As a minister of 22 years, I first read this book about a dozen years ago. It helped me communicate better to my wife, friends, and congregation.

Since that time, I have loaned copies to numerous people I have counseled (I have a stack of these), and many have been helped through putting this book in practice.

Backus encourages direct and honest communication. He deals with the lies we tell ourselves that keep us from speaking truthfully and directly. Besides aiding in communication skills, the principles mentioned will also increase personal sincerity and integrity.

Practical, easy to read, illustrated with case studies, this is a must read for all Christians.

Dr. William Backus has done a great service in writing this book. Many big problems start as small problems, problems that could be solved with proper communication and unconditional love.

Dr. Backus writes that by far the most frequently violated command of Jesus is "When someone sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone." Human nature wishes to tell anyone and everyone else but the person who needs to be confronted lovingly with the truth.

The author uses his experience as a Minister and a Clinical Psychologist to guide the reader through the process of loving confrontation. Chapter titles include: "How to have a good clean fight." "How to Handle Critical People" and "How to say no."

The only qualification you need to benefit from this book is to be a member of the human race who routinely interacts with people. No matter who you are or what your station in life, you will benefit from Dr. Backus' insights.

"Wear the old coat and buy the new book."

Dr. Backus helps the reader to accurately undertand what his/her rights are, and what rights s/he DOES NOT have, within relationships. He also details healthy ways to both manage, and avoid conflict; if at all possible. This is one of the best books I've ever read. (A good companing to this book is the book "Managing Conflict God's Way".)

If you haven't read Malcom Muggeridge, don't give up yet--you may yet do so. Should that happy event occur, you may end up as puzzled as I am that most of Malcom Muggeridge is out of print. A Third Testament, for instance was the accompanying book for a series of films/TV shows written and narrated by Mr. M.M.. You'd think since Little, Brown published the book, and it was owned by Time-Life, which also owned the shows, that ads would be popping up on late night TV for the whole Time-Life Muggeridge collection. Think again. Or you'd think that since Collins Books (now part of HarperCollins) brought out the two volumes of his autobiography, The Chronicles of Wasted Time, to rave reviews on both sides of the Atlantic, that someone might trouble to keep them in print. Think again again.

The reason must be that the author's life was too dull, his writing style too lifeless and dry, his testament (whatever that is) prescribed bedtime reading for insomniacs. His titles notably absent from the bestseller list, he would understandably not be a household name. One wouldn't recognize him as a former editor of the British humour magazine, Punch, or as a player on the BBC's send-up of the news, That Was the Week That Was. But that would explain why his books are so side-splittingly funny. One also wouldn't know that he did the first BBC interview with Mother Teresa, and was profoundly moved by her life, an inspiration evident in A Third Testament. That would explain why his books are so profound. Nor would one know of the awakening in his soul that led him to tirelessly denounce the idiocy of modern life even as Malcom and his wife, Kitty, simplified their own lives to follow a different drummer. That would explain why this book by a late convert to the Catholic Church was reprinted by Plough Publishing and praised by readers of all spiritual stripes. But nothing can explain why these Muggeridge books are all out of print, or keep readers who have tasted one from tracking down them all.

AN AMAZING BOOK! I picked this book up randomly. It was in a forgotten RELIGIOUS section of a city library. Malcolm takes scattered history and complicated theology and reveals what it simply looked like in the lives of these great leaders. Definitely food for the heart and the soul!

Muggeridge has created in this book and in the accompanying video series a humble, honest, and beautiful work of simple yet deeply compelling biography. By focusing on the spiritual journeys of six/seven essential figures (in the video series he covers Augustine, Pascal, Kierkegaard, Blake, Tolstoy, and Boenhoffer, and in the book he adds to this group Dostoyevsky) Muggeridge discovers certain necessities of the spiritual life and illuminates them and brings them into focus. Both the book and the video series are essential to any library collection of contemporary religious thought.

Someone must bring these back into print!

