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megankateabraham's review
4.0
Desmond Tutu is a tough guy. Fearless and dedicated to his people, Tutu was a remarkable agent of change during South Africa's apartheid era. In this collection, he aired out his disappointments and warnings against repeating history as the government (as of 2009) began slipping back into familiar waters. He admits to being a repetitive man, and his essays do tend to repeat his frustrations and guidance, but they are no less valuable. His essays will give you a great deal of perspective on what to fight for and against, whether you are a Christian or an atheist.
mdewit's review against another edition
3.0
Archbishop Tutu's theological starting point is that all human beings are created in the image of God leading to his continued emphasis on tolerance, respect and justice. In this very readable book a collection of Tutu's speeches, lectures and sermons drives the consistency of his message home, no matter whom the audience is.
andresreading's review
5.0
This is one of those books that will be read by someone in the future who will then think "what took us so long to build a peaceful world?"
emiged's review
4.0
A powerful collection of Desmond Tutu's writings and speeches spanning several decades. He is an unapologetic Christian, but incredibly gifted at interfaith dialogue and outreach. There is some repetition; a man this prolific is bound to plagiarize himself at least somewhat, especially in off-the-cuff, extemporaneous remarks to groups. And now I'm going to let him speak for himself (mostly so I have a record of these great quotes before I have to return the book to the library):
* Life...has too many ambivalences and ambiguities to allow always for a straightforward and simplistic answer." (4)
* "Our perspective differs with our context, the things that have helped to form us; and religion is one of the most potent of these formative influences." (5)
* "We must be ready to learn from one another, not claiming that we alone possess all truth and that somehow we have a corner on God." (6)
* "We have enough that conspires to separate us; let us celebrate that which unites us, that which we share in common." (7)
* "God does not need us to protect him. Many of us perhaps need to have our notion of God deepened and expanded." (8)
* "God is clearly not a Christian. His concern is for all his children. There is a Jewish story which says that soon after the episode of the drowning of the Egyptians in the Red Sea, while the Israelites were celebrating, God accosted them and demanded, 'How can you rejoice when my children have drowned?'" (12)
* "It is no dishonor to God for us to claim that all truth, all sense of beauty, all awareness of and desire after goodness has one source, and that source is God, who is not confined to one place, time, and people." (15)
* "We must not make the mistake of judging other faiths by their least attractive features or adherents." (16)
* "People of religion have no choice in the matter. Where there is injustice and oppression, where people are treated as if they were less than who they are--those created in the image of God--you have no choice but to oppose, and oppose vehemently and oppose with all the force that you have in your being, that injustice and oppression." (19)
* "Ubuntu is the essence of being human. It speaks of how my humanity is caught up and bound up inextricably with yours. It says, not as Descartes did, 'I think, therefore I am' but rather, 'I am because I belong.' I need other human beings in order to be human. The completely self-sufficient human being is subhuman. I can be me only if you are fully you. I am because we are, for we are made for togetherness, for family." (22)
* "There is an obsession [in the West] with achievement, and it seems it does not much matter in what you succeed as long as you do succeed. The worst thing that can happen, it appears, is to fail. And the culture easily dismisses people as expendable, discardable, when, because they are poor or unemployed, they are judged to have failed." (23)
* "Even the worst of us still remains a child of God with the potential to become better, someone to be salvaged, to be rehabilitated, not to be ostracized but ultimately to be reintegrated into the community." (42)
* "We shall be surprised at those we meet in heaven whom we least expected to be there, and perhaps also by those we do not find there whom we had expected to be there." (44)
* "We inhabit a universe that is characterized by diversity...We are constantly being made aware of the glorious diversity that is written into the structure of the universe we inhabit, and we are helped to see that if it were otherwise, things would go awry. How could you have a soccer team if all were goalkeepers? How would it be an orchestra if all were French horns?" (50)
