This book contains meditations on the Seven Last Words, Reflections & Litanies on the Agony in the Garden and a more general reflection on the life of Christ. They are based firmly in the Scripture and experience - not highly theological as you might assume based on the author.

I would rank this among the top three Lenten books.

Dr. Kraft is Professor of Psychology at Carlow College in Pittsburgh, PA. An international lecturer, Dr. Kraft also has a private practice in psychological services and is a consultant to the Catholic Dioceses of Pittsburg and Greensburg, PA. His writing primarily focuses on the area of integrating psychology and spirituality from an existential- phenomenological perspective. That's what the books says....honest!! Written in easy-to-understand language, this book explores OUR deserts---life, languages, different stages. Beginning with adolescence, disenchantment, enchantment and progressing through adulthood to the elder years, the author states "becoming holy is not easy." I think we would all agree with that! But he encourages us, "Negative experiences can be beneficial." This book would be a helpful guide to anyone's spiritual journey. It's a book to read again and again.

This is a fantastic book to read to your kids. It's made up of short (1-2 page) chapters on topics that kids are concerned about when facing their parent's divorce. The great thing about it is the questions it asks. It would take 10 minutes to read a chapter and then we'd spend the following hour talking about not just the topic of the chapter, but the 1000 other questions the kids had that reading the chapter helped bring out. Think of it as a discussion primer.

I have not yet read this entire book, but I did read a chapter excerpted in "Cornerstone Magazine" this month (November, 2000). I have also read several of Backus's other books, such as "The Hidden Rift With God," which was excellent.

The chapter I read was on the sin of sloth. Backus address the psychological, spiritual, and moral dimensions of depression as it relates to the "deadly sin" of sloth. I found it to be balanced, biblical, and historically grounded in that the author refers to spiritual doctors of the church who have addressed matters of sin and righteousness in the Christian life. He also used a case study to illustrate how "telling ourselves the truth" about our situations and God's character leads to spiritual liberation. This is the main theme of Dr. Backus's works over the years.

The book addresses "the seven deadly sins" and how to overcome them in the Christian life. From what I read in the excerpt, and from what I have read before, I'm sure this is a fine book. I plan to get it and read it soon. Maybe I'll give another review then.

Douglas Groothuis

This book by the "God Squad" is a MUST have for couples and families of all faiths. This book explores the many questions both children and adults have as they walk the path in their spiritual journey. My husband and I are an interfaith couple and love to share this book with everyone we know. Some enjoy it so much, they won't give it back. Rabbi Gellman and Msgr.Hartman are humorous and insightful. Add this book to your home library - you won't regret it!

"Whole and Holy Sexuality" is a fantastic book on sexuality from a "wholistic" perspective. In Dr. Kraft's words, we are sexually embodied spiritual beings and must not treat ourselves as anything less. We must strive for the healthy integration of our spiritual dimension with our physical (sexual) dimension. "We are foolish," he concludes, "to pursue less than wholistic sexual lives."

This relatively short book (134 p.) is packed with practical information for anybody seeking to improve their understanding of their own sexuality and others'. Dr. Kraft addresses a wide array of topics, from affection and friendship to various modes of genital sexuality, including masturbation and homosexuality. He spends significant time looking into how we handle sexuality psychologically. His approach differs from other authors in that he maintains a much-needed balance between the biological "facts of sexuality" and the Christian "philosophy of sexuality." The result is a book that is easily understandable and wonderfully practical!

This book dares to ask the question: what if everything you've ever been taught is right is actually not right?
The author, through God's eyes, ambitiously attempts to convince the reader that much of what goes on in the world, in our everyday life, is not only illogical, but detrimental to our very expressed intentions. He thinks outside the box, and his arguments are so convincing as to seem obvious. He does not believe that institutions such as marriage, law enforcement, and government should be changed, but that they should be done away with altogether. And one would have to be extremely closed minded to not at least be somewhat convinced that he may be onto something.
Oh, and the word tricks in this book will have you stunned by their cleverness. Read this book, and be prepared to perhaps alter your way of thinking forever.

This book is an extraordinary find: a collection of theological essays that can be mined for equal profit by college and seminary students, church groups, and anyone interested in critically exploring how everyday life can be powerfully illuminated and reconfigured by the resources of the Christian tradition. Two features in particular distinguish this book and make it especially worthwhile. First is the clarity (and occasional elegance) of the writing -- no small feat considering the number of authorial voices and the depth of these compact essays. Identifying the book's second and most important virtue is a bit more complex. Organized around questions that might be asked by any reflective believer (and by others as well), the collection should prove inviting to non-specialist readers. Yet the essays don't condescend; rather they draw the thoughtful reader into a subtly sophisticated conversation about theology and the questions of our lives. Most remarkably, they do so while demonstrating a rich alternative to what might, too simply, be called a "correlationist" approach to theology. No prior systematic account of the human condition or human religiousness generates the chapter-title questions or orders the theological meditations prompted by them. Instead, each question is considered freshly by the theologian who takes it on. Although they spare readers arcane discussion of theological method (and cheerfully make ad hoc use of conceptual tools from various disciplines), the authors' diverse responses to the questions in fact make a cumulative case for the independent integrity and sense-making power of Christian affirmations and practices. (Here, one may surmise, is the legacy of the so-called "Yale school.") There's nothing else on the market quite like this book, at least as far as I can tell. I will use it with my own students. It's a pleasure to recommend it to others.

Though a difficult work, Piers Plowman is definitely worth reading for anyone studying English literature. This allegorical dream-vision follows the narrator, Will, on his journey though the world and into the depths of the human consciousness. Always vivid and imaginative, sometimes even humorous, this poem is a fascinating glimpse into mid fourteenth century England. Economou's translation of the lesser-read C text is often poetically quite beautiful and always easy for a modern reader to understand.

Mr. Jackson has written a book that will help the reader gain insight into tuning in to God's voice. By listening to God, you can hear God. And by hearing God, you, too, can gain the wisdom that God desires for all of His children. This book captures the attention of the reader. It is in an easy to read format, yet the depth of the words in the book will leave the reader with a better understanding of how to gain the one on one relationship that God wants, and hopefully, the reader desires. God is still alive today. He still speaks today. This book helps to direct the reader on how to fine tune his or her heart to hearing directly from God. It guides the reader so that he or she may do more than just read about God. What greater source of Wisdom than the Author of it? Love utters the Truth.