New science or a leap of faith? Either way, nurturing spirituality in your children may save them a world of pain.
A reassuring and instructive lesson in spiritual parenting that strives, but only partially succeeds, to cement the link between science and spirituality.
In this paradigm-shifting book on parenting, Miller (Psychology and Education/Columbia Univ., Teachers College) claims that spirituality exists innately in all human beings from infancy onward and that spiritual education is an important part of a child’s development. Emphatically, and repeatedly, describing research that correlates different levels of spiritual awakening with different developmental stages across cultures, Miller contends that spirituality is a universal experience. She carefully defines spirituality outside the confines of any particular religion, as “an inner sense of relationship to a higher power that is loving and guiding.” Many of the studies the author cites provide surprising and useful information. For example, the knowledge that spirituality correlates to lower rates of substance abuse, depression, and risky sexual behavior in adolescents can encourage parents to make important changes in their children’s spiritual lives. Some of the studies could be more open to interpretation, such as twin studies showing that an adolescent “surge” in spirituality is 52 percent attributable to purely genetic factors—though Miller does not advance alternative explanations. Ironically, the author’s focus on the science behind her theory takes something away from the engaging and deeply felt case studies and personal stories she shares in later sections. Unfortunately, she saves two particularly poignant examples—adolescents dealing with depression and sexual addiction—for the penultimate chapter. If the plights of Marin and Kurt had been introduced earlier, Miller could have established more emotional connection with her readers, who would then be more engaged with the science she presents.
New science or a leap of faith? Either way, nurturing spirituality in your children may save them a world of pain.Pub Date: May 5, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-250-03292-8
Page Count: 384
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: Feb. 10, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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