This month we are reviewing four books: “Staff Fighting”, “Tunnel in The Sky”, “Cut and Run” and “The Holy Longing”.
1. Staff Fighting” by Joe Varady: This book is a quick read with lots of good illustrations. If I was 40 years younger, I might try some of the moves. I was somewhat disappointed that he did not discuss two aspects of using the staff: One, defense against four footed predators. The most likely time you are going to be carrying a staff and encounter a dangerous animal is on a hike. And two, defense against a knife threat. Obviously, a gun would be better in both instances, but the premise is that all you have is the staff.
TheMonopolyProject (TMP) yacht was unavailable, so we had to use TMP Floating Lounge Chair to do the Floating Book Review for this and the next book.
Since I totally forgot Jeff Cooper’s name and background with regards to the Staff Fighting book, I recorded this addendum. And in the addendum, I still fell short. So, here is a too-long, one sentence summary bio:
2. “Tunnel In the Sky” by Robert Heinlein. This is one of Heinlein’s “juvenile” books; meant for young (“teenager”) readers. He also wrote a lot of hard, science fiction of which I am a big fan (Stranger in a Strange Land, Starship Troopers, The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, Time Enough for Love, The Door into Summer, The Cat Who Walks Through Walls, Methuselah’s Children.). Heinlein was an eclectic, strange person. Even in today’s climate. He was a libertarian with heterodox views on sex, race, culture and everything.
Thanks to my friend Megan at the Coolidge library for getting me the copy of “Tunnel In The Sky”. And she also got me the Grover Cleveland book. Both are expensive online.
3. “Cut and Run” by Alaric Bond. I read and reviewed the first three books in this British Naval Fiction, “His Majesty’s Ship”, “The Jackass Frigate” and “True Colors”. I give them high marks. Now that I read the first three installment in the series, I like it even more. I learned that the author does not center the series and each book around the captain. All the other series are about the captain rising from humble or noble beginnings to the end of an illustrious career. In Bond’s world, he follows a cross section of the crew, from the lowest to the captain. You are never sure who will survive and who won’t. In the first book, the captain, who I liked, died at the very beginning of the climactic battle. In this second, the captain, again who I like as a character, he survives. I hope to see him again. The other touch I like in these books is that the author gives insight into ‘minor’ details. For example, he discusses the construction and materials of a cello wielded by one of the lieutenants. He also discusses the construction and materials of a small, rifled pistol which plays a key role in the plot. I am looking forward to the fifth installment “The Patriot’s Fate”.
4. ” The Holy Longing: The Search for a Christian Spirituality” by Ronald Rolheiser: I bought this book based on a recommendation from my sister. It is OUTSTANDING. Note that it is difficult reading. You must think. It is deep. He does not directly quote scripture (the references are in the back in the Notes) because he assumes you know what he is referring to. Here’s the 36 minute video review. You might want to read or follow the outline below:
- Introduction: The first sentence of the preface says, “This is a book for you if you are struggling spiritually.” That may be true, but it is more than that. It is intensely practical. It is not about theology but about what that theology should drive you to do. Actions, not beliefs. As he puts it on page 102, this is ‘incarnational’, not theistic. Incarnational in that we have/are human bodies. This is a constant theme throughout the book. I strongly recommend the book because it is a practical guide to what a Christian should do. It is not about theology; it is about actions.
- Bio: Ronald Rolheiser, O.M.I (Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate) is a Roman Catholic (RC) priest. He wrote the initial version of the 250-some page book in 1998 and updated it in 2013. Although he is RC, he draws from all Christian faiths in this book and does not elevate RC teachings above others. He honestly outlines the differences among RC, Protestant, and secular beliefs on pages 46-48. On page 93 he explicitly disagrees with RC teaching that you need a priest for confession to forgive sins.
- Four nonnegotiable pillars: Starting on page 53, Rolheiser lists “The Four Nonnegotiable Pillars of the Spiritual Life”. Numbers 1, 3, and 4 should not surprise anyone: “private prayer and private morality”, “mellowness of heart and spirit”, and “community as a constitutive element of true worship.” Number 2 could be controversial, depending on your Christian faith tradition: “social justice”. In the next few pages, he discusses why all four are absolutely necessary. Ignoring even one, severely distorts your Christian spirituality. I discuss the inclusion of “social justice’ separately below in VII.
