Roland Ashby, A Faith to Live By: Conversations about faith with twenty-five of the world ¢â‚¬â„¢s leading spiritual teachers (Anglican Media/Mosaic Press 2012).

This book, for me, was a  ¢â‚¬Ëœpage-turner ¢â‚¬â„¢  ¢â‚¬“ a marvellous collection of concentrated wisdom extracted by an interviewer who is both editor of an award-winning Anglican (Diocese of Melbourne) newspaper, but who ¢â‚¬â„¢s also done post-graduate study in contemplative spirituality. (I like that combination of attributes/vocations). The interviewees are mostly academics, but the young radical evangelical Shane Claiborne and his older mentor Jim Wallis are there too. Three are women (Joan Chittister, the outspoken Benedictine nun, Helen Prejean, author of the powerful book Dead Man Walking, which was made into a movie with the same title, and Esther de Waal, renowned UK author of books on spirituality). The influential and prolific prophets/teachers Richard Rohr and Brian McLaren are included. And more than average space is given to three people with some quite disparate, though strangely complementary views on spirituality  ¢â‚¬“ Archbishop Rowan Williams, cartoonist Michael Leunig and academic David Tacey, who says he learned a lot of his insights from his students.

The best gift I can offer in this brief review is to whet your appetite with some of the book ¢â‚¬â„¢s best or most challenging quotes:

• Rowan Williams:  ¢â‚¬Ëœ[Each morning] I take about half an hour to say the Jesus Prayer. ¢â‚¬â„¢ The two best bits of advice about prayer, from Dom John Chapman:  ¢â‚¬ËœPray as you can, not as you can ¢â‚¬â„¢t ¢â‚¬â„¢ and  ¢â‚¬Ëœthe less you pray the worse it gets ¢â‚¬â„¢.
• Contra Stephen Hawking ¢â‚¬â„¢s opinion that  ¢â‚¬ËœHeaven is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark ¢â‚¬â„¢ mathematics Professor John Lennox responds:  ¢â‚¬ËœAtheism is a fairy story for people afraid of the light ¢â‚¬â„¢.
• Fr Laurence Freeman, author of books about Christian Meditation, recommends that we meditate for half an hour in the morning, and again at night. The best mantra?  ¢â‚¬ËœMaranatha ¢â‚¬â„¢. (Another interviewee in this volume, I ¢â‚¬â„¢ve forgotten who, recommends  ¢â‚¬ËœChrist in me, the hope of glory ¢â‚¬â„¢). And this:  ¢â‚¬ËœThere is nothing about being guilty I don ¢â‚¬â„¢t think in the teaching of Jesus ¢â‚¬â„¢.
• Esther de Waal quotes Philip Toynbee:  ¢â‚¬ËœPeople often think the basic command of religion is  ¢â‚¬Å“do this, do that ¢â‚¬ . It isn ¢â‚¬â„¢t, it ¢â‚¬â„¢s look and wonder. ¢â‚¬â„¢ And this well-worn maxim:  ¢â‚¬ËœGod is only to be found in the reality of the present moment ¢â‚¬â„¢.
•   In the  ¢â‚¬Ëœdid you know? ¢â‚¬â„¢ category:  ¢â‚¬ËœFrancis of Assisi is the most written about person in history. There are more books about him than Jesus ¢â‚¬â„¢ (Richard Rohr).
• Theoretical physicist Sir John Polkinghorne:  ¢â‚¬ËœThe fact that science can only tell you that music is vibrations in the air doesn ¢â‚¬â„¢t mean that music is only vibrations in the air ¢â‚¬â„¢.
•   Author Morris West on hell:  ¢â‚¬ËœI cannot imagine inflicting infinite pain on even the most horrendous of human beings ¢â‚¬â„¢.
• Philosopher-theologian Dr Keith Ward likes Gregory of Nyssa:  ¢â‚¬ËœSouls go on adventuring infinitely into God. ¢â‚¬â„¢
• Sr Joan Chittister reminds us that  ¢â‚¬ËœEven in the midst of [awful] pain, suffering and grief, it is possible to say  ¢â‚¬Å“Alleluia ¢â‚¬ . ¢â‚¬â„¢
• Activist Jim Wallis likes Bishop Desmond Tutu:  ¢â‚¬ËœAs Christians we are prisoners of hope ¢â‚¬â„¢. His friend Brian McLaren calls us to a stance of humility when conservatives and liberals wrestle with issues like homosexuality:  ¢â‚¬ËœConservatives are trying to be faithful to God… and the tradition, [but must also] acknowledge the compassionate and Christ-like attitudes of liberals towards gay people. ¢â‚¬â„¢

There ¢â‚¬â„¢s much more: I underlined wise bits and pieces on every page.   Ask someone you love to buy it for your next birthday or something.

Rowland Croucher   (jmm.aaa.net.au)

June 2012