This book was written with a specific audience in mind: western Christians, especially Protestants, interested in the history and development of Christian worship. As the sub-title demonstrates, Christian worship developed out of Jewish worship practices, that were informed by the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, and were transformed by the early Christian church into the core of Christian worship. For most western Christians, and particularly Protestants (and both author's were raised as Protestants) this is a little known fact. Besides tracing the history and development of Christian worship, the book also contains a step-by-step commentary on the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, the common Sunday morning service of the Orthodox churches. This book was written for "the common person", and does not require a theological background. It is straight forward and accessible.

"Orthodox Worship" is essentially two books and a pamphlet under one cover.

In Part I: "Understanding the Divine Liturgy", Benjamin D. Williams, explains the development of Christian worship, starting with the Early Church and its roots in Scripture and the Jewish traditions of temple and synagogue worship.

In Part II: Harold B. Anstall takes the reader on "A Journey Through the Liturgy." Here he starts with "The Interior of an Orthodox Church," which is appropriate, since that is usually the first thing someone experiences upon attending any service in the Orthodox Church. The rest of this section goes through a step-by-step explanation of everything that is said and done in a Divine Liturgy, the "main event" of Orthodox Christian worship.

In the conclusion: "A Call to Worship," Williams invites the Western reader to visit, understand and experience liturgical worship as practiced in the Orthodox Church. Here he gives a quick, understandable overview of how Christianity in the West has departed, and continues to travel farther, from its historical roots in liturgical worship.

I first read "Orthodox Worship," after attending a series of lectures by Frank Schaeffer (son of the late Evangelical apologist and theologian, Francis Schaeffer) in 1997. At that point I was firmly entrenched in an Evangelical church as a praise band director and worship leader. Schaeffer explained his departure from Evangelicalism and his "coming home" to the Orthodox Church. (For more about that, see his book "Dancing Alone.") I began visiting a couple of Orthodox churches in our area, and decided I wanted to understand what was going on.

After my first reading of "Orthodox Worship," I concluded that:

1. Liturgical worship does indeed have its roots in Scripture and in the practices of the Early Church, as practiced in the book of Acts.

2. There is a reason for everything that is said and done in the Divine Liturgy, and that it is all based on Scripture and the development of the Christian faith in the first three centuries.

Now, several years later, as I approach the second anniversary of my own "coming home" to the Orthodox Church, I decided to reread this volume. Now that I've gradually let liturgical worship become an integral part of my life, and now that I sing in (and sometimes direct) our parish choir, I found completely different quotes jumping off the page than the ones I highlighted the first time through, such as:

"It is worth noting...that the frequently quoted passage..."where two or three are gathered in My name, I am there in the midst of them" is not a stand-alone proposition. It has a very specific context, and that context is The Church! (page 80)."

I'd recommend this fine introductory volume to people who want to investigate the roots of liturgical Christian worship, to those who are inquiring about the Eastern Orthodox Church, as well as to those Orthodox Christians who need a refresher course on the Divine Liturgy. The only drawback of the edition I read was the many typographical errors scattered throughout the book, which was a little distracting.

(...)

As with all of William Gray's book if you are looking to win someone's affections or turn yourself into a demon you have come to the wrong place. Rather the serious student or the seriously interested, but uninitiated could do no better. This book builds upon previous works in intelligently and accessibly presenting "occult" theory and practice (though one does have to read a bit between the lines, this is no more difficult then any other philosophical or religious treatise)-(the practice part is not usually Step 1, etc, it is: further study, or meditating on this, etc.). A good book for the middle way.

CAN I FIND A BOOK THAT HAS THESE KIND OF SPELLS I WANT TO BECOME THE KING OF EVIL. I WANT TO CREATE MY OWN EVIL WORLD OF DEMONS SUCH THINGS AS UNDEAD WARRIOR'S I WANT TO BE ABLE TO SHOOT MAGICAL WEAPONS OUT OF MY FINGER'S. DO YOU KNOW WHERE I CAN GO TO OBTAIN THIS KIND OF INFORMATION I WANT TO BE ABLE TO TAKE ON DEMON FORM WHEN EVER I WANT TO.

This ain't no temple, this ain't no disco, this ain't no foolin' around-it's just a rockin' good read, and one of the best books ever on the recording industry.

If possible, put on one of your favorite records when you read Temples of Sound. There are stories about the Beach Boys, Muddy Waters, The Doors, Frank Sinatra, Chubby Checker, lots of others. It's an amazing mix of music and eras, to use a term engineers might appreciate. Hearing the music while you read is a fresh way to hear the tunes. For me, knowing how some of my all-time favorite records were made, and finding out how the artists and engineers really worked behind-the-scenes is truly cool. And sort of spiritual. Not spiritual in the "get your behind in church" voice of your papa, but rather, more like spiritual in the way you snuck cigs out of the old man's pack, or in the way you closed the door to your room to listen to Sergeant Pepper and felt your own eyes seeing the world for the first time.

