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frances_with_an_e's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
slow-paced
5.0
alidottie's review against another edition
3.0
3 and a half. Nowhere near as good as Tuesdays with Morrie, but a quick pleasant enough book. Really, I don't think I even found it inspiring which surely was the intention, but I really do like the Reb and enjoyed getting to know him.
ttatt's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.5
mary00's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book. Mitch Albom is such a gifted writer; it is a pleasure to read his words. This book reminded me a bit of Tuesdays with Morrie, but with a more religious and faith focused slant. On the surface, this book is about two inspirational men of God. But the true crux of the book ends up being an introspective look at the meaning of faith. This is a book that could easily be read multiple times, with new insights gained with each reading.
willeh's review against another edition
3.0
Bear with me through this review because I’m not sure that I can call it that. Maybe a blog entry? I guess I’m journaling on Goodreads.
I guess I should start by saying that I have no religious affiliation and my system of beliefs in a higher power is as skewed as can be. I grew up catholic and even had my communion. I went to classes on the weekends at the church to learn all the shenanigans. I’ve even tried reading the bible twice (if not thrice) and have never gotten through it.
I was skeptical of religion since young and often asked myself the very same questions that are asked in this book. If God is as omnipotent as you claim: why? I eventually grew tired of people saying “free will” was the answer to everything and became invested on the inception of religion. I studied a couple of them, to learn more, and grew to be respectful of every single one. In all honestly, I wouldn’t call myself atheist because I believe there is something more. Something we haven’t quite learned about. I don’t identify that something as a deity, but I guess it’s fine for others to do so. I still pray sometimes…when I feel humankind is failing.
My first highlight in this book denotes exactly how I felt about priests and pastors as a child:
“I had always felt that rabbis, priests, pastors, any cleric, really, lived on a plane between mortal ground and heavenly sky. God up there. Us down here. Them in between.”
There was one point where I started seeing them as exactly who they are: another human being. Like you. Like me. Flawed and somehow devoted to something that no one can altogether prove. They became less “celestial” with time and my fear and respect for them disappeared as I read more and more of the atrocities committed over time in the name of religion. Most of which were led by men who claim to be the voice of God.
The initial sermons in this book were of little significance to me and I was becoming frustrated. As a huge fan of Tuesdays With Morrie, I felt Albom was trying for the same kind of book but failing miserably in his quest. The lessons then became more about understanding why people are religious. I think. There were so many instances where I felt Albom was asking the wrong questions! Ultimately, understood that this was his journey to faith and didn’t necessarily need to align with anyone else’s experience.
“First, make the case against Him.” --- I can make a case against Him every single day with my patients. Every. Single. Day.
“What happens, I wondered, in the quiet moments before death? By then, they have lost the stage, the world has moved on. If suddenly, in their last gasping moments, through fear, a vision, a late enlightenment, they change their minds about God, who would know?” --- this happens often
“It is far more comforting to think God listened and said no, than to think that nobody’s out there.” --- also true.
All quotes that felt less than revolutionary.
It wasn’t until the latter half of the book that I started liking it because it became less about understanding God or faith. It was imbued with little lessons that are worth learning. It also helped me reflect on situations where I find myself questioning God’s existence. Don’t get me wrong…it didn’t change my mind, but it made me more considerate of how others might experience it. Very much like the quote below:
“You should be convinced of the authenticity of what you have, but you must also be humble enough to say that we don’t know everything. And since we don’t know everything, we must accept that another person may believe something else.”
I could keep posting quotes that I found either frustrating or enlightening but I think I’ve written enough. The book was well written, but nowhere as good as Tuesdays With Morrie. I think it will better serve those who are so devoted that they can’t see past their own religion. Those who believe anyone who doesn’t share their system of believes is lesser than them.
“Christianity believes Satan tempts us with evil. Hindus see evil as a challenge to life’s balance. Judaism refers to a man’s righteous inclination versus his evil inclination as two warring spirits; the evil spirit can, at first, be as flimsy as a cobweb, but if allowed to grow, it becomes thick as a cart rope.”
We define what is evil through culture. A wrongdoing here might be praised elsewhere.
What people fail to understand is that changing even one thing about one particular religion leads to a brand new one. You can’t be Catholic without accepting that its foundation is one of blood and suffering. You can’t look back and say, “Oh, well, those weren’t good people”. Would you have done the same if you were in a position of power and the king told you to convert the slaves or you’d be beheaded? Would you have justified the conversion as a means of bringing others closer to YOUR deity? Or would you have let them be and surrendered yourself to the grace of God (aka the king’s free will).
This is what I truly believe is true:
“Because when the world quiets to the sound of your own breathing, we all want the same things: comfort, love, and a peaceful heart.”