* "Our survival as a species will depend not on unbridled power lacking moral direction, or on eliminating those who are different and seeking only those who think and speak and behave and look like ourselves. That way is stagnation and ultimately death and disintegration." (51)
* "Our God came in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to set us free from all that makes us less than what God wants us to be." (64)
* "We learn from the Bible that God is a God who takes sides. He is not neutral. God is a God who is always on the side of the poor, the oppressed, the little ones who are despised; and it is for that reason that we, his church, have got to be in solidarity with the poor, the homeless, the hungry, and the oppressed." (65)
* "God has a special caring for those whom the world thinks are not important." (93)
* "As strongly as I identify with the striving of peoples for freedom, I deplore just as strongly the use of violence, whether it is the violence of those seeking to change the status quo or those seeking to uphold it. It is necessary, though, to go beyond vigorous denunciation of violence. We must go further by insisting on the removal of the conditions which are conducive to violence." (93)
* "If our madness [i.e., apartheid in South Africa], if our intractable problem, could have ended as it did, then we believe it must be possible everywhere else in the world." (107)
* "God speaks to us as we are, and our theology is filtered through who we are." (118)
* "Much harm has happened to the Christian enterprise in attempting to make absolute the relative." (121)
* "Biblical unity comes not out of a uniformity of style or understanding, but from being centered on God's action in human history, on the record of this activity and of man's understanding of, distortion of, and response to this activity." (124)
* "To coerce, to intimidate, is to admit that your policy can't persuade on its own merits." (171)
* "It is a great deal easier to be against than to be for." (179)
* "Truth cannot suffer from being challenged and examined...We should lower the temperature in our public discourse and hopefully thus increase the light. We should not impugn the motives of others but accept the bona fides of all. If we believe in something, then surely we will be ready to defend it rationally, hoping to persuade those opposed to change their point of view. We should not too quickly want to pull rank and to demand an uncritical, sycophantic, obsequious conformity." (192)
For more book reviews, come visit my blog, Build Enough Bookshelves.
* Life...has too many ambivalences and ambiguities to allow always for a straightforward and simplistic answer." (4)
* "Our perspective differs with our context, the things that have helped to form us; and religion is one of the most potent of these formative influences." (5)
* "We must be ready to learn from one another, not claiming that we alone possess all truth and that somehow we have a corner on God." (6)
* "We have enough that conspires to separate us; let us celebrate that which unites us, that which we share in common." (7)
* "God does not need us to protect him. Many of us perhaps need to have our notion of God deepened and expanded." (8)
* "God is clearly not a Christian. His concern is for all his children. There is a Jewish story which says that soon after the episode of the drowning of the Egyptians in the Red Sea, while the Israelites were celebrating, God accosted them and demanded, 'How can you rejoice when my children have drowned?'" (12)
* "It is no dishonor to God for us to claim that all truth, all sense of beauty, all awareness of and desire after goodness has one source, and that source is God, who is not confined to one place, time, and people." (15)
* "We must not make the mistake of judging other faiths by their least attractive features or adherents." (16)
* "People of religion have no choice in the matter. Where there is injustice and oppression, where people are treated as if they were less than who they are--those created in the image of God--you have no choice but to oppose, and oppose vehemently and oppose with all the force that you have in your being, that injustice and oppression." (19)
* "Ubuntu is the essence of being human. It speaks of how my humanity is caught up and bound up inextricably with yours. It says, not as Descartes did, 'I think, therefore I am' but rather, 'I am because I belong.' I need other human beings in order to be human. The completely self-sufficient human being is subhuman. I can be me only if you are fully you. I am because we are, for we are made for togetherness, for family." (22)
* "There is an obsession [in the West] with achievement, and it seems it does not much matter in what you succeed as long as you do succeed. The worst thing that can happen, it appears, is to fail. And the culture easily dismisses people as expendable, discardable, when, because they are poor or unemployed, they are judged to have failed." (23)
* "Even the worst of us still remains a child of God with the potential to become better, someone to be salvaged, to be rehabilitated, not to be ostracized but ultimately to be reintegrated into the community." (42)