- Immediate impact on my life: Reading this book had an immediate impact on my understanding and even action of my spiritual life. I now understand some of the things (actions, as above) that I do and why they constitute elements of true worship and spirituality. Examples are page 84 and 89 where Rolheiser says “our prayer needs our flesh to back it up” and “your touch is Christ’s touch.” Specifically, in public or intercessory prayer you must lay hands on others. On page 91 he discusses the importance of visiting the sick or dying [or elderly]. That I do.
- Things that are obviously true: One aspect of the book I really like is when he states things that are obviously true, but not usually acknowledged:
P25, “Generally speaking, today, in the Western world, most of us adults, live in a certain chronic depression.”
P27 “In Western culture, the joyous shouting of children often irritates us because it interferes with our depression. That is why we have invented a term, hyperactivity, so that we can, in good conscience, sedate the spontaneous joy in many of our children.”
P63 “…we end up turning Christianity into a philosophy, an ideology, and a moral code, but ultimately missing what Christianity is all about, a relationship with a real person.”
P64 “…social justice… is just as essential and nonnegotiable…” More later in VII.
P74 “What Jesus wants from us is not admiration, but imitation.”
P99 “Hence a Christian spirituality is always as much about dealing with each other as it is about dealing with God.”
P103 “…all babies look very much alike!” My daughter Jennifer, mother of three, disagreed with this. So, I had to share the preface with her, “Despite mother’s protests to the contrary, …”
P165 “One of the great anthropological imperatives, innate in human nature, is that we eventually must make peace with the family.”
P193 “Sexuality is such a powerful fire that it is, not always easy to channel it in life-giving ways. Its very power, and it is the most powerful force on the planet…”
P193 “[It…is] the fire which, ultimately, lies at the base of everything, including spiritual life.” More on this later.
P232 “Hence for us, all ritual us suspect and smack of superstition or magic.” We have lost the power of ritual.
VI. Interesting points, theological and otherwise:
P83 “…namely, that God’s power is now partially dependent upon human action.” This is not literally true since God is sovereign. But given the context, it is true. We, the church, are called to complete the Great Commission by ‘completing’ what Jesus started in his ministry: healing the sick, casting out demons, forgiving sins in the name of Jesus.
P97 “He uses the [Koine Greek] word sarx to refer to his body. An astonishing choice of words.” John uses the word sarx instead of soma which means ‘body’ in English. This is in a discussion of John:
John 6:51-55
I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”
Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.
Rolheiser dissects this theologically on p98 as “What we are being asked “to eat” is that other part of his body, the community, the flawed body of believers here on earth.” Researching this leads to a lot of RC versus Protestant; literal versus figurative; refers to Communion, does not refer to Communion. It is a mystery that the simple words of John are still not clearly understood.
http://www.jesuswalk.com/lords-supper/8_john6.htm
https://thelogosofagape.wordpress.com/2018/07/31/sarx-and-soma-a-greek-word-study/
http://unamsanctamcatholicam.com/apologetics/87-eucharistic-apologetics/240-flesh-in-john-6.html
https://www.biblehub.com/greek/4561.htm
https://christiannewsmissouri.com/2020/12/01/john-6-errors-perpetrated-in-cphs-concordia-commentary-john-11-71-by-weinrich/
p124 “Thus, the best example of what church, baptisms, and consecration really mean is the example of having and raising children.”
P149 “But you are alive as a seventy-year-old, not as a twenty-year-old.”
VII. Chapter 8 Social Justice
I am wary of calls for ‘social justice’ in general and especially from Roman Catholics. I consider their ‘preferential option for the poor’ to be a distortion and misuse of scripture.
I do not want this book review to degenerate into a political argument or a theological argument. But I feel compelled to state my objections and to note an interesting, related point on Rolheiser’s treatment of ‘social justice’ in this chapter. Specifically, his choice of abortion as the example for social justice.
