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A review by nrt43
An Altar in the World: A Geography of Faith by Barbara Brown Taylor
4.0
Barbara Brown Taylor is wonderful. Insightful. Down-to-earth. I plan on reading more of her books.
Some favorite quotes:
In quoting Hauerwas, she says, "Christianity is not a set of beliefs or doctrines one believes in order to be a Christian," he says, "but rather Christianity is to have one's body shaped, one's habits determined in such a way that the worship of God is unavoidable."
"When I hear people talk about what is wrong with organized religion or why their mainline churches are failing, I hear about bad music, inept clergy, mean congregations, and preoccupation with institutional maintenance. I almost never hear about the intellectualization of faith, which strikes me as a far greater danger than anything else on that list."
"When someone asks us where we want to be in our lives, the last thing that occurs to us is to look down at our feet and say 'here I guess since this is where I am.'"
"While it is sometimes possible to turn your love into your work, especially if you can figure out how to live on less, that is not always the best idea. When the music you love to play becomes the music you have to play to pay the rent the rent, your heart can suffer from alienation of affection."
"'The glory of God is a human being fully alive' wrote Irenaeus of Lyon, some 2000 years ago."
"I no longer call such tasks 'house work.' I call them the 'domestic arts:' paying attention to all the ways they return me to my senses."
"Most people I know want to talk about why it is impossible for them to practice Sabbath, which is an interesting spiritual exercise in itself.... Make two lists on one piece of paper. On one side of the paper, list all of the things you know give you life that you never take time to do. Then on the other side, make a list of all the reasons why you think it is impossible for you to do those things. That's all there is to it. Just make the two lists and keep the piece of paper where you can see it. Also promise not to shush your heart when it howls for the list it wants."
"It is hard to understand why so many people put 'thou shalt not do any work' in a different category from 'thou shalt not kill' or 'thou shalt have no other gods before me' especially since those teachings are all on the same list."
"If all life is holy, then anything that sustains life has holy dimensions too. The difference between washing windows and resting in God can be a simple decision. Choose the work and it becomes your spiritual practice."
In discussing prayer, she writes:
"God is not obliged to show up but if God does, I will be ready. At the same time I am aware that prayer is more than something I do. The longer I practice prayer the more I think it is something that is always happening, like a radio wave that carries music through the air whether I tune into it or not."
Some favorite quotes:
In quoting Hauerwas, she says, "Christianity is not a set of beliefs or doctrines one believes in order to be a Christian," he says, "but rather Christianity is to have one's body shaped, one's habits determined in such a way that the worship of God is unavoidable."
"When I hear people talk about what is wrong with organized religion or why their mainline churches are failing, I hear about bad music, inept clergy, mean congregations, and preoccupation with institutional maintenance. I almost never hear about the intellectualization of faith, which strikes me as a far greater danger than anything else on that list."
"When someone asks us where we want to be in our lives, the last thing that occurs to us is to look down at our feet and say 'here I guess since this is where I am.'"
"While it is sometimes possible to turn your love into your work, especially if you can figure out how to live on less, that is not always the best idea. When the music you love to play becomes the music you have to play to pay the rent the rent, your heart can suffer from alienation of affection."
"'The glory of God is a human being fully alive' wrote Irenaeus of Lyon, some 2000 years ago."
"I no longer call such tasks 'house work.' I call them the 'domestic arts:' paying attention to all the ways they return me to my senses."
"Most people I know want to talk about why it is impossible for them to practice Sabbath, which is an interesting spiritual exercise in itself.... Make two lists on one piece of paper. On one side of the paper, list all of the things you know give you life that you never take time to do. Then on the other side, make a list of all the reasons why you think it is impossible for you to do those things. That's all there is to it. Just make the two lists and keep the piece of paper where you can see it. Also promise not to shush your heart when it howls for the list it wants."
"It is hard to understand why so many people put 'thou shalt not do any work' in a different category from 'thou shalt not kill' or 'thou shalt have no other gods before me' especially since those teachings are all on the same list."
"If all life is holy, then anything that sustains life has holy dimensions too. The difference between washing windows and resting in God can be a simple decision. Choose the work and it becomes your spiritual practice."
In discussing prayer, she writes:
"God is not obliged to show up but if God does, I will be ready. At the same time I am aware that prayer is more than something I do. The longer I practice prayer the more I think it is something that is always happening, like a radio wave that carries music through the air whether I tune into it or not."