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Immortal Diamond: The Search For Our True Self (2013)

by Richard Rohr(Favorite Author)

4.29 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

1118303598 (ISBN13: 9781118303597)

languge

English

genre

Nonfiction

publisher

Jossey-Bass

review 1: It's hard to rate this book. I would give some sections 5 stars but others only 2 or 3. The Invitation, Preface & Chapter 2 are very well done. But overall, Rohr's general message is beautiful, hopeful, and appealing, causing me to think, "So I'm not alone in my beliefs after all!" again and again. Drawing on the mystic traditions of Catholicism, Jungian thought/archetypal narratives, and Scripture, Rohr urges us to wake up to the conspiracy of ego in our culture and even in our organized religions. He points to our "true self--" our eternal identity in union with God and all creation. I found several of his ideas reaffirming-for example, if your inner conviction knows something is true, and science and poets think it's true, it's probably true. I also found his thoughts o... moren praying from the inside out, and viewing religion as something that comes from the inside, not the outside (which is what our religious culture places a much larger emphasis on today) really groundbreaking and useful. On the other hand, Rohr pulls a lot of Scripture completely out of context in order to make it fit in with the points he wants to make, and at times, these interpretations rang false for me, or at the very least, very sugarcoated. There were other word choice beefs I had with his writing, as in when he refers to God as "the Great Allower," citing how God "allows women" to be raped. Rohr should know that rape and sexual abuse doesn't happen just to women, but to men and boys too. Such sexist statements reflect that Rohr, after all, does live in a community of men, in a very male-dominated religion. I hope if he intends to keep proclaiming such grand universal truths, he truly will speak with a bit more universal enlightenment.
review 2: My first read of the Catholic mystics. Although I cannot say I was super stoked about everything or agree with everything in this book, it was nonetheless an eye opener to many things. It was particularly refreshing to hear the resurrection talked about in a more-than-historical context. That the resurrection is happening to all of us who discover our true self, hidden with Christ in God, is immensely practical and helpful in understanding my identity as a Christian. less

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