The Inner Journey: Views from the Christian Tradition (PARABOLA Anthology Series)

Inner Journey #2

by Lorraine Kisly (Editor), Elaine Pagels (Contributor), Thomas Merton (Contributor)

For over three decades, those for whom religion is a path of discovery and questioning have found insight in the pages of Parabola. This thoughtful anthology collects the magazine’s best writings on Christianity, featuring articles from Thomas Merton, Elaine Pagels, Philip Zaleski, Thomas Keating, and 20 other authors who vividly explore what it means to be a Christian. The collection combines poetry and folklore with incisive interviews and cogent essays on topics such as the search for self, attention and remembrance, transformational knowledge, and worldly and divine works. A lavish, full-color, 16-page set of plates brilliantly conveys the rich variety within the tradition. From full works of great intricacy to passages of pure insight, The Inner Views from the Christian Tradition spans the tradition’s greatest trends. For readers looking for an introduction to Christianity or those seeking to expand their knowledge of it, the journey in this book inspires and enlightens.

Genres: Religion, Christianity, Spirituality, History, Theology

350 pages, Paperback

First published July 17, 2006

Reviews

[Daniel Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the best book on Christian theology and life I have ever read. It contains about 20 or so essays from a variety of Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant theologians on a variety of topics - Christology, Christian Living, Prayer, Salvation, the nature of God, reading Scripture, etc. None of the readings are dry, because they are all infused with a strong sense of mysticism and experience. For me, that's what made them so powerful - the essays feel more like a recounting of a faith journey or someone's meditations on a topic than like a catechism or a persuasive text (even though all these essays do have explicit arguments). All of the writers have a strong base in textual criticism, the history of the Church, and a strong interest especially in continuity with the early Church, which makes even the writers not from my (Catholic) faith tradition powerful to me. The only thing that's a little unusual is the random Gnostic mini-chapter.

[Nate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Smorgasbord of deep spiritual thinking from across the Christian spectrum, minus fundamentalist and evangelical Protestant. Not sure why the included a section about Gnosticism from Elaine Pagels. Her only claim is that they claimed to be Christians, so we should take them seriously. I enjoyed the chapters by Bede Griffiths, Thomas Merton, Kallistos Ware and Alexander Schmemmann. Just kind of hard to get into this book for me because of the diversity of perspectives. Didn't see much of a thread to tie it all together.

[Nan-sea]

excellent exploration through a series of essays by various authors exploring the mystical aspects of the Christian Tradition

[Todd · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of essays on the inner traditions of Christianity from Parabola Magazine are very good. I particularly loved the interview with Bishiop Kallistos Ware.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It is a series of essays on various aspects of faith and life. Some are by authors I know and it's a more difficult book than I expected. But rewarding.

[Gratus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Provides a great overview of the spiritual practices within Christanity