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vanitar's review
5.0
I loved this book and although I originally checked it out from the library, I ended up buying it because I know it is one I will return to time and time again. Barbara Brown Taylor has a way of articulating the spiritual life in such a way that it is embodied and deeply experienced. It is a reminder that God is omnipresent if only I were to pay more attention and pause to notice and respond. I love how it permeates into all spheres of life. I especially appreciated the chapter on being fully present to God in each moment and how prayer is often us being fully alive and aware of what and who is in front of us. Lots to think and meditate on and I will definitely be picking this book up again.
akingston5's review
“People encounter God under shady oak trees, on riverbanks, at the tops of mountains, and in long stretches of barren wilderness. God shows up in whirlwinds, starry skies, burning bushes, and perfect strangers. When people want to know more about God, the son of God tells them to pay attention to the lilies of the field and the birds of the air, to women kneading bread and workers lining up for their pay. Whoever wrote this stuff believed that people could learn as much about the ways of God from paying attention to the world as they could from paying attention to scripture.”
•••
The word “attention” keeps quietly appearing this year to me in a myriad of ways. The word comes from Latin meaning “to stretch forth” and since January, I have thought a lot about this: attending to what's around me, stretching forth to the world. Of course anything with Barbara Brown Taylor is going to be solid, and of course this theme of attention and attending appears throughout this memoir.
•••
The word “attention” keeps quietly appearing this year to me in a myriad of ways. The word comes from Latin meaning “to stretch forth” and since January, I have thought a lot about this: attending to what's around me, stretching forth to the world. Of course anything with Barbara Brown Taylor is going to be solid, and of course this theme of attention and attending appears throughout this memoir.
misstessamaye's review against another edition
5.0
A comforting and beautifully written reflection on spiritual life for those who maybe haven't connected to the page in a while, but still want to connect to God. This plants the seed of the idea that maybe God still wants to connect to you, too, in whatever avenues live in front you.
lneff514's review
4.0
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The author writes from a place of humility and wondering - and insightful wisdom. Highly recommended.
sambooklove's review
5.0
One of those books that I must possess my own copy...so much wisdom and goodness. This is a life-giving book.
jvos's review
5.0
I went into reading this book as an assignment and treated it as such...I quickly realized that the quote on the cover of my copy says it perfectly: Not a page-turner, it is a page-lingerer. I wore out a highlighter marking passages I want to read again." -The Daily Morning News This will be a book that I think about for a long time and likely pick back up to re-read certain chapters as they apply to the life season I am in.
moonpiegeorge's review against another edition
4.0
I did not always agree with this author, but I did enjoy, and learn from this book.
davehershey's review
4.0
There are a few authors who, when I read them, I feel invigorated about life. Such authors make me want to be a Christian on days I am feeling cynical. They are good for my soul. I am thinking of people like Frederick Buechner, Henri Nouwen, Eugene Peterson and N.T. Wright. Now I can add another to that list, probably someone who I should have read long ago: Barbara Brown Taylor.
I bought her book, An Altar in the World, months ago when it was discounted on Amazon. There it sat in my Kindle. I would often notice it in there as I opened other books. Now, I wonder why I did not get to it sooner.
The book is about meeting God in bodily practices in the real world. So often spirituality is seen as something otherworldly and thus for people with their heads in the clouds. By talking about things as physical as walking around, getting lost and going to work, Taylor locates spirituality on a level all people can attain.
Taylor writes for those who consider themselves “spiritual but not religious.” She writes from a specific place: a former pastor, current religion professor and disciple of Jesus. But this is no systematic theology, nor is it a simple five step program to a more spiritual life. It is a book that is good for your soul. It is a book that will cause you to pause throughout your day and notice the goodness and beauty, the spiritual, right in the midst of the world. In doing so, perhaps you will notice God too.
This book is written in such a way that each chapter stands alone. Thus, for people who do not read much, or do not read books like this much, it could be encountered a chapter here and a chapter there. For those who read many books, often quickly and straight through before moving on to the next one, I’d encourage this book be read slowly. Even if you want read more, just read one chapter a day and let it stew in your mind. All in all, I’d say this could be a beneficial and enjoyable read for anyone interested in the things of God and the supernatural.
