Monday, July 12, 2010

Book Review--Bread & Water, Wine & Oil

Bread & Water, Wine & Oil--An Orthodox Christian Experience of God by Archimandrite Meletios Webber is an excellent introduction to Eastern Christian spirituality.  Archimandrite Webber writes in a way that is inspiring, clear and respectful.

Part I: Life as Mystery lays the groundwork for understanding the Orthodox approach to God and our relationship to God.  It does an excellent job of explaining the difference between the "mind" (feelings and logic) and the "heart" (where God dwells), who God is and how we can really know Him (as opposed to what we *think* we know about Him), as well as specifics of fasting, prayer and icons.

Part II gets into the Divine Mysteries (sacraments) themselves, examining the specifics of how they are done and why.  It opens up new meaning to each, especially if you come from the western Christian tradition.

This is a book that will be read again and again, dog-eared and highlighted beyond recognition.

2 comments:

TACParent said...

Don't you love a book you want to highlight and bookmark, etc? Glad you enjoyed it.

Staying in Balance said...

Thanks for getting it for me!!

Dymphna's favorite quotes


"Slavery ended in medieval Europe only because the church extended its sacraments to all slaves and then managed to impose a ban on the enslavement of Christians (and of Jews). Within the context of medieval Europe, that prohibition was effectively a rule of universal abolition. "— Rodney Stark

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