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Christ Alive: Reflections from the Shadows of Life into the Light of God – Meditations on faith through shared experience
Christ Alive: Reflections from the Shadows of Life into the Light of God
Author
:
John Deane-O'Keeffe
ISBN-13
:
9798385236602
Publisher
:
Resource Publications
Guideline Price
:
£17
These 52 meditations explore the common places of human experience and the overlooked corners of our shared life through the lens of
Christian faith
. The result is a vividly rendered body of punchily written essays.
At their best, these spiritual vignettes bring us close to the heart of our shared humanity and encourage readers to pay attention to the unexpected spaces where the divine can be traced.
An Anglican pastor, criminology lecturer, chaplain and former magistrate, John Deane-O'Keeffe writes with a warm and familiar tone, lending the book an authentic sense of charm and gentleness. This is married to an instinct for self-deprecation and an unforced sense of humour, making the observations and exhortations all the more impressive.
The dogmatic flavour of the book might best be described as applied theological liberalism. Exclusive claims for Christianity are eschewed, some doctrinal tenets are interpreted figuratively rather than literally, and there is a steady insistence on universalism throughout the work.
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The beating heart of Deane-O'Keeffe's worldview is 'love', a theme that he returns to repeatedly, and the prism through which he views the wide variety of life that he has been exposed to personally, pastorally and professionally. The voice of the text is charming, humane and egalitarian. Individuals on the margins of society are treated with an unaffected dignity and respect, which is powerfully emotive in places.
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It is to be hoped that future editions of Christ Alive will benefit from a more rigorous editorial process. There are significant typographical errors in the text, including the misspelling of significant surnames in some of the stories that are recorded. There is also a tendency to repetition, and some temporal markers from the original church contexts for which some of the essays may have been composed have remained (such as references to 'this morning' and 'this evening'). Higher production values for the paperback edition would also more adequately complement the high quality of its written content.
Away from formatting and editorial concerns, Christ Alive earths Deane-O'Keeffe's sincerely held faith position in the real world of vulnerable people, and everyday saints. Readers will not fail to be moved by the pastoral voice of the text and its author's heart for the human race, regardless of their own beliefs or theological commitments.
