Epinions Recent Reviews for kurt_messick

Time after time...

Wed, 4 Dec 2002 02:10:46 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author kurt_messick - Laurence Hull Stookey’s book, Calendar: Christ’s Time for the Church, seems to be written for a primarily Protestant readership. There are many clues to this, but perhaps none more telling than the Appendix subtitled This Book in a...

Ancient wisdom, modern insight

Sun, 1 Dec 2002 21:10:41 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author kurt_messick - Another offering for another night of Hanukkah. Happy holidays!

The book Safed Spirituality: Rules of Mystical Piety, The Beginning of Wisdom is a text produced by the Paulist Press for their series on the Classics of Western...

Lean-n-Mean for Hanukkah!

Sun, 1 Dec 2002 00:06:56 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author kurt_messick - Happy Hanukkah!

Most Westerners know of Hanukkah from the appearance on calendars, but few outside of Judaism know much more about it than the very basic candle-lighting, and even that most of the goyim don’t really understand...

Ponder These Things: Praying with Icons of the Virgin: Multi-sensory prayer

Tue, 26 Nov 2002 14:48:59 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author kurt_messick - Ponder These Things: Praying with Icons of the Virgin is the latest book by Rowan Williams, recently appointment to be Archbishop of Canterbury after a distinguished career as an academic and cleric in the Church of England (Anglican Church)...

Sharing the spirit with the same words...

Thu, 21 Nov 2002 18:22:57 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author kurt_messick - This review of The Revised Common Lectionary: The Consultation on Common Texts, may be a bit briefer than my ‘ordinary’ review of books, largely because this is primarily a book of lists. The lectionary is the series of readings...

To preach and to teach...

Tue, 19 Nov 2002 14:42:35 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author kurt_messick - One of the primary duties of a preacher is to be a teacher. This aspect of preaching often gets buried under other considerations; depending upon the denomination, preachers can see their primary duty as preparation for an altar call, preparation for...

An ordinary holiness...

Tue, 19 Nov 2002 03:33:47 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author kurt_messick - I first happened upon the book The Spirituality of the Diocesan Priest at a Sursum Corda event held a few years ago in Techny, outside of Chicago. Sursum Corda is a gathering of Old Catholic clergy and lay leaders who come together...

All things old...

Sat, 16 Nov 2002 18:21:15 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author kurt_messick - The archaeology and scriptural/textual studies of the Dead Sea Scrolls have held the public imagination for much of the past half-century. Since the first Scrolls were discovered not far from the ancient site of Qumran in the late 1940s, there has been...

Religions of the World while standing on one foot...

Tue, 12 Nov 2002 19:07:27 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author kurt_messick - There are several different series on the market today that seem to have picked up on the device of the reader’s rather blatant ignorance as a selling point. Here I refer to the series such as For Dummies and The Complete Idiot’s...

Boot: The Right Fit...

Sun, 10 Nov 2002 21:38:44 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author kurt_messick - Before Thomas Ricks’ Making the Corps came out in the late 1990s, the book Boot by Daniel Da Cruz probably had pride of place for being one of the best overall books on the Marine Corps, and in particular about training, boot camp and...

The few, the proud...

Sun, 10 Nov 2002 14:11:49 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author kurt_messick - Thomas Ricks' Making the Corps is one of the best books on today’s Marine Corps available. The book looks at the Corps from the perspective of following a cohort of recruits through book camp on Parris Island. As the subtitle, one of the...

Do you hear what I hear?

Sat, 9 Nov 2002 15:18:02 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author kurt_messick - In her slim volume Holy Listening: The Art of Spiritual Direction, Episcopal priest and spiritual director Margaret Guenther has provided a jewel of a book for those interested in spiritual direction, and more particularly, for those who are...

A liberating view...

Mon, 4 Nov 2002 02:06:04 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author kurt_messick - In his book Caminemos con Jesus: Toward a Hispanic/Latino Theology of Accompaniment, Roberto S. Goizueta challenges prevailing notions of theology even in the more liberal wing of the academy. Much of modern Western theology is devised by people...

Lessening one's woe...

Sun, 3 Nov 2002 01:38:29 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author kurt_messick - Patricia O'Conner has produced a jewel of a book in Woe is I: The Grammarphobe's Guide to Better English in Plain English. Perhaps the greatest strength in the book is the recognition that language is ever-changing and evolving. Thus, her rules...

Living into the grace...

Tue, 29 Oct 2002 20:57:08 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author kurt_messick - There is a problem with the term ‘feminism’ – it has acquired the status of many political terms that often inspires a knee-jerk reaction of one sort or another, positive or negative. This is unfortunate, given the depth and breadth of...

Playing with a full deck...

Sat, 26 Oct 2002 23:59:03 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author kurt_messick - House of Cards, a BBC production done at the time of Margaret Thatcher's downfall, is one of the best modern political intrigue/satires done. The cast, the story, and the exacting attention to detail make this a piece worth watching and...

The diversity of Augustine

Fri, 25 Oct 2002 19:25:37 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author kurt_messick - What I desire for all my works is not merely a kind reader but also a frank critic.

- Augustine of Hippo

The introduction to this volume begins with this very apt quotation from Augustine. Augustine welcomed criticism – that...

Christian Theology: An Introduction: A thorough introduction...

Wed, 23 Oct 2002 19:36:13 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author kurt_messick - Alister McGrath’s Christian Theology: An Introduction is one of the best single-volume broad-scope introductions to Christian theology available today. Currently in its second edition, it will most likely have more editions, and there are...

Chaos, control, you like? (DK93 W/O)

Sun, 20 Oct 2002 00:37:01 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author kurt_messick - We are all connected in this world. It is strange to think that not only in big cities where people are anonymous or across rural hinterlands but all across the globe, thanks to internet and ease of travel, we are all far more intimately connected than...

File it away...

Fri, 18 Oct 2002 12:37:30 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author kurt_messick - When I got the Safari Guillotine Nail Trimmer for my cats -- I have four cats who have their claws and seem to enjoy the sound of a sofa being shredded -- I also got the Safari Guillotine File. I must confess, I have never had a manicure...

A little protest is a good thing now and then...

Tue, 15 Oct 2002 22:10:52 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author kurt_messick - I have devoted much time and space to Ecumenical, Catholic and Anglican resources in my reviews here, and rightfully so, as those are my traditions. However, at the urging of friends and readers, I turn my attention for once decided Protestant in this...

A snip in time...

Sun, 13 Oct 2002 15:07:01 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author kurt_messick - I have four cats, and have had many more -- all are outdoor cats stuck inside because of the very busy road at the end of my property, upon which I have the unhappy experience of seeing dead animals on a regular basis, and not a few of those are cats...

For the Fat Cats...

Sun, 13 Oct 2002 01:10:26 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author kurt_messick - My cats love to pounce.

My cats love to pounce on Pounce.

The little cannisters are perfect, and Pavlov could not have devised a better signal and response mechanism than the people who created not just the product but the...

Baking Soda - Yes; BS - No

Sun, 13 Oct 2002 00:21:29 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author kurt_messick - I have used Ever Clean Premium Clumping Litter Baking Soda Formula with my cats on a regular basis. This should come as no surprise to you -- as I have four indoor cats at the moment, and have variously had up to as many as 11 in residence at any...

Through the singing and the silence...

Fri, 11 Oct 2002 14:01:00 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author kurt_messick - Yesterday I finally got to do something I'd been hoping to do for a while. I am a three-month temporary job that ends in a few weeks, and it is two buildings down from The Joy of All Who Sorrow Orthodox Church, probably the main Orthodox church...