Book Briefs: October 10, 1975

Two New Bible Encyclopedias

The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, five volumes, edited by Merrill C. Tenney (Zondervan, 1975, 4,990 pp., $79.95), and Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia, two volumes, edited by C. F. Pfeiffer, H. F. Vos, and J. Rea (Moody, 1975, 1,861 pp., $29.95), are reviewed by Carl Edwin Armerding, associate professor of Old Testament, Regent College, Vancouver, Canada.

When any major biblical reference tool appears it is news. And when that reference tool is a product of evangelical scholarship it is especially noteworthy for the readers of these columns. And when two major reference works, similar in scope and both from evangelical publishers, appear in the same year, it has to be a landmark. Despite their weaknesses, the fact that these two sets, combining the labors of almost four hundred scholars, are now in print is itself a testimony to the continued and growing vitality of evangelical scholarship.

The Zondervan Encyclopedia is intended to “supply more detail for scholarly study” than its smaller forerunner, the Zondervan Pictorial Bible Dictionary (1963). It is not, however, an expansion of the latter. Contributors total 241, including 65 non-Americans (34 Britons top the list). Schools liberally represented include Wheaton, Trinity, and London Bible College, and the others cover a broad spectrum. Members of the British Tyndale Fellowship, one of the spawning grounds of current evangelical thought, are notable not merely by their large numbers but for the significance of their contributions. By contrast, very few Bible colleges (American style) are represented. To round out the picture, there are even a couple of Jewish scholars and one or two others who might not identify with evangelicalism.

The editors of the Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia, in an extensive explanatory foreword, affirm the WBE’s indebtedness to a series of predecessors, both liberal and conservative. Its audience is envisioned to be the “informed layman,” which sets it in a slightly different category from the ZPEB, although its format is similar. Both works include liberal illustrative materials, but WBE is less obvious in its attempts to “show” as well as “tell.” WBE is the effort of 223 persons, 69 of whom also wrote for ZPEB. From there on the profile changes slightly. Only ten of the writers live outside the United States, and the schools prominently represented are Moody, Dallas, the Bible colleges, and various kinds of institutions in the Southern states. One Jew and a Seventh-day Adventist complete the list.

In spite of these differences, the tone of most articles is strikingly similar. The more dispensational cast expected from Moody and Dallas is by no means dominant in WBE nor absent in ZPEB. On such subjects as “Covenant,” WBE gives two positions (represented by adherents of each), while ZPEB carries a survey of the field followed by a strongly Reformed argument. But “Dispensation” in WBE is written by a covenant theologian while the same article in ZPEB comes from a Dallas professor! On critical issues there is the same variety. Most contributors (and all articles) are theologically conservative, but there is a wide variety of opinion on such topics as the dating of Old Testament events and books.

To compare the sets, let’s turn to some specific articles. In the first volume of ZPEB (A-C) I counted more than forty articles of six or more pages (Abraham, Acts, Agriculture, Alphabet, Amos, Angel, Antiochus, Arabia, Archaeology, Amorite, Art, Assyria, Babylon, Baptism, Bible, Brothers of Jesus, Calendar, Canon, Chronology, City, Coin, Commentaries, Conscience, Cosmogony, Covenant, and Crime—to name a few). By contrast, in the same letter group, WBE had only about eight (Animals, Archaeology, Babylon, Bible Manuscripts, Christ, Chronology, Covenant, and Crime). In some cases, of course, the same material appears under different headings (e.g., the long “Animal” article by J. W. Klotz in WBE takes the place of several score of fine short contributions by G. S. Cansdale in ZPEB). In a few instances the same author writes on a particular topic in both works. Wilbur M. Smith lends to both the benefit of his extensive bibliographical awareness on the subject of “Bible Dictionaries,” while J. A. Thompson writes on “Arabia” in both. Professor D. J. Wiseman of England contributes a fine article on “Babylon” to ZPEB and a short consideration of “Chaldeans” (though the main article on Babylon is by someone else) in WBE.

Sometimes the article on a given subject seems unnecessarily long, and sometimes the reverse. Does ZPEB really need eight pages on the “Brothers of Jesus” or six pages on “Antiochus” (both outstanding articles, by the way)? And does WBE need a five-page statement of “Arminianism” when it has only five paragraphs on “Calvinism”? Such unevenness is, I suppose, inevitable in a work that combines so many contributions, but it does leave the reader a bit perplexed. Again, in ZPEB the important tell of Beth-shean is given only three columns, while the less-imposing Beth-Shemesh receives three pages and Megiddo twelve.

