Written by a former Christian who helps people realize Islam isn't bad as people thought, but there are many commonalities between religions. A tale wWritten by a former Christian who helps people realize Islam isn't bad as people thought, but there are many commonalities between religions. A tale which goes through suffering, hurt and joyous moments. Challenging to read at points but challenges the readers to ask why they do what they do and why. Good book. ...more
O'Meara, a Catholic theologian, starts with the following presuppositions that will jar some Christian readers when first reading this book. They are:O'Meara, a Catholic theologian, starts with the following presuppositions that will jar some Christian readers when first reading this book. They are:
1. Evolution is true, and God-guided.
2. The incarnation of Jesus is unique to earth. However, this doesn't mean that an incarnation cannot take place on other planets. Beauty/love is the starting point for the Incarnation on earth. And is also the starting point for incarnations on other planets.
3. God has given us imaginations, which are not necessarily bad, and we should use our imaginative faculties to engage how to deal with other life forms on other planets. Alot of this book is speculation, but that is okay, because we haven't encountered alien species. This book deals with the, what if?
4. Aliens haven't been proven as fact, however there is alot of evidence that if God in His expansiveness created humanity, why would he only create humanity and no other evolved species/life on other planets?
Once the reader can follow along the evolutionary ideas of time/space and intelligent life, then it will be much easier to appreciate this book.
O'Meara does a great job of pointing to theologians/Christians through the centuries who have wrestled with the idea of other life forms on other planets and how it affects Christian belief. He also shows how some have agreed and some have disagreed that alien life could exists, the alien life is good/hostile, and how alien life is not a threat to the Incarnation here on earth and the Gospel. (People like Origen, Nicholas of Cusa, Thomas Aquinas, Ellen White, Paul Tillich, etc.)
I appreciated O'Meara's view that extraterrestrials may NOT be hostile life forms. I think we are ingrained by Hollywood that they may be bad (only a few movies portray them as otherwise, such as ET, Alien Nation or District 9). He points to C.S. Lewis' trilogy about aliens (Out of the Silent Planet, etc.) and shows how Lewis' starting assumption is that humanity is the only species with evil and all other species start with innocence/grace.
Think of the art, grace, intelligence we can learn from a species that has not been corrupted by the fall!
At the same point, the cynic in me does ask, well what if these alien species that exist are actually hostile? O'Meara fails to answer this in the book, as his view is that they will be our "star mentors" and "star friends". Sometimes this view seemed to simplistic for me, however I commend the author for taking the not common view on this.
The author's understanding of THE Incarnation on earth, and what other incarnations on other planets are quite fascinating and can cause alot of controversy. However, I think the author does a great job of handling this topic.
There was one huge point for me that I was wrestling with as I read this book. The author gives a lot of generosity to alien religions and how we can reconcile their religions with ours. The author shows that alien religions and earthly religious understandings can come to have a great view of God. I felt the author was so generous to alien religion, and yet I kept thinking to myself, what of other "alien" religion here on earth, the ones that don't look like ours? Why don't we offer that same generosity to other non-Christian religions and their followers here on earth as O'Meara does with other worlds? It made me think that sometimes its easier to deal with questions of imaginative theology than practical theology. But maybe, just maybe, that is part of the reason the book exists? For us to dialogue with the "alien" in our midst and understand them here on earth? Imagine what we as a human species could accomplish if we were able to cooperate with one another?
So although there were definitely some points in the book I didn't agree with, I give this book a 4 out of 5 for starting a dialogue on a subject that I don't think I have really heard many Christian theologians dealing with. I also appreciated heavily O'Meara's digging through history to find theologians who talked about this issue. And appreciated O'Meara's imaginative faculties being used differently to wrestle with what life on other planets could mean for faith and for our lives in relation to them. ...more
Desmond Tutu who has walked through immense darkness with apartheid in South Africa, now talks about how to have hope in the midst of horrendous, bad,Desmond Tutu who has walked through immense darkness with apartheid in South Africa, now talks about how to have hope in the midst of horrendous, bad, good and everything in between situations.
His vision for hope is based on his faith in God, and in people. People tend to have a focus on one over the other. Those who have a hope in God alone, see that humans are basically not good and therefore God is the only good one who can help humanity. Those who have a hope in humanity alone, don't believe in a God (personal or impersonal) and look to humanity alone to be a force for change.
However, looking at both options, Tutu also realizes the horrendous understanding of both, and therefore reminds his readers that all of us are created in the image of God, and therefore we start not with a bad humanity, but a humanity which has lost its way, and is simple steps away from achieving much good with God's help. Tutu also points to those who say humanity alone saves, and shows how humanity has made huge mistakes, even when trying to do good for others.
Embracing both, not as a dichotomy but as a communal force for good, Tutu shows the way forward for humanity, trusting in God and each other. Working with each other. Breaking down barriers, and increasing communication across all lines. And truly learning what it means to love one another. ...more
Awesome! That's what I thought. The first bit of it was so agonizing to read/watch unfold before my eyes. The amount of pain and hurt people endure inAwesome! That's what I thought. The first bit of it was so agonizing to read/watch unfold before my eyes. The amount of pain and hurt people endure in this story is truly brutal. In fact alot of this novel was really dealing with alot of heartache and how people go on in the midst of it all.
However by mid way the story got more positive. Still dealing with a real threat of the walkers, and really dealing with what it's like to be living in a time like that. How do people carry on? What sort of traditions do people need to carry on in this world? Good questions and they start answering some of them, and just when we think things will be resolved... sometimes they are and sometimes they're not.
My favourite part of the novel was Chapter 16. The main reason I started reading the novels was because of the hope I saw while watching the show (as ironic as that sounds.) It's so hard to have hope in the midst of such crappy circumstances. This had some of the most heart warming moments in the whole graphic novel (if you watch the TV show, it reminded me of a Season 1 moment when Carl and Lori meet Rick.)
I hate zombies in general, never have gotten into them at all, never was a genre I wanted to delve into, but The Walking Dead really helped me in a lot of ways to potentially look into other zombie things (I'm still not convinced that I will like them.)
I really appreciated the authors/artists who compiled this and the way they put it all together. It fit so well! And you can tell there was a lot of thought put into how they wanted to present the big news, or sometimes make it seem minor when it was actual huge news. Very thoughtfully done.
The dialogue in it sometimes was a little bit wooden, but you can't get away from that, it happens in some graphic novels/comics. But, overall very impressed with how intelligent and coherent the story is so far. I look forward to Compendium 3 or wherever this story goes until....more
I wanted some more exposure to Meister Eckhart not to teachings about his teachings. This was a good start but I would rather read Eckhart without allI wanted some more exposure to Meister Eckhart not to teachings about his teachings. This was a good start but I would rather read Eckhart without all the commentary....more
An amazing book, and very timely for me at the stage of life I am in. Uses the backdrops of the "saints" Thomas Merton, Henri Nouwen, Mother Teresa anAn amazing book, and very timely for me at the stage of life I am in. Uses the backdrops of the "saints" Thomas Merton, Henri Nouwen, Mother Teresa and others to show how they grew in their understanding of life and become who they were created to be, rather than someone else. The author encourages us to find who God created us to be, rather than try and emulate another's path to holiness. Recognizing that each of us are called to the path of holiness but how that happens is different for each of us. And in recognizing the path that God calls us to live in, we find what God has called us and uniquely gifted us to pursue. ...more
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