Spiritual Innovators: Seventy-Five Extraordinary People Who Changed the World in the Past Century

Fascinating profiles of the most important spiritual leaders of the past one hundred years. An invaluable reference of twentieth-century religion and an inspiring resource for spiritual challenge today.The result of a nationwide survey of experts in leading universities and seminaries, as well as leading representatives of dozens of religious traditions and spiritual persuasions, this authoritative list of seventy-five includes martyrs and mystics, intellectuals and charismatics from East and West. Their lives and wisdom are now easily accessible in this inspiring volume.A celebration of the human spirit, ideal for both seekers and believers, the curious and the passionate, thinkers and doers, Spiritual Innovators is an authoritative guide to the most creative spiritual ideas and actions of the past century--a challenge for us today.An empowering guide to the most creative spiritual ideas of the past century, and a challenge for today, Spiritual Innovators profiles seventy-five remarkable people together in one accessible volume.Each profile includes:* Synopsis of innovator’s life and the evolution of their spiritual leadership and influence.* Inspiring quotes--words of wisdom indicative of the innovator’s life and teachings.* A guide to further examination of their works, ideas, organizations, movements, legacy.* Resources for more in-depth study.Spiritual innovators covered:Chögyam TrungpaMary DalyMary Baker EddyRobert FunkG. I. GurdjieffAimee Semple McPhersonElijah MuhammadBhaktivedanta PrabuphadaBertrand Russell Zalman Schachter-ShalomiWilliam J. SeymourShirdi Sai BabaStarhawkDesmond TutuAbdu’l BaháDaniel BerriganDietrich BonhoefferAbraham Isaac KookC. S. LewisHuston SmithD. T. SuzukiSimone WeilDorothy DayCatherine de Hueck DohertyMaha Ghosananda Mawlana Muhammad IlyasMother TeresaWalter RauschenbuschAlbert SchweitzerRobert Holbrook SmithThich Nhat HanhBawa MuhaiyaddeenBlack ElkDeepak ChopraBede GriffithsHazrat Inayat KhanJ. KrishnamurtiMeher BabaSeyyed Hossein NasrParamahansa YoganandaAndrew WeilAjahn ChahThomas KeatingMaharishi Mahesh YogiThomas MertonPema ChödrönRamana MaharshiSeung SahnShunryu Suzuki--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

In this eclectic tome, religion reporter Rifkin brings together 75 portraits of 20th-century spiritual leaders, providing brief biographical overviews, excerpts from the leaders' own writings and abbreviated bibliographies of works by and about the subjects. The book is marked by the impressive ecumenism that readers expect from SkyLight Paths publications: subjects include Catholic Worker founder Dorothy Day, Orthodox rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, Hare Krishna founder Bhaktivedanta Prabuphada, pagan author Starhawk and evangelist Billy Graham. Many of the entries vividly bring their subjects to life. The entry on Reinhold Niebuhr succinctly conveys the essence of Christian Realism, and the chapter on Ram Dass movingly discusses the impact that his 1997 stroke had on his thinking about suffering and patience. But some of the entries are unsatisfying, even problematic. The discussion of C.S. Lewis, for example, is little more than a curriculum vitae in paragraph form; the author fails to convey what was distinctive about Lewis's work or why we should consider him an "innovator." The entry on Simone Weil praises the French activist as "a role model for everyone who has struggled honestly with faith in the face of mistrust of organized religion," but fails to mention, let alone account for, Weil's troubling record of anti-Semitic stances. The collection is, at times, stirring, but it serves better as an inspirational, agreeable read than as a reference book. The entries are too brief and uneven to be of use to the critical student.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Spearheaded by religion journalist Rifkin, this pleasantly thought-provoking collection presents brief biographies of 20th-century spiritual leaders. Most interesting is the range of accomplishment and influence represented, including figures as various as Pentecostal evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson, former Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad, and Japanese Buddhist scholar D.T. Suzuki. Each profile is followed by a short excerpt or excerpts of the writings of the subject and a brief bibliography. A good overview of popular spirituality for the student; for most collections.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.