I bought her book, An Altar in the World, months ago when it was discounted on Amazon. There it sat in my Kindle. I would often notice it in there as I opened other books. Now, I wonder why I did not get to it sooner.
The book is about meeting God in bodily practices in the real world. So often spirituality is seen as something otherworldly and thus for people with their heads in the clouds. By talking about things as physical as walking around, getting lost and going to work, Taylor locates spirituality on a level all people can attain.
Taylor writes for those who consider themselves “spiritual but not religious.” She writes from a specific place: a former pastor, current religion professor and disciple of Jesus. But this is no systematic theology, nor is it a simple five step program to a more spiritual life. It is a book that is good for your soul. It is a book that will cause you to pause throughout your day and notice the goodness and beauty, the spiritual, right in the midst of the world. In doing so, perhaps you will notice God too.
This book is written in such a way that each chapter stands alone. Thus, for people who do not read much, or do not read books like this much, it could be encountered a chapter here and a chapter there. For those who read many books, often quickly and straight through before moving on to the next one, I’d encourage this book be read slowly. Even if you want read more, just read one chapter a day and let it stew in your mind. All in all, I’d say this could be a beneficial and enjoyable read for anyone interested in the things of God and the supernatural.
yetilibrary's review
2.0
I read this for a church book club, and while the book had some solid, even excellent, chapters, in other ways I found it flawed. An Altar in the World is best suited for people who identify as "spiritual, but not religious," and for those who are looking to expand their spirituality outside of their standard worship experience. Taylor tends to dismiss out of hand what religion has to offer outside of a standard (often boring) weekly worship experience, so I would urge those who are working within a faith tradition to explore what their religion has to offer them in terms of religious experiences in addition to reading this book.
In addition to giving religion rather short shrift, Taylor is also writing from a place of unacknowledged privilege. This book is really for people who are somewhat settled in their lives and who live relatively comfortably, and who have lived relatively comfortably in the past. (I don't think someone who has cleaned toilets to make a living would find her anecdote of how She Cleaned Yucky Toilets In A Homeless Shelter This One Time to be as moving as she'd hoped; for that matter, I don't think someone who is or has been homeless would find it so charming, either.) Taylor does avoid romanticizing the poor, but that may be because she's not fully aware (in her writing) of poverty: in this book, manual labor is a thought-provoking change of pace from a yuppie lifestyle, and making do with less is a considered life choice.
Even with these shortcomings, though, An Altar in the World does have some good insights. The chapter on prayer is excellent--one of the best I've read, particularly in terms of its accessibility. The book's focus on finding a connection with God and "the Holy" in the natural world and in our daily lives is also eminently worthy of consideration, and helpful to many people who seek God but have trouble connecting. Overall, the book does have some serious flaws, but it is timely and not without its merits.
In addition to giving religion rather short shrift, Taylor is also writing from a place of unacknowledged privilege. This book is really for people who are somewhat settled in their lives and who live relatively comfortably, and who have lived relatively comfortably in the past. (I don't think someone who has cleaned toilets to make a living would find her anecdote of how She Cleaned Yucky Toilets In A Homeless Shelter This One Time to be as moving as she'd hoped; for that matter, I don't think someone who is or has been homeless would find it so charming, either.) Taylor does avoid romanticizing the poor, but that may be because she's not fully aware (in her writing) of poverty: in this book, manual labor is a thought-provoking change of pace from a yuppie lifestyle, and making do with less is a considered life choice.
Even with these shortcomings, though, An Altar in the World does have some good insights. The chapter on prayer is excellent--one of the best I've read, particularly in terms of its accessibility. The book's focus on finding a connection with God and "the Holy" in the natural world and in our daily lives is also eminently worthy of consideration, and helpful to many people who seek God but have trouble connecting. Overall, the book does have some serious flaws, but it is timely and not without its merits.