths and deftly shows how each spiritual tradition brings a special gift to the art of living a meaningful, spiritually aware life. A rich exploration of spirituality, Welcome to the Wisdom of the World addresses some of our most challenging issues -- ambition, security, romance, abandonment, failure, and more -- acknowledging the truth we can find in the wisdom of our human past and the connections we can make through our differences. This is a book for anyone who wants to grow spiritually and to become more fully human.… (more)

Subjects

Original publication date

2007-07-24

ISBN

0802828949 / 9780802828941

User reviews

LibraryThing member MarthaHuntley
I found this book very hard going -- not gracefully written, too general to make its points effectively. And some of it is just plain hogwash ("Each of the great spiritual traditions - Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam -- has multiple variations of one basic message. They spring
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from the same kind of spiritual impulse and seek the same kinds of spiritual things." p. 167). The best thing about the book is the stories from the traditions (not the scriptures, notice) of the religions that illustrate themes that interest her. I noticed all the Islmaic stories the author offers are Sufi, which hardly represents mainline Islam. Also, all the stories in the Christian tradition are from the Desert Fathers. She really doesn't give any knowledgable definition or understanding of the world religions -- in the Hinduism summation at the end, she doesn't include a single date. She seems to be looking for feel good answers to universal questions, but that isn't really what any of the world religions are primarily about.
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