Book Review

I have recently joined a website which allows me to read books on Christianity with a postmodern twist for free, with the catch that within 30 days of receiving the book, I must write a 50+ word review of it. 

The first book I received was Spirituality by Carl McColman and the following is the review I wrote.

The idea that more and more people are open to spirituality which does not come directly from the Christian church seems to be the purpose behind the 10 year reprint of Carl McColman’s book Spirituality: A Postmodern and Interfaith Approach to Cultivating a Relationship with God.

As I began reading, I must say that I found the introduction as well as the first three chapters to be rather circular. Instead of saying anything with deep interest, McColman would dance around topics like Breathing, Tillage, and Wonder by providing the etymology (the study of the origins of a word) in order to broaden the readers definition. This is helpful, but too often I found the author talking about all the different sides and angles which spirituality can take, which leads me to wonder if there is a proper path in seeking spirituality. I would guess that McColman believes any path of spirituality is a positive one.

The most interesting parts of the book are when the author writes out of his personal experience. Unfortunately these stories are too few and lead me to wonder if his spiritual experiences connect in any particular way, or if they are simply a string of experiences which lead him to act in new ways.  Instead of allowing the reader to drink deeply of his own spiritual journey, we are stuck with snippets of a journey which is probably much more interesting than said or has not been reflected upon long enough to be of meaning to others.

As McColman has written other books in the “An Idiots Guide” series, I am left feeling that a better title would have been “An Idiots Guide to Spirituality”. For that is truly what this book is. The subtitle is misleading, as postmodern and interfaith are mere buzz words to catch a particular audience. Purchase this book only if you feel your knowledge of the spiritual is very low or very narrow.