Maybe that's why this book is called Temples of Sound.

This book covers a lot of ground, a lot of sound, from the days of swing and early pop, Nat King Cole, Aretha, and Motown. The guys who wrote it-Jim Cogan and Bob Clark-talked to primary sources, the people who were really there, and got some great first hand stories. It covers lots of great studios, from Capitol to Stax. It is about and for people who love music. It is cool to hear Keith Richards say is appalled to see Muddy Waters working outside of music, painting a ceiling in the studio. This is a man he revered. It is cool to hear the engineer who did the best Doors records say he wouldn't want to remix any of their albums. They are what they are. It is cool to learn that the beat in Dancin' in the Street is accented by a tire chain being banged on the floor. I dig this stuff.

This ain't no temple, this ain't no disco, this ain't no foolin' around-it's just a rockin' good read, and one of the best books ever on the recording industry.

If possible, put on one of your favorite records when you read Temples of Sound. There are stories about the Beach Boys, Muddy Waters, The Doors, Frank Sinatra, Chubby Checker, lots of others. It's an amazing mix of music and eras, to use a term engineers might appreciate. Hearing the music while you read is a fresh way to hear the tunes. For me, knowing how some of my all-time favorite records were made, and finding out how the artists and engineers really worked behind-the-scenes is truly cool...Maybe that's why this book is called Temples of Sound.

This book covers a lot of ground, a lot of sound, from the days of swing and early pop, Nat King Cole, Aretha, and Motown. The guys who wrote it-Jim Kogan and Bob Clark-talked to primary sources, the people who were really there, and got some great first hand stories. It covers lots of great studios, from Capitol to Stax. It is about and for people who love music. It is cool to hear Keith Richards say is appalled to see Muddy Waters working outside of music, painting a ceiling in the studio. This is a man he revered. It is cool to hear the engineer who did the best Doors records say he wouldn't want to remix their albums. They are what they are. It is cool to learn that part of the beat in Dancin' in the Street is accented by a tire chain being banged on the floor. I dig this stuff.

Fab, energetic, genuine.. Cogan and Clark have revived the days of soul making music from music making souls, and their agents, and cohorts in this faithful rendering of what truly makes music continue to move us today.

Offensive to Jews and historically off-base, this novel will be enjoyed by Christians, for whom it has a "happy ending".

This book does a wonderful job of explaining many different factors contributing to the fall of Jerusalem. Eventually, the characters do come alive. It gets redundant at times, which is not helped by the over-use of dramatic emphasis throughout the reading--the listener has to group and weigh information in spite of the reader's inflection rather than being helped by it. Overall, worth the time, but I would rather have read it out loud myself than fight the recording. Recording does not indicate listening time or publication date of the original work.

"Clash! Bang! Ka-ching!" The valley echoes with the sound of iron upon iron. Tight-lipped the two solitary foes circle each other, thrusting, slashing, striking, and warding off the blows of the other. Suddenly, the younger man, dressed in Jewish garb, and armed only with a sword and buckler, dashes under the heavily armed Roman's sword. The sudden impact throws the Roman to the ground, though the Hebrew is stuck hard on the head. Brushing aside the blood that pours down his forehead the Jew siezes his knife and and raises it, to end the life of his prostrate fiend. "Strike, Jew! I am Titus!" the Roman boldly states. Who are these two combatants? What do they have against each other? The Hebrew is 19-year-old John of Gamala, a hero to the Jews and a scourge to the Roman army. Titus is General of the Roman army invading Israel, whose people are fresh from throwing off the Roman government. How will this deadly duel play out? Never mind. This excellently written novel is much better than Super Glue ever dreamed of being. "For The Temple", if anything can, will glue you to your seat so that it will take a bulldozer to dislodge you. {note: we don't recomend the use of this book for repairing broken toys, however.} "For The Temple" chronicles the life of a Galilean teenager at the time of the fall of Jerusalem. From the storm on Lake Tibereas, to the siege at Jotatpata, you will grow to love and admire John, son of Simon, as he grows, wars, and has adventures of all kinds defending Josephus, Gamala, his betrothed wife, and finally the Temple in Jerusalem. Will he survive that monumentous occasion? More importantly, who will win the afforementioned duel? READ THE BOOK AND FIND OUT! (no, Amazon did not hire me to sell their book, I did this originally as a school assignment) I highly recommend this historically accurate book to people who like history, adventure, or just plain good books. Also to people who HATE history, as a good way to gag it down.

The story is from real life and one young high school boys decisions. Based upon comments by middle and high school students, they enjoy story and read the book from cover to cover.

Several schools in Bell County, Texas include the book in the English class reading options.

A word of warning -- this reprint does not come with a copy of Hornady's famous map -- so you're out of luck on that score. The Introduction is very good.

Beware -- this Smithsonian reprint does not contain a copy of Hornaday's famous map, even although it is referred to in the text.