Minilogue - July 2007
Summer Reading
By the Rev. Bruce Johnson
It has sometimes been said that Unitarian Universalists believe in “salvation by bibliography.” Of course, Adult Religious Education is not just a matter of reading books - most of us learn best through a combination of direct experience and reflection - but I do share with many other UUs a love of good books, and I have a “to read” list that just seems to keep getting longer all the time! At the last meeting of the UUCUV Religious Education Committee, we had a great time swapping titles of books that had been significant for our personal and spiritual development at one time or another. A few days later, the same topic came up coincidentally on an e-mail- list-serve of Unitarian Universalist ministers to which I subscribe. One of my colleagues asked for suggestions of good books to read while she was on sabbatical. The range of responses she received was fascinating and inspiring. It got me thinking about the books that had been important in my own spiritual formation -- titles such as Martin Buber’s I am Thou, Arthur Koestler’s The Act of Creation, and Mary Daly’s Beyond God The Father for starters.
This summer, I’m looking forward to reading a stack of good books as well as two “great” books -- The Great Transformation: The Beginning of Our Religious Traditions, by Karen Armstrong, and The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community, by David Korten. I mention the titles here so that those who are interested may want to get a head start on reading them before the fall, when I plan to offer a class on each of these books. The Great Transformation, which just came out in paperback, deals with the socalled “axial age,” that period from roughly 900 to 200 B.C.E. (before the Common Era), when the world’s major religious traditions all underwent dramatic changes which shaped their evolution to the present day. Anything Karen Armstrong writes is worth reading, in my opinion; she manages to combine serious scholarship with an accessible style. Her recent work helps us think in historical perspective about the religious transformation that might be taking place in our own time. I heard David Korten speak at last year’s General Assembly in St. Louis, and he will again be making a presentation at this year’s GA in Portland. Korten’s work focuses on possibility of building a “life-centered, egalitarian sustainable humansociety” in an age of globalization. It is especially relevant given our commitment to these values as a Green Sanctuary. The Great Turning is not available in paperback yet, but perhaps it will be by the end of the summer.
Neither of these books is what you might call light beach reading, but if you’re looking for something challenging to add to your own “sacred bibliography,” I highly recommend these two authors. Watch the September newsletter for the date and time of the first “Minister’s Choice” book discussion!
Have a wonderful summer!
Bruce