Re "Turner's take on Julian may give you a somewhat different perspective on Christianity.": Thanks, I've added the book to "Saved for Later" on my Amazon list.
Would you describe yourself as a Christian? If not, is there another label you would be happier with? I hate labels myself - too constricting - but as I live in a country whose major current of spiritual teaching has always been Christianity I do sometimes wonder if actually I could describe Christ as *our* Saviour - and therefore *my* Saviour. And this despite the fact that my mum and dad always disagreed as to whether or not I'd ever actually been baptised!. Buddha, Krishna, Lao-Tse, and so on, are invaluable but my appreciation is essentially intellectual whereas the Gospel accounts have the advantage of a powerful emotional impact. Need I add that pronouncements by Church leaders of all denominations always leave me shaking my head in despair! ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <fairfieldlife@yahoogroups.com> wrote: Turner's take on Julian may give you a somewhat different perspective on Christianity ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <fairfieldlife@yahoogroups.com> wrote: Re "Here's one you might find of interest, Seraphita, albeit not an easy read: "Julian of Norwich, Theologian, by Denys Turner": I read Turner's "The Darkness of God". Excellent! His basic idea was that mystical experience is *not* some special experience - say an "experience of nothingness" (ie, some far-out trip) but rather the realisation that *all* experiences - even the most mundane experiences - are in actuality "empty". And as for Dame Julian - she's one of my heroes (heroines). I've read her "Revelations" in three different editions. She's the real deal. The best one to get is the Dover edition. The punctuation is modernised but otherwise the text follows the original. Yes, you have to take a deep breath and a running jump before reading each sentence but the sense that you've genuinely approached the medieval mind-set is palpable. Lord knows what modern Protestants make of her visions! http://tinyurl.com/p7nwo3z http://tinyurl.com/p7nwo3z ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <fairfieldlife@yahoogroups.com> wrote: Here's one you might find of interest, Seraphita, albeit not an easy read: Julian of Norwich, Theologian, by Denys Turner. (Julian is best known for the famous quote "All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well." But Turner has some startling insights into her theology that go way beyond the traditional take on her work.) Seraphita wrote: For those interested in the Christian faith can I recommend two books by Alan Watts. He made a name for himself with his books on Zen and eastern religions. Those books are all readable and rewarding - if approached with caution - but I've found his earlier works on Christianity both better written and more suggestive. "Myth and Ritual In Christianity" (only available second-hand) approached Christianity by ignoring completely its truth or falsity and treating the sacraments purely as myth. "Behold the Spirit" is one of the best books that Watts wrote (it's my personal favourite), a wonderfully perceptive account of the mystical strain in Christianity. Pity he was a (genuine) sex addict and a serious alcoholic. The two vices are linked as he said he only felt sexy when he was drunk. And he knew even less about meditation than I do! Still, his faults were his problem; we can enjoy his insights.
