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A Heart On Fire: Catholic Witness And The Next America (2012)

by Charles J. Chaput(Favorite Author)

4.25 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

0770437648 (ISBN13: 9780770437640)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

Image

review 1: I enjoyed reading this book. It opened my eyes to issues I had already recognized but not necessarily acknowledged. I have felt over the last year the pull to start attending church again and my biggest apprehension has now been revealed to me. I was scared about what SOCIETY would think of me walking into church alone after all these years away. This book came at exactly the right time. It helped me to see that I should quit making up worldly excuses to avoid the God I live for and love. This book is not a story, it is essentially an essay as to what is going on in this world, especially the United States as far as religion, Catholicism and how quickly it is leaving modern day living and offers reasons as to why this is happening. I definitely will recommend this book to ... morethose who are strong in their faith, struggling with faith and to those who aren’t even sure there is such thing as faith. I will also recommend this book to a priest I know as well as a reverend so that they have the opportunity to experience this profound explanation regarding why we are where we are. At 33 pages including a brief look into “Render Unto Caesar”, it was a quick and eye opening read. I believe that anyone can benefit from this because it talks about religion/faith now all the way back to when the constitution was written and regardless of whether you are a priest or pastor or an atheist there are points in it for each of us. I strongly recommend this book. I have already added to my Good Reads account. I will be adding my review to several other places as well as my personal blog.
review 2: Over the years Archbishop Chaput has become one of the most ardent and prominent Catholic voices in matters that concern the role that religion plays in the public life of the American republic. His book �Render Unto Caesar� is one of the definitive contemporary views on such topics. Even though Archbishop Chaput obviously comes from a Catholic theological and intellectual tradition, his views are ecumenical and appeal to the widest cross-section of people interested in the proper relationship between religious and political spheres.Since �Render Unto Caesar� came out, there have been many troubling social and political developments that land special urgency to the renewed defense of religious freedom in the United States. Several states have enacted restrictions on the freedom of Catholic (and other) child adoption agencies, the federal government has tried (fortunately unsuccessfully) to have the final say in the employment decisions of the religious institutions, and most recently the same federal government has been embattled with the Catholic Church in matters concerning the freedom of Catholic institutions to use the health care plans of their choice.As in most of his writing, Archbishop Chaput does not aim to just focus on any particular incident in his overall analysis. He offers his own insights based as much on the religious considerations as on the cultural history of America. The opening lines of �A Heart on Fire� are a quotation from Herman Melville � �Truth is like a threshing machine; tender sensibilities must keep out of the way.� Archbishop Chaput is certainly not afraid of hurting tender sensibilities, but both in terms of the message and the style of writing he is eminently sensible and erudite. This short e-book presents some of his most ardent and eloquent appeals for a continuing witness of the religiously minded groups and individuals in the defense and promotion of their convictions in public. We live in challenging times, but it is exactly those challenges that can strengthen our own faith. I hope and pray that many of us will be able to rise to the occasion.The only issue that I have with this Kindle ebook is its size. It is a very short document to begin with, on par with a longish magazine article. Additionally, the first chapter of archbishop Chaput�s book �Render Unto Caesar� takes up about a third of the e-book. That larger book, published in 2008, is indeed eminently relevant to the discussion at hand, and it helps frame these current issues within the larger narrative. However, you are already able to read the first chapter of that book for free on your Kindle, so there is no extra value added by including it in this shorter e-book. I would have much preferred if this �extra� space were taken up by the further elaboration of the new insights and arguments that make �A Heart on Fire� such a relevant and timely document.Another book that I would recommend if you are interested in exploring issues of religion and politics form a philosophical/legal perspective is Francis Beckwith�s �Politics for Christians.� It is a probing and intellectually demanding book, but in my opinion it is one of the best recent resources on this subject. less

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