I found this book in a discount store and could not pass it up because of my interest in discipleship. I could not put this little book down! I has several ah-ha moments as I read through Card's thoughts. Here are a few that have stuck with me: 1)God embodies truth in people. God sent truth into the world through Jesus, who is the truth. In the same way, a discipler is one who embodies aspects of truth. This thought is not emphasized in the book, but it has stuck with me and made me think of how to disciple someone. 2)Sonship is established in the wilderness. Through trial we find how much we need Jesus. We notice he is close to us. Card writes profoundly as one who has suffered and learned from it. He ties in discipleship by talking about his mentor's role during the tough times of his life.
In the end, Card writes with a clear knowledge of Scripture. Several times while reading the book, I wanted to put it down and become more familiar with my Bible, not because I doubted the truth of his comments but because the Word is eternally interesting, satisfying, and freeing. Card's love for truth and the person of Christ is contagious. Don't miss out on this book!

"I want to show you how a Christian man dies." This is what Dr. Bill Lane told Michael Card when Bill discovered he had a terminal illness. If you are led to believe this is a book about death, you are mistaken. It is a book about life, Bill Lane's life and Michael Card's life. If you were as fortunate as Michael was, and knew Bill, you will hear his voice and feel his presence on every page. If you enjoy Michael's music and wonder where his Christian maturity and spiritual insight comes from, in meeting Bill Lane you will have discovered the answer. If you have never heard of either of them, after reading the book you will discover what a "walk" with Jesus Christ can mean to you in life and in what the world calls "death".

Reading the truth of how God does work in each of our lives is there in that book...is like being six years old and playing dress up and standing in shoes 10x's your size! It's simply your future...but you're not there yet! You will have to grow into it. But they are the right shoes. This is the response of a friend I lent the book to. I agree wholeheartedly it just that she put it better than I ever could. Michael Card's work always leaves me with a closer taste of the Lord.

In this small, meaningful text, 'Writing in the Dust: After September 11', Archbishop Rowan Williams presents a quick and poignant response to the tragedy that befell not just America, but the entire world, on September 11, 2001. He happened to be in New York City at the time, at Trinity Church Wall Street, just a few blocks away from the devastation as the events took place. He wrote this book reflecting on his eyewitness accounts in the following few weeks. It is not an academic text, nor is it a programmatic text, but rather, it is an extended meditation, and a very personal account of grief, anger, and finally, hope.

It is near the end of the text that Williams highlights the story that immediately came to mind for me, and that is of Jesus writing in the dust as the crowd gathered to stone the prostitute. In the gospel of John, many different interpretations have been given to explain Jesus' curious actions in that story. Why did he write in the dust? What did he write?

Of course, dust was all around in New York City that day, the dust and grit of debris from the once proud towers and planes that became a symbol of terror and mortality. But writing in the dust, Williams says, is something perishable, too. Something that will not last. In the days following the attacks, America was ready for war. Had there been a clearly defined target and enemy, America surely would have gone to extraordinary lengths for revenge. The murkiness of the situation left America struggling to find an adequate response, a response still being debated, now years later.

A lot of talk in the past has focused upon the warlike nature of specific religions, countered by historical examples of our own cultures, religious and quasi-religious. This leads to accusation and counter-claim -- has it led to any real introspection on the part of our culture?

Of course, part of the problem with this introspection is that it is impractical for the most part. It also lacks the emotive power and emotional satisfaction of a call for vengeance. When people asked, as they continued to ask, where was God during those moments, theologians of every stripe struggle to find an answer that is at both emotionally and intellectually satisfying. Williams has elements of major modern theological schools in his own theology, including process theological ideas.

Williams continues beyond this to discuss the impact on those of us in the West who misinterpret the intentions of Muslim peoples, perhaps deliberately. He discusses a general worldview in which the virtues of the past, the 'just war' and the ideas of heroism and patriotism are in fact more fully exemplified in terrorists like Al-Qaeda and the IRA than in those they combat. The evolution of conflict from World-War types of clearly-defined battlelines logistically and politically have given way to a rather messy world in which the sands shift too quickly for easy answers to have general applicability. He also addresses a certain sense of futility.

Finally, Williams talks about the symbolic power, and the emptiness and inappropriateness of such symbols, near the end of his meditations. Symbols have great power, but those symbols can be misused, sometimes deliberately, particularly by those who did not originate the events or meanings. Symbols can sometimes imprison reality, Williams states, and cause us to belittle and sometimes look past the reality involved. Thus, symbols must be handled with great care.