We should all aim for the above and I think it’s a truth we find universal. This book did nothing for me and I fear it even justifies the wrong things at times.
I don’t know y’all.
Respectfully…no.
I guess I should start by saying that I have no religious affiliation and my system of beliefs in a higher power is as skewed as can be. I grew up catholic and even had my communion. I went to classes on the weekends at the church to learn all the shenanigans. I’ve even tried reading the bible twice (if not thrice) and have never gotten through it.
I was skeptical of religion since young and often asked myself the very same questions that are asked in this book. If God is as omnipotent as you claim: why? I eventually grew tired of people saying “free will” was the answer to everything and became invested on the inception of religion. I studied a couple of them, to learn more, and grew to be respectful of every single one. In all honestly, I wouldn’t call myself atheist because I believe there is something more. Something we haven’t quite learned about. I don’t identify that something as a deity, but I guess it’s fine for others to do so. I still pray sometimes…when I feel humankind is failing.
My first highlight in this book denotes exactly how I felt about priests and pastors as a child:
“I had always felt that rabbis, priests, pastors, any cleric, really, lived on a plane between mortal ground and heavenly sky. God up there. Us down here. Them in between.”
There was one point where I started seeing them as exactly who they are: another human being. Like you. Like me. Flawed and somehow devoted to something that no one can altogether prove. They became less “celestial” with time and my fear and respect for them disappeared as I read more and more of the atrocities committed over time in the name of religion. Most of which were led by men who claim to be the voice of God.
The initial sermons in this book were of little significance to me and I was becoming frustrated. As a huge fan of Tuesdays With Morrie, I felt Albom was trying for the same kind of book but failing miserably in his quest. The lessons then became more about understanding why people are religious. I think. There were so many instances where I felt Albom was asking the wrong questions! Ultimately, understood that this was his journey to faith and didn’t necessarily need to align with anyone else’s experience.
“First, make the case against Him.” --- I can make a case against Him every single day with my patients. Every. Single. Day.
“What happens, I wondered, in the quiet moments before death? By then, they have lost the stage, the world has moved on. If suddenly, in their last gasping moments, through fear, a vision, a late enlightenment, they change their minds about God, who would know?” --- this happens often
“It is far more comforting to think God listened and said no, than to think that nobody’s out there.” --- also true.
All quotes that felt less than revolutionary.
It wasn’t until the latter half of the book that I started liking it because it became less about understanding God or faith. It was imbued with little lessons that are worth learning. It also helped me reflect on situations where I find myself questioning God’s existence. Don’t get me wrong…it didn’t change my mind, but it made me more considerate of how others might experience it. Very much like the quote below:
“You should be convinced of the authenticity of what you have, but you must also be humble enough to say that we don’t know everything. And since we don’t know everything, we must accept that another person may believe something else.”
I could keep posting quotes that I found either frustrating or enlightening but I think I’ve written enough. The book was well written, but nowhere as good as Tuesdays With Morrie. I think it will better serve those who are so devoted that they can’t see past their own religion. Those who believe anyone who doesn’t share their system of believes is lesser than them.
“Christianity believes Satan tempts us with evil. Hindus see evil as a challenge to life’s balance. Judaism refers to a man’s righteous inclination versus his evil inclination as two warring spirits; the evil spirit can, at first, be as flimsy as a cobweb, but if allowed to grow, it becomes thick as a cart rope.”
We define what is evil through culture. A wrongdoing here might be praised elsewhere.
What people fail to understand is that changing even one thing about one particular religion leads to a brand new one. You can’t be Catholic without accepting that its foundation is one of blood and suffering. You can’t look back and say, “Oh, well, those weren’t good people”. Would you have done the same if you were in a position of power and the king told you to convert the slaves or you’d be beheaded? Would you have justified the conversion as a means of bringing others closer to YOUR deity? Or would you have let them be and surrendered yourself to the grace of God (aka the king’s free will).
This is what I truly believe is true:
“Because when the world quiets to the sound of your own breathing, we all want the same things: comfort, love, and a peaceful heart.”
We should all aim for the above and I think it’s a truth we find universal. This book did nothing for me and I fear it even justifies the wrong things at times.
I don’t know y’all.
Respectfully…no.
karinlib's review against another edition
4.0
Mitch Albom's Rabbi asked him to deliver a eulogy for him when died. Mitch, taken aback by the request, said yes, but that he wanted to get to know his Rabbi better, so he began visiting him an hour or two here and there, thinking it would only take a couple of weeks, the weeks turned into years. Have a Little Faith is the result of that eight year visiting relationship. Mitch also told the story of Henry Covington, a Pastor in Detroit, that served the homeless, and taught them the love of Christ, through his own experiences.