Free Books (with a donation)

Jeff Goins, the writer of the blog "Pilgrimage of the Heart", is giving away free books to anyone who makes a donation towards his mission activties. Jeff works for "Adventures In Missions", a group based out of Gainesville, GA (near Atlanta) that helps people go on life-changing mission trips to serve the "poorest of the poor".

Go here for more information.

"The Orthodox Heretic" - Review

Perhaps the most familiar of Jesus’ words to people today are His parables. Most people, religious or not, regularly recall many of Jesus’ characters in these tales such as “the good Samaritan” and “the prodigal son”. His parables have proved to be timeless, for sure. What makes them so evocative is their jarring nature; they tend to go against the grain of common thinking and shake things up a bit. Jesus sought to subvert the thinking of many of His listeners. He described a common situation, with common characters and places, but by the time He was finished something profound was communicated underneath the story and some way of thinking was upended within the listener.

Peter Rollins, a popular speaker on the Emerging church movement and the pastor of a church in Ireland, writes and speaks in this same creative, subversive way through which Jesus spoke His parables. Rollins’ style of communication is a fresh, modern echo of Jesus’. He combines gifted storytelling, art, and spirituality into a creative package. You can get a feel for Rollins’ style from his blog, which can be found here.

I received a copy of Rollins’ new book, “The Orthodox Heretic: And Other Impossible Tales” (Paraclete Press, hardback, 184 pages, $19.99) and was immediately pleased by the book’s cover. The cover’s pixilated, black-and-white cross sums up Rollins’ blend of traditional Christian thought with outside-the-box thinking and writing. He combines it all together into a unique expression of faith. Seeing endorsements from Rob Bell and Phyllis Tickle on the back cover, two of the best thinkers within the Emerging movement, also gave Rollin’s some clout in my book before even opening to the first page.


“The Orthodox Heretic” is a collection of 33 parables—a poignant number to say the least—along with short commentary after each parable introducing Rollins’ own thoughts on each tale. The parables cover many themes such as faith, love, doubt, and forgiveness and feature a wide range of characters. A diverse cast--from an orthodox priest to the Devil himself--find themselves as characters in Rollins’ tales along with traditional figures from the Bible and Jesus’ own parables.

Rollins’ prefers to call his own parables “impossible tales” to distinguish them from the trite folk stories that many associate with the word “parable”. These tales seek to shock and challenge rather than satisfy or present a pleasant thought. Rollins' stories are “impossible” in the sense that commonly held attitudes are undermined through inconceivable means or characters; hospitality is offered to the most unlikely of guests while grace and forgiveness are offered where neither would be at all expected.

Each story, along with its following commentary, takes only a couple of minutes to read, but the book is definitely not one that can adequately be read through quickly. I am typically a faster reader who likes to plow through books, but there was a definite force that made me put the book down regularly. These stories invite deep thought, even after reading Rollins’ commentary. In fact his commentaries often invite more questions and wonderings, so each parable requires much probing and unpacking.

One of my favorite “impossible tales” is “No Conviction”, in which a man is brought before a judge and jury in a land where Christianity is illegal. Though the man professes to be a follower of Jesus, the judge pronounces the man innocent of being Christian, thereby forcing the man to provide evidence of his professed faith. If true Christianity is illegal—which Rollins believes to in fact be the case—would there be enough evidence to convict you?

Another of my favorites is “Jesus and the Five Thousand”, which is a re-telling of Jesus’ feeding of the multitude in the Gospels. However, Rollins' version is told through the eyes of a third-world citizen gazing upon first-world Christian disciples. In Rollins’ version, Jesus and His disciples collect scraps of food from the crowds which are combined to form a large mountain of food. Jesus and the disciples then greedily scarf down the entire mound of food while the hungry followers simply watch. This parable seeks to view our Western Christianity through a much difference lens than we’re used to.