One might get the sense from this book that Williams is a 'bleeding-heart liberal', and, insofar as simple labels tell a half-truth, that might be true. Yet there is something far deeper here. It is a voice we need to hear, rather like the voice of Colin Powell in the Cabinet swimming against the stream of opinion in the administration. Williams is not speaking a popular voice, but it is a necessary voice, one of compassion for the victims, and genuine concern for the future, not just a future in which America will be safe, but in which the entire world sees justice. This requires, and receives from Williams, an honest and accurate assessment of the Muslim world, too.

Williams uses the language of prayer. He uses a language of common humanity and a language of compassion. Williams speaks from his heart looking for answers and being honest about not finding too many. This small book, written in the dust of September 11, bears revisiting a year after the events. Rather like the peaceful pleadings of Dietrich Bonhoffer in the midst of World War II, it may well be ignored for now. But this writing is certainly not merely in the dust. Its hope will survive.

Rowan Williams is the recently appointed Archbishop of Canterbury and head of the worldwide Anglican communion. Williams was also the Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity at Oxford University. Williams has been a prolific writer, including such theological and academic works as Arius: Heresy and Tradition; A Ray of Darkness, a collection of pastoral sermons and addresses; and The Wound of Knowledge: A Theological History from the New Testament to Luther and St. John of the Cross. One hopes that his writing career will not be stopped by his coming elevation. 'So this is writing in the dust because it tries to hold that moment for a little longer, long enough for some of our demons to walk away.'

William's short yet vivid essay on the events of 9/11 is a theological gem. While many clerics in mainline churches quickly jump on political bandwagons in crises like these, Williams offers profound theology which speaks directly to the soul. A must.

In this haunting and deeply meditative reflection, Rowan Williams has introduced a badly needed "breathing space" into the furious debate surrounding the events of 9/11. "Breathing space," in fact, is the central theme that runs through his little book--breathing space as a moment in which time seems to cease, we are caught in a void, and ordinary worries that involve self-concern and competition are momentarily suspended. Our general strategy is to rush to fill the void; humans (even if not nature) abhor a vacuum. But Williams encourages us to explore the void, to let it speak to us, to take time to explore its contours, and to allow ourselves the time to think deeply and honestly and compassionately about 9/11.

If we embrace the void--the break in our usual ways of thinking about the world--created by 9/11, we just might rethink our conventional attitudes to retaliatory violence, to heroism, to globalism, and to how we relate to strangers. These are the four themes Williams so provocatively explores. Retaliatory violence may give us the illusion of control, but it doesn't resolve the brokenness that gives rise to violent eruptions in the first place. Heroism, as displayed for example by fire fighters and cops in NYC on 9/11, is frequently anonymous and "ordinary," rather than the dramatic, fireworks-like military display our culture teaches us to crave. The global village has shrunk the world to such an extent that we can no longer deny that whatever we do in this country impacts the world and will bring consequences (deserved or not) back upon us. Consequently, we need to examine our conventionally bordered definitions of responsibility. Finally, people ought to be seen as they are in themselves, rather than as we symbolically recreate them to fit into our preconceived paradigms. Terrorists see Americans as spawn of the Great Satan; we see terrorists as agents of inexplicable, unprovoked evil. With these symbols hiding our true faces from one another, how can genuinely empathic dialogue begin\ between cultures and peoples?

If you're looking for quick solutions to the horror and grief that began (for Americans) on 9/11, this book isn't for you. But if you're in search of a companion who will help you reflect deeply on the implications of 9/11, read Williams. It might be especially instructive to compare his message to William Bennett's in the recently released *Why We Fight.* The two go in completely opposite directions.

I highly recommend this book to those who are not familiar with Anthony de Mello, and to his fans and critics. The editor provides an excellent introduction to help us to have a better understanding and appreciation for de Mello's numerous writings. The selections give us a potential experience of personal awakening or freeing encounter with "God" or the Self of self. I hope there'll be an audio book edition with excerpts of deMello's retreat talks so that his mellow voice and hearty laughter can be captured while we read his writings. (Please cf. my review for Walking on Water for more background.)

