cover image THINKING WITH THE HEART: A Monk (And Parent) Explores His Christian Heritage

THINKING WITH THE HEART: A Monk (And Parent) Explores His Christian Heritage

Tolbert McCarroll, . . PageMill/Wildcat Canyon, $13.95 (180pp) ISBN 978-1-879290-21-1

McCarroll, a lay monk and cofounder of Starcross, a monastic community in California's Sonoma County, spills his heart onto paper in his ninth book. Though few could argue with his sincerity, his goal—to find ways in which those who have rejected Christianity can better relate to the faith—is sadly lacking in originality. Instead, he offers a recycled 1960s spirituality, seemingly in hopes that Generation X will journey back with him to the days of making love not war. McCarroll predicts that the religious structures he has known in his 70 years will fade away in the 21st century: "Whatever has been experienced as oppressive or limiting in the Western religious traditions will no longer restrict people's lives." In the pages that follow, he issues a quiet clarion call for change, but his new world order is thin on substance and bloated with feeling. His ideal church seems to be one in which everyone thinks of each other as family, blesses the children and spends time contemplating God in nature. While these are palatable ideas, McCarroll's presentation of them fails to deal with the reality that religions that maintain benevolent structure and limits are having more success in attracting adherents today than those with paltry demands and homogenized identities. That said, the book does have redeeming moments, among them the author's reflections on his relationship with well-known AIDS activist Paul Monette and the final chapter, which draws most heavily on McCarroll's childhood. (Nov.)