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Altar in the World, An: A Geography of Faith |  | Author: Barbara Brown Taylor
Publisher: HarperOne
Category: Book
List Price: $24.99
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Rating:  28 reviews
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Pages: 240
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.6 x 1
ISBN: 0061370460
Dewey Decimal Number: 283.092
EAN: 9780061370465
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| • | ISBN13: 9780061370465 | | • | Condition: NEW | | • | Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark. |
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Product Description
In her critically acclaimed Leaving Church ("a beautiful, absorbing memoir."—Dallas Morning News), Barbara Brown Taylor wrote about leaving full-time ministry to become a professor, a decision that stretched the boundaries of her faith. Now, in her stunning follow-up, An Altar in the World, she shares how she learned to encounter God beyond the walls of any church. From simple practices such as walking, working, and getting lost to deep meditations on topics like prayer and pronouncing blessings, Taylor reveals concrete ways to discover the sacred in the small things we do and see. Something as ordinary as hanging clothes on a clothesline becomes an act of devotion if we pay attention to what we are doing and take time to attend to the sights, smells, and sounds around us. Making eye contact with the cashier at the grocery store becomes a moment of true human connection. Allowing yourself to get lost leads to new discoveries. Under Taylor's expert guidance, we come to question conventional distinctions between the sacred and the secular, learning that no physical act is too earthbound or too humble to become a path to the divine. As we incorporate these practices into our daily lives, we begin to discover altars everywhere we go, in nearly everything we do.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 28
 Getting To "No": The Joy Of Reading Barbara Brown Taylor February 14, 2009
H. F. Corbin (ATLANTA, GA USA)
98 out of 98 found this review helpful
Barbara Brown Taylor, Episcopal priest, professor of religion, and author of LEAVING CHURCH, a book that resonated with many of us, in her latest work, AN ALTAR IN THE WORLD, does what she does so well: she gives advice and counsel to those both inside and outside the church on how to become more human and have a richer spiritual life. She reminds us that we need not travel to the shrines of seers in foreign lands but rather that we cannot see the red X that will free us because we are standing on it. In 12 chapters the author covers vision, reference, the Sabbath, physical labor, vocation, prayer-- a different topic for each chapter. One of the things so endearing about Taylor's writing is that she is so brutally honest about herself, revealing details about her life that many people would never talk about: that she shakes hands like a man, that she may like Bombay Sapphire gin martinis too much, that she is a "rotten" godmother, for instance. The most surprising thing I learned about her is that Taylor considers herself an introvert. I would never have suspected that. In addition to her forthrightness, Taylor, an English major somewhere in her studies, always writes eloquently so it is easy to wallow in her words. She is just as much at home quoting Wendell Berry or Rumi as the Old Testament character Job. There are so many beautiful passages here chockfull of truths: her account of when she was seven, watching falling stars with her father from whom she learned reverence as well as her description of the first church she loved, in the Ohio countryside, where the pastor "was the first adult who looked me in the eyes and listened to what I said. He was the first to tuck God's pillow under my head." (You can tip your hat to that image as it is so beautiful!) Many of us were fortunate to have such a person in our lives as well. And we could pick out of a church lineup-- or maybe not-- the lone woman Taylor encountered polishing silver in the sacristy at a church in Alabama merely by Taylor's description of her as a "pulled-together woman."
Although the author gives a whole litany of the things that Episcopalians bless ("The Episcopalins are fools for blessing things"), she left off pets and fleets of ships. (I'm not sure, however, that I'm ready to bless my bathroom or read a poem aloud to a tree yet.) But Taylor is not about words but practices, encouraging her readers to get off the porch-- except on Sabbath-- and do something. She is dead on in her comments that we should at least make eye contact with the grocery store cashier (we don't have to invite her to dinner) and learn to say "no," in my favorite chapter: "The Practice of Saying No: Sabbath." Her admonishment that we do absolutely nothing on the Sabbath, not even driving our cars or turning on our computers, is well worth trying to do. We are so busy that we miss what is really important. Finally, Taylor via Brother David Steindl-Rast, an Austrian Benedictine, "recognizes the sacramental value of a homegrown tomato sandwich." For that statement alone, they both can be my spiritual advisors.
Whether you worship within a community or, in the words of Emily Dickinson, "keep the Sabbath staying at home"-- or keep the Sabbath not at all-- you will find much truth here, that if followed, should make you come closer to being a human being, or as Taylor says, "should "give you more meaning, more feeling, more connection, more life."
AN ALTAR IN THE WORLD cries out to be mulled over again and again. Of course reading this writer is always a joy.
Spiritual Practices for Everyone February 24, 2009
Diana Butler Bass, Ph.D. (Alexandria, VA)
41 out of 41 found this review helpful
In recent years, Christians have become more aware that theirs is a faith based in practices--the things we do in the world for the sake of God's beauty, justice and love. In this book, Barbara Brown Taylor opens the language of practice to extend far beyond the walls of the church and directs us to the practices that frame everyday human experience. She finds the divine in all things and invites her readers to intentionally participate in the interplay of the sacred in daily life. In many ways, it is a contemporary version of Brother Lawrence's classic book, "Practicing the Presence of God." As such, Barbara Brown Taylor models how theological reflection is not an arcane or ivory tower exercise. Rather, thinking theologically about our bodies, the ground on which we walk, the laundry that we do, is a holy calling for all people. This is a lovely book, one well-suited for personal growth and for reading groups.
A Spiritual Classic to Be Read Again and Again March 10, 2009
O. Brown (Twopeas, WA)
22 out of 22 found this review helpful
******
This is probably the most beautiful book about spirituality I have ever read. The experience of moving through the gorgeous, delicious writing was pure joy. I cried at the end. I was profoundly moved.
The book discusses and the spiritual practices of living, of being alive, in a way that will speak to people of any and every faith, and most especially to people who are more spiritual than religious. Each chapter is a separate essay that can stand alone---written on such things as the Practice of Wearing Skin, the Practice of Getting Lost, the Practice of Pronouncing Blessings, and so much more.
This book will woo you away from being dry and dead and and stuck and bored and open you to being more alive. I seldom say this with such certainty, but I know that it will do the same for you.
Highest recommendation.
******
The Air in Spirituality July 9, 2009
Matthew Morine (Castle Rock, CO)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Barbara Brown Taylor is a magnificent writer. Her previous book was one of the best ever. It was a deep look into living the called life of a minister. It was called "Leaving Church." Every minister would relate to her. This book is not as good as "Leaving Church" but it is a great one. It deals with spiritual disciplines, but not the major ones that everyone talks about. It deals with the art of slowing down, the goal of blessing others, of taking walks and doing dishes. It is a book of reflective thought on the Christian life. The book deals with the common to make it an uncommon experience of walking with God. Not more time away from life, but more time placing God in life. You routine will be sanctified through this book. Her words have air to them and her thoughts can melt away years of forced spirituality. I love sitting in a corner and reading from this woman.
Practicing Faith June 3, 2009
L. Price (Tampa, FL USA)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
For anyone reflecting on what it means to practice Christianity in modern times, Altar in the World, An: A Geography of Faith is a must-read. In language that is nearly poetic, Barbara Brown Taylor speaks from the heart on her personal experiences and reflections as a person of faith. In reading the book cover-to-cover (twice), I was mesmerized, transformed.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 28
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