Review: The Sacred Journey

The Sacred Journey
Charles Foster
2010
Thomas Nelson

Here is a thought provoking, well written book. I couldn't say that at first. The author’s style is bold, and in some ways quite blunt. No sugar coating some of the difficulties of travel here! I soon discovered however, that I did yearn for a sacred journey of my own just a few more pages into his book.

Foster shows the similarities between cultures in our basic search for God, a name he’d very much like changed in the English language. Shocked, but I had to agree with him that it isn’t exactly a very pleasant sounding word. Okay, just one of his asides that can get your dander up if you let it. Another of his opinions has to do with the urbanization of society and the ills that it breeds. Again, after some thought, he is right about that as well. But, when he starts on the farmers and ranchers I couldn’t go there with him. Maybe he hasn’t met enough of them yet.

So what has all that to do with the sacred journey? Besides taking a mini-pilgrimage thinking through whether I agreed with him or not, he builds a case for how settled life styles deaden our senses. We cannot know God, ourselves, or anyone else when we are focused on he day to day grind. Layers of sediment that need scrubbing accumulate and a sacred journey can be helpful to restore our proper function. For most who are seeking that result, anyway. Best yet, he brings it full circle with a section on the return to everyday life after the journey.

This well woven tale of the author’s experiences alongside those from other times and places makes for an absorbing read.

Reviewed for BookSneeze. Thomas Nelson has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for this review.

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