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The Promise Of Paradox: A Celebration Of Contradictions In The Christian Life (1980)

by Parker J. Palmer(Favorite Author)

4.11 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

0787996963 (ISBN13: 9780787996963)

languge

English

genre

Nonfiction

publisher

Jossey-Bass

review 1: I found this, Palmer's first book, lurking on my mother's shelf, and have been very glad for this glimpse into his early thinking. Parker Palmer is masterful at dwelling fully within paradox, which I consider one of the highest forms of wisdom. I loved hearing his inner conversation with Thomas Merton, and I thought his final essay, in which he gleans insights into effective teaching from Paul the Evangelist to be eye-opening. The bulk of this book, wise though it is, pales in its voice compared with the introduction Palmer wrote 28 years later, which is witty, delightful, and deeply wise.The capacity to embrace true paradoxes is more than an intellectual skill for holding complex thoughts. It is a life skill for holding complex experiences. --Parker Palmer, The Promi... morese of Paradox, xxx
review 2: What Palmer wrote in 1980 is at least as true and hard-hitting today as it was then. He takes a scalpel to our cultural illusions and shows how they diminish us. It's horrifying to think that these six essays were stuck in a desk drawer and unused before a publisher practically begged Palmer for something of his to publish! What if they had stayed there? The first three essays by themselves would be a terrific collection. By number four or so, they start to repeat the same points. But they're all worthwhile. These are points we need to hear over and over: they're challenging, and it's all too easy to let them slip past the first or second time. less

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