* "We shall be surprised at those we meet in heaven whom we least expected to be there, and perhaps also by those we do not find there whom we had expected to be there." (44)
* "We inhabit a universe that is characterized by diversity...We are constantly being made aware of the glorious diversity that is written into the structure of the universe we inhabit, and we are helped to see that if it were otherwise, things would go awry. How could you have a soccer team if all were goalkeepers? How would it be an orchestra if all were French horns?" (50)
* "Our survival as a species will depend not on unbridled power lacking moral direction, or on eliminating those who are different and seeking only those who think and speak and behave and look like ourselves. That way is stagnation and ultimately death and disintegration." (51)
* "Our God came in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to set us free from all that makes us less than what God wants us to be." (64)
* "We learn from the Bible that God is a God who takes sides. He is not neutral. God is a God who is always on the side of the poor, the oppressed, the little ones who are despised; and it is for that reason that we, his church, have got to be in solidarity with the poor, the homeless, the hungry, and the oppressed." (65)
* "God has a special caring for those whom the world thinks are not important." (93)
* "As strongly as I identify with the striving of peoples for freedom, I deplore just as strongly the use of violence, whether it is the violence of those seeking to change the status quo or those seeking to uphold it. It is necessary, though, to go beyond vigorous denunciation of violence. We must go further by insisting on the removal of the conditions which are conducive to violence." (93)
* "If our madness [i.e., apartheid in South Africa], if our intractable problem, could have ended as it did, then we believe it must be possible everywhere else in the world." (107)
* "God speaks to us as we are, and our theology is filtered through who we are." (118)
* "Much harm has happened to the Christian enterprise in attempting to make absolute the relative." (121)
* "Biblical unity comes not out of a uniformity of style or understanding, but from being centered on God's action in human history, on the record of this activity and of man's understanding of, distortion of, and response to this activity." (124)
* "To coerce, to intimidate, is to admit that your policy can't persuade on its own merits." (171)
* "It is a great deal easier to be against than to be for." (179)
* "Truth cannot suffer from being challenged and examined...We should lower the temperature in our public discourse and hopefully thus increase the light. We should not impugn the motives of others but accept the bona fides of all. If we believe in something, then surely we will be ready to defend it rationally, hoping to persuade those opposed to change their point of view. We should not too quickly want to pull rank and to demand an uncritical, sycophantic, obsequious conformity." (192)
For more book reviews, come visit my blog, Build Enough Bookshelves.
poirotketchup's review
5.0
The world has plenty of freedom fighters, but how do these people act once they're in power? Archbishop Tutu sets an example of incredible forgiveness towards the terrorists and tyrants he opposed, as well as the integrity to criticize and preach to his allies and compatriots.
This book contains an edited selection of writings from several decades of Tutu's career, letting you trace the themes of reconciliation, non-violence and concern for the poor through the many contexts Tutu wrote and spoke in. A very powerful book - and a challenge that says "yes, is *is* possible to act this way."
This book contains an edited selection of writings from several decades of Tutu's career, letting you trace the themes of reconciliation, non-violence and concern for the poor through the many contexts Tutu wrote and spoke in. A very powerful book - and a challenge that says "yes, is *is* possible to act this way."
kikiandarrowsfishshelf's review
5.0
Honesty, I can think of several people in the current political climate who should read this book.
quodfelix's review against another edition
3.0
I was a little disappointed with this, hoping that it would be more specifically about the provocative issue of interfaith dialog. But that was my fault due to a misreading of the title. So rather than being inspired or provoked, my curiosity was satiated regarding Bishop Tutu's role during the South African revolution. I taught about apartheid early in my teaching career and to witness the transformation as it occurred was marvelous. Bishop Tutu is noteworthy for holding both sides up for criticism, maintaining standards of behavior for all those in power. He reminds all of our accountability to God for our treatment of the poor and outsider.
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