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julessssss's review against another edition
3.0
I first heard about Dark through an episode of the podcast Sacred Tension called “Overcoming the Faith Cartel” in which he was a guest - I don’t remember much about it, but whatever he said intrigued me enough to buy his book and continue to be excited about it years later.
ok so overall, this book was interesting and I would generally recommend it - it wasn’t life changing tho and I think I expected it to be.
also Dark is Christian and that’s all well and good but I kinda felt like it made up too much of his arguments in the book and found its way into things too much - it didn’t bother me really at first, but I thought it was worth mentioning. It just seemed like those examples were so much more prevalent compared to the ones he used from other cultures and/or “traditional” religions.
my favorite thing about this book however, is the way Dark talks about poetry. It really reminded me of the ways I look at the world sometimes - like the subtle breath of the cold wind on my face or the light coating of ice on the trees. He connected poetry and mindfulness in ways that I hadn’t fully before and it made my heart happy.
Lastly here are some quotes that I wrote down while reading:
“Life’s too short to pretend that we already have what we haven’t, or that we are when we honestly aren’t.” (115)
“Church is a verb, a peopled activity that, in one sense, ends when an institution begins.” - paraphrasing the words of Will Campbell (117)
“it is only by really loving and forgiving others as members of ourselves that we can begin to really love, forgive or cherish ourselves at all.” (137)
“I am because we are.” (141)
“Life’s too short to be lived in a swirl of perceived self-attribution or rather, life can’t begin to be properly perceived at all when we’re in its throes… all those little distancings add up after a while till we’re too debilitatingly detached from reality to meaningfully see ourselves beautifully at all.” (143)
“the culture we call poetry is human seriousness itself. It’s the work of making all things new, redeeming the time and bodying forth newness of life and living and social possibility.” (174)
ok so overall, this book was interesting and I would generally recommend it - it wasn’t life changing tho and I think I expected it to be.
also Dark is Christian and that’s all well and good but I kinda felt like it made up too much of his arguments in the book and found its way into things too much - it didn’t bother me really at first, but I thought it was worth mentioning. It just seemed like those examples were so much more prevalent compared to the ones he used from other cultures and/or “traditional” religions.
my favorite thing about this book however, is the way Dark talks about poetry. It really reminded me of the ways I look at the world sometimes - like the subtle breath of the cold wind on my face or the light coating of ice on the trees. He connected poetry and mindfulness in ways that I hadn’t fully before and it made my heart happy.
Lastly here are some quotes that I wrote down while reading:
“Life’s too short to pretend that we already have what we haven’t, or that we are when we honestly aren’t.” (115)
“Church is a verb, a peopled activity that, in one sense, ends when an institution begins.” - paraphrasing the words of Will Campbell (117)
“it is only by really loving and forgiving others as members of ourselves that we can begin to really love, forgive or cherish ourselves at all.” (137)
“I am because we are.” (141)
“Life’s too short to be lived in a swirl of perceived self-attribution or rather, life can’t begin to be properly perceived at all when we’re in its throes… all those little distancings add up after a while till we’re too debilitatingly detached from reality to meaningfully see ourselves beautifully at all.” (143)
“the culture we call poetry is human seriousness itself. It’s the work of making all things new, redeeming the time and bodying forth newness of life and living and social possibility.” (174)
haileycummings333's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
4.0
ੈ ✩‧₊˚ life’s too short to pretend you’re not religious ੈ✩‧₊˚ david dark ੈ✩‧₊˚
4★ ੈ✩‧₊
what class it was for: ethics & world religions
writing style: 4★
content: 4★
structure: 4★
impact/relevance: 4★
clarity: 4★
enjoyment: 4★
overall review:
‧₊˚as someone not “traditional” religious i found this to be a super interesting read and i’ve definitely learned things from reading this. im so grateful to have taken dr dark’s ethics & world religions class- definitely a valuable experience. going into this book i was skeptical about being bombarded with religious propaganda but that is so far from what this book is. its more about a way of life and decided what you find valuable- which is your religion in a way. one of my favorite quotes from this book is: “Religion is perhaps most helpfully conceived of as the question of what tales and traditions our lives embody.”
crunchy_hobbit's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
A strange little book for me. Arguably the hardest, densest book I’ve attempted since leaving graduate school in the fall of 2020, and unexpectedly so. This felt like a slog at times, but it was a slog through warm summer rain when you’re in a good mood - you don’t mind the slog so much.