First, my disagreement with the ‘theology’ of social justice. From the Wikipedia entry for “Option for the poor”:
I agree that the scriptures (not “this doctrine”) imply that the moral test of any society is “…how it treats its most vulnerable members.” I disagree with the next sentence, “The poor have the most urgent moral claim on the conscience of the nation.” Before I expand on that disagreement, a note on definitions. Does the word ‘poor’ in that statement, and in Scripture in general refer to the poor in earthly financial assets, or the poor in spirit? That is the basis of the disagreement that I will argue, poorly, now. First, the ‘poor’ however you define it (materially or spiritually) do not have any more or less claim on God’s grace and his gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. Yes, the ‘rich’ have a harder time seeing and accepting the grace and salvation because they “have it made in this world”. The Gospel is for all:
Galatians 3:28 “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (ESV)
All human institutions are corrupt because of sin. We will never make ‘heaven on earth’. As Jesus says in Matthew 26:11 “The poor you will always have with you, …” (NIV). If they rebranded it as “the preferential option for the [spiritually] poor” then I would agree 100 per cent.
Mark 2:17 “On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”” (NIV)
Now to Rolheiser’s one example of a social justice cause. He uses the example of abortion. I’m not debating or doubting that abortion should be at the top of the social justice list. The unborn child is definitely the “least” of us. In our present environment, they have no legal or moral rights. But, in my mind, abortion is a poor example of social justice causes since it is the only one supported by one side of the political spectrum and rejected by the other. Those people most advocating ‘social justice’ exclude abortion. They are in favor of it. It is now the highest sacrament of the secular humanist left. It is literally child sacrifice (the god of Baal, Molech). Yes, there is a (vanishing) element of the Roman Catholics who rightfully continue to oppose abortion, but they are few and far between. There is literally no one on the left in politics, who claims the Roman Catholic faith who opposes abortion.
I wish that Rolheiser would have chosen another example to highlight so we could discuss and debate ‘social justice’ causes. In my mind, we agree on the intent (to protect and provide for the least of us), but disagree on the best economic, sociological and political way to do that. As an example, I will state that free market capitalism, in the West and now increasingly in the East, has raised more people out of poverty and serfdom, than all the government social help policies in history. I will leave it at that, for now.
Here’s a good list of scripture addressing the “poor”: https://servantsasia.org/gods-heart-poor-scripture/
VIII. Chapter 9 Sexuality: This is the best discussion of sexuality in a Christian context that I have ever read. Why? Because it is positive unlike most treatments that are judgmental, defensive, and lecturing. It defines sexuality not just as a ‘good’ gift from God, but of his essence. We are created in his image.
P192 “For this reason sexuality lies at the center of spiritual life.” This is absolutely true.
P193 “Sexuality is such a powerful fire that it is not always easy to channel it in life-giving ways. Its very power not just for formidable love, life, and blessing but also for the worst hate, death and destruction imaginable. …fire which ultimately, lies at the base of everything, including spiritual life.” This is absolutely true.
P194 “…if fact, it is the greatest energy of all inside us.” This is absolutely true.
P195 “For this reason, among others, celibacy has been made too much of a spiritual ideal. This is wrong.” This is absolutely true.
P196 “They want to make us co-creators with God…”
p206 “In heaven , everyone will make love to everyone else and, already now, we hunger for that within every cell of our being.” I’m not sure what to make of this? I can find no scripture to support this assertion.
P210 “To sleep alone is to be poor.” This is Rolheiser’s argument that Jesus was celibate to show solidarity with the poor. I find this to be a stretch.
IX. Other Questions: As an aside I was taken aback by these two assertions early in the book. I can find no evidence for either. Neither was foot-noted nor justified in any sense.
P16 “…given our understanding of physics, we know that even the tiniest particles of the universe, with their positive and negative charges, have something akin to desire, and thus too have their own kind of soul.” I cannot think of any basis in physics to support this. Our current understanding and expression of ‘particles’ is purely mathematical. We have ‘discovered’ equations which explain, in the sense of predict, our world exactly. Through these techniques we have developed technologies that the ancients would consider magic. But these techniques explain how, not why. Only God can be the answer to ‘why?’. Many people that ‘worship’ science think that now that we understand how the sun shines for billions of years, how the circulatory system sustains us, how photosynthesis work, and so on; we no longer need God. We have explained the universe. Not true. How does not explain why.
P17 “If you put a two-inch band of solid steel around a growing watermelon it will, as it grows, burst the steel.” I searched (“googled”) this with no results. I do not believe it.
Below is a short description of the book and bio of Ronald Rolheiser. I agree with James Martin, S.J. that this is “One of the best books on Christian spirituality ever written.”
