God at 2000

At a February 2000 conference, seven scholars of religion were asked to explain how their ""personal experiences... study, and... faith perspective influence"" the way that they, as individuals, ""see God."" This new volume recounts the conference proceedings, offering luminous essays by prolific writer Karen Armstrong, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, rabbi Lawrence Kushner, nun Joan Chittister and others. Chittister puffs ecofeminism and emphasizes the importance of humility in religion. Armstrong reveals that she cannot pray, so scarred was she by ""all those years when I tried and failed."" Diana Eck, a Methodist who teaches Indian religions at Harvard, takes readers on a delightful tour of three religious houses she visited in one month: Memorial Church in Harvard Yard, a Cambridge mosque, and the Sri Lakshmi Temple in Ashland, Mass. Kushner's trademark storytelling abilities are in evidence as he weaves together tales from the Bible, Tolstoy, various 18th-century rabbis and his own family. The essays do not really seem to answer the question posed to participants; readers learn how they see God but very little about how the contributors' personal experiences shaped their beliefs. The volume would have been strengthened by the inclusion of one or two more conservative religious thinkers to balance out the consistently liberal views of Chittister, Armstrong and others. Still, readers of all religious persuasions will find that they see God differently when they have finished this valuable collection. (Jan.)