However, as is the case with many who seek relentless creativity and freshness in their spirituality, I felt that Rollins sometimes crosses the line of orthodoxy just to tell a cool story or “subvert” for the sake of it. In fact, the “impossible tale” that forms the namesake of the book, “The Orthodox Heretic”, is one of these types. In this story God audibly tells a man to turn-in a political dissident to authorities. The man instead believes deeply in the Biblical principle of radical hospitality and therefore disobeys God’s voice by protecting and harboring the refugee. In the end, God “smiles and withdraws” as a sign that the man made the right choice. This is of course, uncomfortable and subversive like all of the rest of the parables, but in this particular one I think Rollins veered off a little too far.

Overall, Rollins’ “impossible tales” are close parallels to Jesus’ original ones. We modern disciples often suffer from the “unfamiliarity of familiarity” when reading the words of Jesus; we know them so well and have heard them so many times that in the end we don’t really know them at all. We typically don’t experience the shock and the subversive nature of Jesus’ tales when we read them today. Reading Rollins’ parables, however, brings freshness back to Jesus’ own stories. While all of Rollins’ tales rattle my thinking, and while a few even over-step the bounds of my own theology and orthodox teaching, if anything I think “The Orthodox Heretic” provides a reinvigorated view of the parables that Jesus told. By reading Rollins’ words, you can’t help but experience the provocation and shock of Jesus’ original words that His original listeners first experienced. So, I wouldn’t recommend this book for anyone looking for firm, orthodox Christian teaching, but for those seeking to experience the parables of Jesus in a new way, this is one of the best choices out there.

(If you have a couple of spare minutes, watch Peter Rollins read two of his parables below, “No Conviction” and “The Third Mile”.)

The Lost Generation

A creative movie stating simply the dreams and desires of many in my 20-and-30-something generation:

(H/T to Mike Hayes at "Googling God")

John Henry Newman on "The Thin Veil"

"You have to seek his face; obedience is the only way of seeking him. Every act of obedience is an approach to the One who is not far off, though he seems so. He is close behind this visible screen of things which hides him from us. He is behind this material framework. Earth and sky are only a veil between him and us; the day will come when he will rend that veil and reveal himself."  - John Henry Newman

The Catholicism Project

Fr. Robert Barron is one of my favorite priests to listen to. He is extremely reasonable, logical, and intelligent and communicates the Faith with much grace. He's starting an ambitious endeavor called "The Catholicism Project" that I think will be evocative both to Catholic and Protestants. Check out the newest trailer for it here:

Fr. Barron is one of the few Catholic priests who have harnessed the potential of New Media to engage people with the message of Jesus. His ministry, Word on Fire, has a fantastic website--browse around there for many good videos and articles.

(To learn more about "The Catholicism Project" click here.)

Advent

Advent; the liturgical season of waiting. Christmas is not upon us yet. We must wait. But oh, how worthy is the wait!

"What If Jesus Meant All of That Stuff?"

Here is a great article printed in "Esquire" magazine written by Shane Claiborne, a man I particularly look up to:

Shane Claiborne's "Letter To Non-Believers"

Shane was designated by the magazine to be one of the 30 Best and Brightest People of 2009. Knowing him through his writing, I am sure Shane was probably embarrassed by the designation but it at least gave him a chance to get the Message out to a wider audience.

I consider Shane to be a modern-day John the Baptist, an "ordinary radical" in the best sense. You can read a little more about him through his Wikipedia profile.

As a "radical", Shane often riles up many people in Christian circles. His "Esquire" article drew this response from popular writer, blogger, and pastor Kevin DeYoung.

I tend to agree less with Kevin's response and more with the message Shane communicates in his article, but they both write good things to ponder. Both agree that the Gospel needs to be shared in a compelling way, and that is something I can agree with as well.

(I'm in the middle of a book Shane recently co-wrote with Civil Rights leader John Perkins called "Follow Me To Freedom: Leading As An Ordinary Radical". It's fantastic. Once I finish, a review won't be far behind!)

"Purity 365" - Review

In his book “Purity 365” (Servant Books, 148 pages, $12.99), Jason Evert presents a year’s worth of quotes that aim to reinforce purity and cleanliness of heart. Jason speaks to tens of thousands of youth each year on the subject of chastity, and, from the clips I’ve seen of him, does a solid job of communicating this often-prickly subject.