De Mello is a spiritual master and is the most insightful of the "self-help" authors that I have read.His books, especially this one, are easy to read and are a source of enlightenment and awakening for life and happiness.This book will help you to reexamine your life and the spirituality of it.A MUST-READ!

Rutledge's sermons are moving, persuasive, and beautifully written. And as her theology is Catholic, her faith contagious, and her argument completely accessible to the lay reader, she may well be the best Christian (and Anglican) apologist since C.S. Lewis.

This is a book that you will want to keep handy that you may read again a chapter that is especially meaningful or pertinent to your circumstances. I found the application of scripture to the very topical subject matter was inspiring. An example is the Chapter called The Love Olympics Go To Jerusalem which used text from 1 Corinthians13. The news items used as examples included topics about the funeral of Princess Diana,Madonna's child and the break up of the relationship with the baby's father,and also reference to the White House items about the President and an intern.A quote from Frank Rich's column "What's love got to do with it?" lead into the meaning of love as spoken by St. Paul in that lesson from Corinthians.You'll be glad you've read this book.

This work by William T. Kirwan is the place to start when looking at the field of Christian Counseling. The outline of this book is very complete and provides depth in many aspects of Christian Counseling. The cited works used in this text provide a "Who's Who" presentation for the aspiring counselor. This text helped launch my hunger in the field. The book starts slow but it quickly builds the reader's vocabulary and presents information with an ease toward comprehension.

This work has integrated my thought in a most helpful way. Highly recomended.

This is a fine prayer book that is simultaneously steeped in the tradition of Christian hours and sensitive to the lives of lesbians and gay men. It contains the time-honored morning and evening prayer, but it is more than just a conventional Psalter. With its devotional prayers, this book of hours marks the times of joy and sorrow in the lives of gay and lesbian Christians. Bill Storey has included prayers for a coming-out party, the gift of a spouse, and a holy union; he has also incorporated prayers for times of sickness and abandonment by family and friends, as well as prayers for enemies. In these prayers for special occasions and for the everyday, Storey demonstrates a deep awareness of the spirituality, the joys, difficulties, and the predicaments of lesbians and gay men. His prayers tenderly address a God who loves the hearts, minds, and bodies of gay people. Storey's "Book of Prayer" will nourish those who use it and make them clap their hands with holy glee.

A saying of Jesus applies well to Dr. Storey's "A Book of Prayer": "Every scribe who has been instructed in the Kingdom of Heaven is like the steward who brings forth from his store room things both old and new." The "new" in this book include eloquent prayers for the good stewardship of our human sexuality, and laments for the loss of certain dear relationships that coming-out usually entails for gay people. The Ceremony of Holy Union, offered with many prayer alternatives, will surely influence most future gay ceremonies of life commitment. "Old" in this book is the masterful marshalling of scripture and liturgical tradition is every section--and, going back to Jesus Himself is a confidence, visible throughout Dr. Storey's book, in the almost reckless accessibility of God.

This book is a collection of early documents relating to Fletcher Christian's mutiny against William Bligh in 1789 on the HMS Bounty. The editor claims to have gathered together for the first time "the relevant texts and documents" related to this famous event that has intrigued readers for 200 years. In all, ten documents whose publication dates range from 1790 to 1870 are included. The first four documents make up the body of the book and consist of a series of published statements by William Blight and responses by Edward Christian, Fletcher's brother. Fletcher Christian died on Pitcairn Island and never put his story in print. These four sections are followed by six Appendixes. The first Appendix contains a transcript of Bligh's orders and a botanical description of the breadfruit that the Bounty went to Tahiti to obtain. The remaining five Appendixes are narratives of the lives of those who stayed on the Bounty after the mutiny.

All of these early texts are preceded by a delightful and informative Introduction by the editor that relates the early lives of both Bligh and Christian and discusses their relationship leading up to the mutiny. It describes the mission of the Pandora to seek out the Bounty and bring back any mutineers they can find. Also covered is the trial and disposition of those sailors brought back from Tahiti. Lastly, the Introduction goes on to summarize the history of Bounty documentation and scholarship, from Bligh's first published account right on through the famous fictionalized Bounty trilogy by Nordhoff and Hall. The Introduction is followed by a one page listing of suggested further readings.

