 |
|
Title: Man Is Not Alone : A Philosophy of Religion
ISBN: 0374513287
Author:
Abraham Joshua Heschel
Publicate Date: 1976-06-01
Publish: 1976-06-01
List Price: $15.00
Average Customer Rating: 5.0
Format: Paperback
 |
|
|
|
|
Amazon Lowest New Price: $6.00
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $5.68
Amazon Merchant Price: $10.20
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Customer Review: |
|
1: A major influence on my life and beliefs
I am writing this review forty years after I read the book. A short portion of the book has stayed in my mind so forcefully that it directs what religious faith I have. I am a Protestant Christian Episcopalian but this book steers me. I have thought that a true God would not have required his subjects to read man-written tomes such as the Bible or Koran to guide his faith but the God would communicate directly with the subject. This book makes that point so well that it has stayed with me ever since I read it. When I read the book there was a considerable portion that did not interest me and still does not, but Heschel's points that Man has a sense of "the ineffable" and that in the sentence structure equivalent of Man and God, God can be the only subject of the sentence while man can only be the object. Read the book to have this explained -- and the explanation is brief. This book has influenced my thinking for my entire life (of 74 years so far.)
|
2: Catching Up With a Spiritual Classic
I first read bits of Man Is Not Alone in the 70s, but only today read through a just purchased copy of this lyrical reflection on religion and doubt, belief and faith, man and God, the Ineffable and Jewish tradition. Why I didn't take in more of Heschel's obvious wisdom on my first encounter with him long ago is unclear, but its clear to me now that this book, written in 1951, will continue to be appreciated as a spiritual classic for generations to come.
|
3: wonder
If you want to be infused with wonder for the God of the Universe, this book is filled with great aspects and ideas. Heschel is a man so sensitive to the changes of his time, that his writing is as fresh today as it was 50 years ago.
|
4: It is good for Man not to be alone
This is a profound work. It is written by a Hasidic philosopher- poet. It is a work of reflections and these reflections require commentary. I would not say that I understand the work, but I do say that in the presence of this kind of writing one feels a certain holiness. I think the best way to demonstrate this is by citing one passage. It is from the section ' In the Presence of God'" The pious man is possessed by his awareness of the presence and nearness of God.Everywhere and at all times he lives in His sight, whether he remains always heedful of His proximity or not. He feels embraced by God's mercy as by a vast encircling space. Awareness of God is as close to him as the beating of his own heart, often deep and calm but at times, overwhelming, intoxicating, setting the soul afire"
Clearly Heschel the grandson of the Atper Rav (The Lover of Israel) was such a soul on fire with the presence of God. " May that fire warm and light the way to those of us not as close, not as sure but still striving to come closer to G-d.
|
5: an explanation of religion
Heschel's book is a description of faith rather than an argument for faith: not an attempt to persuade the faithless, but an explanation of how the religious person thinks. I especially liked his discussion of prayer and ritual; Heschel explains, for example, that set written prayers exist to help us think about our faith as we read them. MUCH easier to read than his more famous book "God In Search Of Man"; I wish I had read this book first.
|
|
|
|
|
