Richard Chilson

The author is Catholic and the publisher is Catholic, but the book was written for readers who may come from all sorts of religious backgrounds or none at all. This is an introduction to praying itself, and the author considers many different aspects of prayer: times, themes, tools, prayer through art, physical postures, and so on. While he mainly uses examples from Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism, he also drops in examples from less well-known faiths, including Wicca, Druidry, and various Native American and African traditions. I found it interesting and engaging, but I disagreed enough with him theologically that I couldn't enjoy the book as much as I had hoped.

How much you will enjoy this book may depend on your own religious views. The author writes, "Most people today acknowledge that there is only one God," and that theme runs through the book, that even if a religion looks like it has many gods, it really only has One. I suspect there are several hard polytheists out there who could give him an energetic argument on this point. If this won't be a sticking point for you, then you may find this to be a concise ecumenical introduction to prayer. If this will cause you to grit your teeth, though, you may want to read some other Prayer 101 book instead.… (mehr)