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neilrcoulter's review
5.0
How to summarize a book that I've spent nearly two years with, looking at one reading each week? I can't imagine how much this collection of readings has shaped my life in the months that I've been reading through it. Especially as I've been through the ups and downs of administrative work, these readings have encouraged me and kept my thoughts and attitudes properly aligned. I've previously enjoyed other books by [a:Richard J. Foster|36065|Richard J. Foster|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1271787665p2/36065.jpg] ([b:Celebration Of Discipline|64025|Celebration Of Discipline (Hodder Christian Paperbacks)|Richard J. Foster|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-6121bf4c1f669098041843ec9650ca19.png|169772], [b:Freedom of Simplicity|210235|Freedom of Simplicity Finding Harmony in a Complex World|Richard J. Foster|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388361578s/210235.jpg|1869385]), and I continue to be grateful for his example in bringing a fuller range of Christian writings to the attention of the Church.
Reading through a selection like this, of writings from the years 297 to 1947, I am amazed at the variety of perspectives contained within orthodox Christianity. Rather than being overwhelming or confusing, I find it an encouragement--to know that there is room within this faith for all of the experiences and stages of life, all the cultural perspectives, all the responses to God's invitation to know him better. A small number of writings didn't resonate with me at all (including [a:Julian of Norwich|156980|Julian of Norwich|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1244247893p2/156980.jpg], [a:Catherine of Genoa|2981595|Catherine of Genoa|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1393608126p2/2981595.jpg], and [a:Madame Guyon|5135691|Madame Guyon|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-d9f6a4a5badfda0f69e70cc94d962125.png]), but I assume that on a subsequent read-through at a different time of life, they likely will. Others were so immediately striking and powerful for me that I ordered the full book as soon as I'd read the excerpt in [b:Devotional Classics|210237|Devotional Classics Selected Readings for Individuals and Groups|Richard J. Foster|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348695341s/210237.jpg|1523548]. These included [a:Frank Laubach|4560749|Frank Laubach|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-d9f6a4a5badfda0f69e70cc94d962125.png], [a:John Baillie|146727|John Baillie|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-d9f6a4a5badfda0f69e70cc94d962125.png], [a:Jeremy Taylor|31259|Jeremy Taylor|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-d9f6a4a5badfda0f69e70cc94d962125.png], and [a:Søren Kierkegaard|6172|Søren Kierkegaard|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1202410387p2/6172.jpg]. And several authors are on my to-read list, and I look forward to returning to them for further devotional reading: [a:Thomas Merton|1711|Thomas Merton|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1201097624p2/1711.jpg], [a:Richard Rolle|236496|Richard Rolle|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-d9f6a4a5badfda0f69e70cc94d962125.png], [a:Thomas Kelly|36187|Thomas Kelly|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1353433569p2/36187.jpg], [a:Elizabeth O'Connor|133685|Elizabeth O'Connor|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-d9f6a4a5badfda0f69e70cc94d962125.png], [a:Dag Hammarskjöld|946904|Dag Hammarskjöld|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1266167090p2/946904.jpg], [a:Kathleen Norris|60394|Kathleen Norris|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1273647964p2/60394.jpg]. I love having so much to look forward to!
My only complaint about Devotional Classics is that the editors have modernized the language of some of the writings. This makes their collection simpler to read, but it makes going back to the original sources a little frustrating. The excerpt from Jeremy Taylor, for example, was so astounding, that I read parts of it in a graduation address I was giving; but in preparing the address I looked at the original text and found that the language is quite different! I then had to decide whether to use the modernized edit (which I did), or the original language. The same was true, strangely, of the selected prayers from John Baillie--which were written relatively recently, but cast in a slightly archaic style. I don't know that the collection editors needed to update his language, since he was being careful in his word choice to an audience that was already removed from the kind of language he was using. But this is a relatively small complaint. I am so glad for this collection, sad to be finished with it, but richer for the experience of reading it, week by week.
And finally, a comment that is not really a complaint. But I did sometimes find it (unintentionally) amusing to have the "Pop-Up Richard Foster" appear at the end of a selection to tell us what he likes (or sometimes doesn't understand) about that reading. It's not a feature that I minded, but occasionally it made me chuckle.
charityjohnson's review against another edition
3.0
rwaringcrane's review against another edition
5.0