Chastity is often confused with celibacy. However, celibacy is not engaging in sex; chastity is a pure and proper valuing of sex. Not everyone is called to be celibate. Everyone is called to be chaste, even—and especially—those who are married.

With this in mind, Jason’s book should be well-received by any serious Christian, not just youth or young adults.

“Purity 365” is essentially a collection of quotes and passages of Scripture on the theme of chastity. Like the title infers, there is one entry for each day of the year. Though he heavily leans on modern holy men and women like Pope John Paul II, Mother Teresa, and St. Josemaria Escriva, Evert offers a wide range of voices from anonymous high school students, to ancient Christian mystics, to even his own at times.

Here are just a few of my favorite quotes from the book:

“God assigns the dignity of every woman as a task to every man.” – Pope John Paul II

“He did not say: You will not be troubled—you will not be tempted—you will not be distressed. But He said: 'You will not be overcome.'" – Saint Julian of Norwich

“Lust is a poor, weak, whimpering whispering thing compared with the richness and energy of desire which will arise when lust has been killed.” – C.S. Lewis

A book like this seems awfully simple at first glance, nothing more than a collection of inspiring quotes. But don’t be deceived; this book is pure spiritual fire, the type of fire that purifies hearts. Reading and meditating on a chastity-related passage each day of the year is one of the best ways to grow in purity.

Reading through “Purity 365”, and other books on chastity, is a definite spiritual discipline. Some of the classic spiritual disciplines of the Christian life include prayer, study, fasting, solitude, and so on. But I would add “intentional chastity” to that list as well. A pure heart is rarely just birthed. There is a gestation period. Persistent prayer, much meditation, and guardianship towards what enters your eyes and ears are all required.

I’ve found that once you decide to begin living a chaste life, doing so becomes that much harder. The temptations are more prevalent, old memories and images pop into your head more often, and the cultural voice telling you to just ‘give up’ grows louder. So, a book like “Purity 365” is a needed weapon in the fight for purity. You are destined to have a pure heart, it is part of what Jesus came to offer you. Take it and fight this fight. Use all of the tools you can in this pursuit; this book is surely one.

This review was written as part of the Catholic book Reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on Purity 365 - Daily Reflections on True Love .

(If you want to read more about these themes of chastity, purity, and the battle against lust check out my previous post, "Death to lust. Life for Love.")

Death to lust. Life to Love.

I’m reviewing a book on chastity called “Purity 365” by Jason Evert, and as I began typing the review I found it became less a review and more an entire post on lust, chastity, and purity. So I instead decided to separate the latter part into its own post:

One of the oldest sins of man, dating all the way back to the nakedness of Adam and Eve in Eden, is the sin of “lust”. Lust--self-indulgent sexual desire--seems to have exploded into the forefront of our culture over the last 50 years or so through the conduit of mass media.

Modern American media serves us fresh plates of lust each day through every TV and computer screen in our nation. As a man, one of the most difficult battles I fight in life is against the culture that beckons me to objectify all women and lust after them. We men are taught—if only passively—that women are sex symbols, things to pant at.

This encouragement of lust, has done severe damage to our own hearts. It’s difficult to deny that. It has also led to a tremendous backlash effect for women. Many women now feel pressured into living up to these false, lusted-after caricatures on the screens of entertainment. They think this is what men truly want, and so many women feel deeply unsatisfied with their own appearance or worth. These effects are especially rampant on middle school, high school and college campuses.

Everywhere I go I see teenagers who naively give into this idea that their worth is directly tied into how sexually appealing they appear to others. Go to any mall and the majority of the girls dress in ways that surely don’t proclaim their true worth.

The hidden beast in this whole mess, pornography, is slowly destroying the very backbone of our culture, the family. Pornography is the ultimate embodiment of lust. It is the easiest, most private way to objectify and use another person's body and because of this, has done the most damage to families. The statistics show that the majority of men—and a large percentage of Christian pastors—have looked at, or are addicted to pornography.

Many sociologists have gone into much greater depths, but the widespread acceptance of pornography is definitely one of the largest chunks of coal in our furnace of cultural lust.

More than at any other time in human history, it is easier and quicker to objectify others lustfully through all forms of media.