Dark never overstays his welcome and has a pleasing prose throughout. He’s honest and straightforward. I don’t know that I have conclusions yet re his arguments, as they’re complex and wide ranging, but he does a good job of presenting them with clarity. This will necessitate a reread.
Dark never overstays his welcome and has a pleasing prose throughout. He’s honest and straightforward. I don’t know that I have conclusions yet re his arguments, as they’re complex and wide ranging, but he does a good job of presenting them with clarity. This will necessitate a reread.
eb_'s review against another edition
5.0
This book is fantastic, and poignant. Hard to believe it was written before Public Servant 45, but there you go.
It’s a challenging read, both in its style and in its substance. In terms of substance, there were many times when I put the book down to chew on what I’d just read, or sent a quote to a friend and we mulled over it together.
When I say it’s a challenging read in terms of style, I don’t mean that as a detractor. You just really have to focus, because Dark doesn’t write like Hemingway. The sentences aren’t short or devoid of sub-plots. The book itself is an immense undertaking, and it wasn’t until nearing the end that I was beginning to see all of these disparate threads coming together into a single thesis, or chord.
It’s a book of philosophy. It’s positing that we would all be a lot better off, and better to each other, if we would drop pretense, love deeply the things we love while seeing their threads to the Real, share those things, listen to other’s loves, live in deep community, stop labeling other people, let people into our lives, and partake deeply in the Communion of Christ through all of the acts above.
There are political ramifications as well, exploring how the countries we live in and the laws we allow ourselves to be governed by happen as a result of deep religious belief in our governments. It really is richly poignant, and deals with partisanship, racism, wealth distribution, and the route one takes on a walk through their neighborhood.
I’m going to need to read it again, and again. It’s full of many truth nuggets, and I loved it.
It’s a challenging read, both in its style and in its substance. In terms of substance, there were many times when I put the book down to chew on what I’d just read, or sent a quote to a friend and we mulled over it together.
When I say it’s a challenging read in terms of style, I don’t mean that as a detractor. You just really have to focus, because Dark doesn’t write like Hemingway. The sentences aren’t short or devoid of sub-plots. The book itself is an immense undertaking, and it wasn’t until nearing the end that I was beginning to see all of these disparate threads coming together into a single thesis, or chord.
It’s a book of philosophy. It’s positing that we would all be a lot better off, and better to each other, if we would drop pretense, love deeply the things we love while seeing their threads to the Real, share those things, listen to other’s loves, live in deep community, stop labeling other people, let people into our lives, and partake deeply in the Communion of Christ through all of the acts above.
There are political ramifications as well, exploring how the countries we live in and the laws we allow ourselves to be governed by happen as a result of deep religious belief in our governments. It really is richly poignant, and deals with partisanship, racism, wealth distribution, and the route one takes on a walk through their neighborhood.
I’m going to need to read it again, and again. It’s full of many truth nuggets, and I loved it.
revpsryan's review against another edition
5.0
I just finished reading this book. David Dark is my favorite theologian. He's a vividly awake Christian. Each one of his books an alarm clock, this one the loudest.
"We're never not worshipping." That's this book unfairly summarized in 4 words.
5 big stars.
"We're never not worshipping." That's this book unfairly summarized in 4 words.
5 big stars.
teamoxfordcomma's review against another edition
5.0
This wonderful book is the literary version of my class this semester with Dr. David Dark, and I am so lucky to have had this experience, to have been able to read this book at the close of the class. I can truly say I am leaving FYS a changed person for the better. (This was not required reading, for the record. I just bought a copy off Dark.)
I loved all the poignant insights in this text. There are so many concepts in here that just marinade in my brain and I truly appreciate them – truly appreciate him – and are things I wish everyone knew, everyone acted on. I especially loved the idea of "the chother"... In an age such as today with so much (imagined) division, if more people knew about and acted upon their chother, we'd live in a much happier world.
This is a foray into philosophy. This is a venture into humanity. And if you want to live a more awake life, I would recommend you start by reading this book.
I loved all the poignant insights in this text. There are so many concepts in here that just marinade in my brain and I truly appreciate them – truly appreciate him – and are things I wish everyone knew, everyone acted on. I especially loved the idea of "the chother"... In an age such as today with so much (imagined) division, if more people knew about and acted upon their chother, we'd live in a much happier world.
This is a foray into philosophy. This is a venture into humanity. And if you want to live a more awake life, I would recommend you start by reading this book.