Product Description
In her critically acclaimed Leaving Church (“a beautiful, absorbing memoir.”—Dallas Morning News), Barbara Brown Taylor wrote about leaving full-time ministry to become a professor, a decision that stretched the boundaries of her faith. Now, in her stunning follow-up, An Altar in the World, she shares how she learned to encounter God beyond the walls of any church. From simple practices such as walking, working, and getting lost to deep meditations on topics li… More >>
Altar in the World, An: A Geography of Faith
Tags: Altar · Faith · Geography · world5 Comments
Is this book worth reading? If you are tend to favor a liberal Catholic of secular focus on life, then this book with tickle your ears. Buy it.
If you belive in Truth with a capital “T”, if you understand the gospel and the work of Grace offered through Christ, if you know how to read your Bible and find Truth there, then this book will offer nothing to you. You already know that your peace is found in Christ and His matchless work for you on the cross. Contemplating the beauty of the sunset is wonderful, but knowing Christ and worshipping Him is far more beneficial.
Taylor looks to abolish the distinctions between sacred and secular,even between the idea of the spirit and the flesh. Taylor comments on her Christian experiences and traditions, but she is much more comfortable employing “truths” from the Buddhist Eight-Fold Path, the Muslim notion of pilgrimage, rabbinic wisdom from Judaism, or the Sufi mystic poet Rumi.
In this book she commends twelve spiritual practices. She writes one chapter each on vision, reverence, incarnation, groundedness, wilderness, community, vocation, sabbath, physical labor, breakthrough, prayer, and benediction. Taylor sees nothing different from a practicing Christ than a Muslim or Buddhist or deeply spiritual atheist
Rating: 1 / 5
I find myself not wanting the book to end. So many of the insites Barbara Brown Taylor has shared resonate with me.
Rating: 5 / 5
“An Altar in the World,” by Barbara Brown Taylor is a beautifully written “travelogue” of altars Taylor encounters in her spiritual life.
Rating: 5 / 5
In 12 brief chapters, Barbara Taylor addresses twelve ways of living with God, not so much as devotion, but as daily practice. She shows an easy familiarity with ordinary objects and actions as means of being closer to God. Each chapter stands alone, can be read quickly, and then digested for a day or week. Some of it will speak to you, some will show you what others experience. It is an enriching book for people of faith.
Rating: 5 / 5
I’ve read and admired Barbara Brown Taylor for years. She’s one of my favorite sermon writers. I’ve even been fortunate enough to hear her lecture a group of preachers. I was delighted to see that she had another book out, and it’s a good read, but it seemed mainly to repeat ideas I’ve heard from her before. If you haven’t read her before, I’d recommend beginning with The Preaching Life — which contains both personal stories and sermons — rather than this book of reflections.
Rating: 3 / 5