I'm sure none of this is terribly new to you. You know all of this. You see the TV shows and websites, you see the broken families, and you see the lustful eyes. I’m sure you’ve read some of the countless articles decrying the moral decline of our culture. The question is, how do you react?

Most people react to these claims either by ‘rolling with the times’ and being apathetic about the whole thing or by declaring war on culture and becoming Puritanical, thereby rejecting all things sexual.

However Christ does neither. Jesus spoke adamantly about the wrongness of even looking at a woman lustfully; He equated it with adultery. But at the same time His voice was behind the erotic Song of Songs. The Bible constantly paints the Christian life as a form of marriage, as a Wedding Feast. So what is Jesus' true position? In the midst of all of the trouble explained above, why does Jesus step in and claim lust is wrong? And what does He offer instead?

In response to the question of lust’s wrongness, the replies I hear from many of my male friends include:

“We’re just men; we were made to enjoy looking at women” or “It doesn’t hurt to look. You’re not doing anything wrong unless it becomes physical.”

I would respond only with this answer, “Actually it does hurt. Lust is wrong. Its hurts your very humanity, your very soul; if you could only see the damage being done to your heart. Each glance of lust towards a woman affects you deeper than you know. It reverberates all the way back to the way you look at your own wife. Lust is vicious foremost because it objectifies other people. You ‘take’ from them and use their body for your own mental satisfaction, for your own enjoyment. And when you do this, it becomes impossible to have real, full relationships with anyone else. Everyone else becomes a means to your own desires. Likewise, it is impossible to fully love your own spouse if at the same time you are objectifying others.”

When Jesus rejects lust, He doesn’t reject it as a finger-shaking disciplinarian out to suck out all of life’s pleasure. He says it as a God who wants his sons and daughters to live fully whole lives. He’s like a father who sees his child playing with rocks in the Toy’s-R-Us parking lot. He tells him to put down the rocks not because they make him dirty or because they may scratch him—though both are surely true. He tells his child to stop messing with the rocks because something infinitely better is awaiting him.

To put it another way, Frederick Buechner says lust is “the craving for salt of a man who is dying of thirst”. God is not telling us to stay away from salt because He’s mean. He’s telling us to stay away from salt because not only will it not satisfy, it will make us more parched than we already are. And beyond that, He tells us this as He’s offering us a cold glass of water instead!

Instead of lust, Jesus offers to make our eyes and hearts pure. That is, if we will let him. He offers to form us into the humans He created us to be.

It’s very hard to embrace this offer blindly. Lusting after a women or looking at pornography seems so delightful and satisfying. Yet somewhere deep we know it is ultimately empty. Lust always craves more. It is never truly satisfied.

I yearn to ask many of my friends: “Have you ever wondered what it is like to live without lusting after other women? Have you ever tasted the glory of that type of life? Do you know what that’s like; have you ever seriously dreamed of what life would be like beyond lust? Think about it.”

Most young men have been cultured to see a girl and immediately think, “sex.” What would happen if instead they thought, “Sister! Woman of worth! Beautiful one!”? The world would change. If all of us men saw the inherent value and worth of every woman, we would then see the value and worth of each homeless person, each person suffering with AIDS, or each person struggling with homosexual tendencies. We would see the value and worth of each child in the womb of its mother.

This is the point that Pope Benedict XVI made in his last encyclical, "Caritatis In Veritate (Charity In Truth)": Most of the world’s problems boil down to the simple fact that the dignity and worth of the human person is not fully recognized.

The Catholic Church has been proclaiming this for quite some time.

I would guess that the majority of those brothers and sisters saturated in lust would agree with this statement as well, at least on the surface. The problem is that their heart disagrees with them. They claim that each person has worth, yet their heart sucks that worth away from people each time they undress that person in their mind.

The previous Pope, John Paul II, devoted years towards these things I’m talking about above--purity of heart, chastity, and battling lust. He considered disordered love to be one of the greatest problems of mankind. He gave hundreds of talks on these subjects, which were collected into a series that are now known as the “Theology of the Body”. In this series he teaches that lust, sexual love, our bodies, and marriage all ultimately point to the fundamental question of our humanity--who are we as men and women? He answers that authentic manhood, womanhood, and love can only be fully understood in the context of Jesus and the love He offers.