The first section of the book is Bligh's 1790 account of the mutiny and subsequent voyage of he and 18 crew members in the ship's 23 foot boat. He quickly recounts the details of the mutiny on the first four pages and then spends the remaining 62 pages on his heroic and epic voyage across 3,600 miles of the South Pacific that took about a month and a half. Bligh depicts himself as a dedicated leader who saved the lives of all but one crew member in this fascinating and arduous journey.

The second section of the book is the proceedings of the court martial of those brought back to face charges of mutiny, published in 1794 by Edward Christian in an attempt to exonerate his brother. This text consists of a written statement by Bligh, a series of interrogations of the Bounty crew regarding the events of the mutiny, and an Appendix by Edward. A picture of Bligh as a tyrant emerges from this testimony. It is 86 pages long and somewhat repetitive, but still an interesting document to read. The 20 page Appendix at the end of is Edward Christian's attempt to show that his brother had cause for his actions. Although he does not try to justify his brother's actions, he tries to show the state of desperation that his brother was driven to by Bligh's actions. Bligh was at sea when this was published and, when he returned home, he published in 1795 "An Answer..." to the statements of the Appendix which is included as the third section of this book. To this Edward Christian wrote and published a "Short Reply..." that is the fourth section of this book. This interchange in writing between Bligh and Edward Christian is wonderful to read because it presents both sides of the story in a very balanced and fair manner. Without having Fletcher Christian to defend his own actions, this set of documents is the next best thing we have to a fair presentation of both sides of the case.

The above documents alone would have made a wonderful and enlightening book. The editor goes on to present in the Appendixes documents that tell the story of those men who followed Fletcher Christian to Tahiti or Pitcairn Island. The first Appendix is a copy of Bligh's orders to go to Tahiti and a description of the breadfruit he was to bring to Jamaica. The second Appendix is an 1870 retelling of a journal kept by one of the sailors who was taken by the Pandora from Tahiti as a mutineer. It tells of the harsh treatment these 14 received aboard this ship and how four died when the ship sank. The next two Appendixes are accounts written by crew members of a ship that visited Pitcairn Island 19 years after the mutiny in 1808. They tell the story of the crew that landed there with Fletcher Christian and their history and families. By this time only one of the nine members of the original Bounty crew that landed on the island remained alive. The last two Appendixes are the story of one of the Tahitian women who married a Bounty crew member and the story of the last surviving crew member himself.

Altogether these various documents pieced together tell what we can know of the Bounty mutiny. They make fascinating reading, more interesting than the fictional accounts. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in tales of the sea.

What an amazing book. Using the original source materials--Bligh's diary, the transcript of the Bounty Court Martial, Fletcher Christian's brother's defense of the mutineers, and other materials--the Editor R.D. Madison has put together a book which is impossible to put down. Indeed, the book leaves the reader wishing it were twice as long. Madison refuses to take sides in the Bligh v. Christian debate, and lets the record speak for itself. Since the record is contradictory and nobody is unbiased, the effect, in cinematic terms, is more like "Roshomon" than either of the two Bounty movies. William Bligh comes across as an incredibly brave man with an indomitable will--yet he has a tendency to whine, and worse, he stoops to securing affidavits which do not even pass the smell test. Fletcher Christian comes across as a 23-year old hothead who lets the men talk him into leading a mutiny--and can't control the situation after the mutiny. Christian petulantly refuses to have dinner with the Captain on the eve of the mutiny. Clark Gable, he clearly ain't. The moral world of the Bounty is painted entirely in shades of gray; the men of the Bounty are imperfect and all too human.

Not only is the reader treated to a great detective story, but it is a story with an absorbing and instructive sequel. The book ends with a contemporary account, first published in the 1830's, of the subsequent history of Pitcairn's Island as told by the last survivor of the Bounty, "John Adams" (an alias). Adams described a harrowing descent into mayhem and murder by the mutineers who made it to Pitcairn's Island along with their native friends. The disputes began with a dispute over--you guessed it--who would possess a native woman. Except for Adams, Fletcher Christian his gang were all killed, along with the native men. In the end, John Adams sets up a harmonious society based on Biblical principles.

I have been scratching my head for two whole weeks since finishing this book, pondering its meaning. And that is a high recommendation, indeed.