Tricia

Would be an interesting magazine article, May 31 2004

The book has enough material for a magazine article but is really stretching it to fill a book.

Sheila Raush is not Catholic, so neither annulment nor lack of annulment affects her day-to-day life whatsoever. Yet not getting an annulment does affect her former husband's life adversely by preventing him from participating fully in the practice of his faith. To me, her quest to block the annulment seems just plain mean.

Her poignant stories about Catholic women don't even apply to her circumstances (and they fill up the majority of the book). By objecting to their annulments, those Catholic women were willing to play by the same rules they expected of their ex-husbands -- no remarriage… Read more

Faith without works is dead, Jan 2 2004

As a former evangelical Christian who is in the process of converting to Catholicism, I believe that Richard Foster's disciplines perfectly define the writing of James 2:26 - "...faith without works is dead." Foster's disciplines are the "works," service (or good works) being only one of them. I for one plan to practice the disciplines, and I'm not worried that I will be steered into new age mysticism. I am convinced that I will draw closer to Christ.

This is a wonderful book, based fully on the practices of Jesus and his disciples during the time of Jesus' ministry here on Earth. Naysayers are guilty of the very malpractice that Foster cautions against - that of legalism and regarding… Read more

Turned me off to Scrabble, Jan 2 2004

The acquaintance who recommended this book told me it would renew my interest in and excitement about playing Scrabble. Wrong! The message I took away from this read is renewed belief that human beings can pervert just about anything.

Another reviewer mentioned her offense at the author's denegration of "blue hairs," as he likes to call female senior citizens. He also seems to disdain "fat middle aged women," whom he refers to several times and whom he is humiliated to lose to. Later in the book, he deigns to devote a couple of pages to female Scrabble players and explains that, although they outnumber male players in tournaments, they are not competitive at the highest levels -- mostly… Read more