For the world to change, hearts must change. And for hearts to change, lust must die. This process is called “chastening”. It leads to chastity, to purity. And it is often very, very difficult. Yet I believe it is the noblest, most honorable, most masculine thing that any person--especially young men--can do in today’s world.

I speak as a man who gave in for a long while towards all of the lust that the world offers. It's very easy and satisfying. And even now, I'll catch my eyes or my mind drifting towards things my heart has vowed to dismiss. But I have tasted it. I have tasted looking at someone with authentic eyes of love. And that taste is stronger than the daily temptation to "check-out" or lust after groups of women. For they are more than women to me now; each is a daughter of the King. Each is a "possible goddess" in the words of C.S. Lewis.

I strongly, strongly encourage anyone and everyone—especially young men who are on the frontlines of these battles—to intentionally pursue this purity of heart. Two of the best writers on this stuff are Christopher West—who has popularized Pope John Paul II’s “Theology of the Body” through many fantastic books—and the Protestant writer John Eldredge who, along with his wife Stasi, has spoken worth and authentic sexuality into many men and women.

I believe that God created us to be pure. And I believe that when we pray for His Kingdom to come to Earth in the Lord’s Prayer, part of that is us praying for His purity to saturate all of our hearts. May us men never glance at a woman with lust; may we rather die than do so. And may the women of the world—our sisters—comprehend their true worth and magnificent value.

Pope John Paul II said, “As goes the family, so goes the world.” I would take that one step further and say “As goes authentic love and the dismissal of lust, so goes the family, and so goes the world.” I’m out to change the world, as we all should be, and this is one of the largest hurdles to authentic change. But with large hurdles comes great hope, and I believe in the powerful, explosive energy of the God of the Universe. What greater hope than He?

He can do this in each of us if we let Him. Invite Him to mold your heart. Honor all people for the wonders that they are.

Death to lust. Life to Love.

(If you are struggling with lust yourself or want more links/books/resources to meditate on, send me an e-mail at bvogt1(at)gmail(dot)com. I would be thrilled to fight with you. Also check out my review of "Purity 365" for a solid book that helps inject purity into each day.)

Punch the Heretic?!

As we step into Advent--and prepare for Christmas--a Saint who particularly pops up in the news this time of year is St. Nicholas. Far from being a jolly, cookie-eating present-giver, St. Nick was notorious in his own day for one particular incident:

He punched a perceived heretic square in the face.

His action isn't something to be praised--obviously--but it at least gives hope to those of us who are daunted by own imperfections. During these weeks leading up to Christmas, if you find yourself on the brink of snapping at a relative or an overworked store-employee, remember St. Nick. Ask him to beg the Lord to unclench your spiritual fist.

Read the entire story of St. Nicholas in this great post by Taylor Marshall (check out the icons and paintings depicting the incident, too):

St. Nicholas: He Who Punches Heretics in the Face (and Gives Gifts to Children)

"The Power of Pause" - Review

“The Power of Pause extends the invitation to do less and be more.”
– from the Introduction to “The Power of Pause”

Along with most other people in today’s world, I find myself living at a terribly brisk pace. My attention jumps from one task to another at work while my eyes scan web pages and blogs for pertinent articles at home. My attention constantly darts between my wife, my son, books, and the computer. In the midst of all of this, how does one begin to slow down? What’s the secret to living a peaceful, slow life?

In the “The Power of Pause” (Loyola Press, 235 pages, $16.95), author Terry Hershey speaks into these questions. The book is filled with 52 chapters containing reflections and practical ideas to allow the soul to “catch up” with the body. These 52 chapters—corresponding to the weeks of the year—are arranged along seasonal themes. Though I didn’t read the book in conjunction with the seasons of the year, I imagine it would only heighten the message’s effect; appreciating the seasons is one path to a ‘paused’ life.

The main message of the book should be, I think, well received by most people, specifically we busy Americans. Echoing the Third Commandment of God, Hershey promotes the Judeo-Christian practice of the Sabbath as the foundation of a restful life. Instead of sequestering Sabbath practices to one day of the week, however, Hershey encourages the blanketing of all our activities with them. While a Catholic, Hershey doesn’t tinge each entry with religious references or explicitly Catholic belief. God and the idea of Sabbath are mentioned on a small handful of pages, but the book doesn’t seem geared toward readers looking for a theological understanding of ‘rest’; it seems written for those who instead are seeking personal experiences of it.

In addition to the practice of regular Sabbaths, Hershey also encourages such practices as “paying attention”, “being centered”, “intently listening”, and “embracing the present while rejecting the urgent”. The book offers many practical suggestions including withdrawing from your daily grind for half-a-day, visiting a garden and allowing time to mindlessly wander, savor a simple experience like an ice cream cone on a bench or a good cup of coffee, and playing like a child by running through sprinklers or rolling down a hill. All of these and more help us to escape the urgent, frenetic world many of us find ourselves in.

When Hershey introduces the phrase “power of pause”, he discusses two different types of “pause”. The first, ‘passive-pause’, requires us to breathe out, to let go, to be still. The second, ‘active-pause’, requires us to breathe in, be attentive, and be conscious of the present moment. This hearkens to the two distinct methods of Christian prayer—and frankly the prayers of pretty much all religions.

“The Power of Pause” has a sort of “New Age” feel to it; anytime people speak of “being present” or recognizing the “power of now”, a Christian reader needs to discern whether or not these terms are using to accentuate God and life with Him or are used as a substitute, as in the case of “New Age” religion. Jesus spoke all the time about rest—“..and I will give you rest”--and did it often Himself. I think many of the phrases used by Hershey, such as “power of pause” and “living a present life”, are simply fresher versions of religious terms such as “spiritual simplicity” and “contemplation”. In the case of this book, I think the neglect of explicitly religious terms and anecdotes were simply made in order for the book to appeal to a larger (non-Christian) audience.

There were two misgivings I had after finishing. The material at times can seem overly ‘fluffy’ and ‘light’ while also seemingly repetitive. I consider the themes and practices Hershey suggests to be of great value, but many of the anecdotes and chapters could have been consolidated. While the material was inherently good, I didn’t think there was enough unique material to fill 52 entries. Second, each entry begins with a quote pulled from one of the greatest contemplatives and “pausers” to have lived—Hershey references greats such as Thomas Merton, Gandhi, C.S. Lewis, Pascal, and Eugene Peterson. I found that these quotes were wonderful in setting the mood for the entry. What I was perturbed by, however, were the closing sections found after some of the entries. The publisher of the book, Loyola Press, developed some “Book Extras” which are posted on their website. These extras-- including a personal “pause” assessment, links to websites, and picture and craft templates—seem to counter the message of the entries they conclude. An entry that encourages pause and disconnect is followed by an invitation to fire up the computer and jump right back online. I found this a little confusing.

Also, as a confession, my reading of the book was probably the antithesis of the book’s message—I finished it over a few weeks after only a handful of sittings. So instead of reading each passage and “pausing” on it throughout the week, I instead read multiple chapters and gleaned only what I thought necessary. Even with my quicker reading of the book, I was still able to absorb the importance of regular ‘pauses’. However I think if I had slowly made my way through the book over the course of a year, its principles surely would be more deeply embedded within me.

If you are looking for a book on the Sabbath, one that approaches these same themes through an explicitly Judeo-Christian lens, my favorite book on the topic is the aptly named “Sabbath”, written by Wayne Muller. In fact, Hershey references "Sabbath" a few times in his own book. On the other hand, if you are looking for a fairly light read on the idea of “pausing”, resting, and being present, then “The Power of Pause” would be decent choice.

(Click here to see some of the book extras and take the “Pause Assessment” to find out if you need a little more ‘pause’ in your life!)

History of Religion

Most people within the Westernized Christian culture don't realize the expansiveness of Islam both popularly and geographically. From it's origins it has expanded through the Eastern world rather quickly. The fine folks at the site "Maps of War" have put together a fantastic graphic that shows the geographic growth of Islam and each of the other major religions over the past thousands of years. Very cool stuff.

Click below to view the graphic:



(HT: Eric Sammons at "The Divine Life")