Further, the location of an article is sometimes puzzling. Under “Biblical Theology,” ZPEB treats us to three articles, the first of which is general while the other two treat Old Testament theology alone, and from quite different perspectives. The expected parallel article, “Bible Theology, NT,” is conspicuous by its absence in the “B” volume but surfaces in Volume IV under “New Testament—Theology.” In the same volume, under “Old Testament” there is neither article nor cross-reference to an article on the theology of the Old Testament. Turning to WBE, we find no article of any kind on biblical theology, Old Testament theology, or New Testament theology. The article “Theology” ignores the matter of biblical theology completely, a fault that, to some extent, mirrors a weakness of the set.

ZPEB lists the more prestigious roster of contributors, though the quality of articles in the two works is often similar. Notable among contributors, and contributions, in ZPEB are the extensive works by D. Guthrie (86 pp.) on “Jesus Christ” and that by R. N. Longenecker (41 pp.) on “Paul” and his “Theology.” Both have already appeared in separate book form and are well worth the purchase. WBE contains many contributions by its editors, who seem to have left their stamp on the books a bit more than did M. C. Tenney and his contributing editors in ZPEB. As befits a work of greater length, the bibliographies are considerably more complete in ZPEB. This is an area that seems uneven in WBE (especially troublesome in archaeological articles) and will make it of less value to the student.

In graphics, the ZPEB could be expected to excel, since “Pictorial” is part of its name. Certainly it offers an abundance of fine illustrative material, but much of it seems less than fully relevant and some is even misleading. For the article on “Acts” we are shown a panoramic view of the Dead Sea with Jerusalem a tiny pinprick on the horizon and the caption, “The area where much of the action of the early part of Acts took place.” The article “Apostle” is illustrated by a shot of the Mount of Olives “where the apostles observed Christ’s departure.” Under “Astronomy” we are again treated to the old “flat earth” diagram (copied in this case from S. H. Hooke) which presupposes that the Hebrews took all of their own symbolic language regarding the earth in a most wooden and literal sense. (Because they refer to the “windows of heaven” it is clear that they viewed heaven as a wall and the rain as let out through the windows!) A photograph of Megiddo confidently asserts that the “Valley of Megiddo” is the “Armageddon” of Revelation, though R. D. Culver’s article on Armageddon just as confidently denies the identification. And so it goes.

There are, of course, many useful illustrations. For a starter see the pictures of Antioch and Athens and the line drawings and photos in the articles on “Armor” and “Art.” Also, the color-photo collection of coins is positively beautiful. But in a volume of this kind we should expect the finest in illustration, and, unfortunately, a good bit of what is here is banal, misleading, or irrelevant. By contrast, the less lavishly illustrated WBE is a model of concise, useful illustration, much of it from the collections of the editors themselves. The pictures, though smaller in size, are unusually well reproduced and seem always to the point.

In its extensive use of maps, ZPEB is even more to be faulted. The goal seems to have been a map to illustrate each place name, but the illustrative quality is mixed. Especially troublesome is the superimposition of an Old Testament place name on a New Testament map (see, for example, articles on Arvad, Amalek, Bashan, Canaan, and Carchemish). Further, for the insignificant (for biblical purposes) tell of Beth-eglaim (Tell el-Ajjul) we find a full page-map (again a New Testament version), while for the great city of Beth-Shean there is no map to locate the site (though the article on “Jezreel” carries a good photo of the tell). Some of the historical maps (e.g., the conquests of Alexander and Antiochus III) are a great help, but many of the rest could as well have been left out. Perhaps the most egregious error in the whole set is the map accompanying “Assyria,” an article splendidly illustrated otherwise. The map is a full-page spread of New Testament Palestine with a portion shaded out and marked with the caption “The Assyrian Empire”! The error is, fortunately, corrected in the excellent color map section (Rand McNally) at the end of Volume V.

By contrast, WBE’s maps, though not overly abundant, do the job. Only major geographical entities are shown (Assyria, Babylonia, Cyprus, Palestine, etc.), but there is good detail, although the older line-drawings could have given way to newer map-making techniques. Volume II concludes with a full set of the same Hammond color maps used in Baker’s Bible Atlas (1961) and many reference Bibles.

In conclusion, we must ask how well each set fulfills its intended role. WBE, with its more modest aims (ignore the enthusiastic dust-jacket speculation, “It may well take its place as the standard evangelical Bible encyclopedia of our day”), is closer to meeting them. The informed layman will find a wealth of data on a variety of subjects; the student will wish for a bit more. Had the quality of contribution been consistently as high as that of Inter-Varsity’s New Bible Dictionary, the set could have replaced that and other, lesser, one-volume works, but most students will use WBE alongside of rather than in place of the NBD.

ZPEB is aimed at another market and must be judged as a replacement for the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (Eerdmans; last revised in 1939, but for several years a major revision has been in the works) and the more liberally oriented Interpreters’ Dictionary of the Bible (Abingdon, 1962). The scholarship is generally high, and most articles are up-to-date. The set represents the extensive labors of so many for so long that it can’t help being a bargain even at the price quoted. But unfortunately, the lack of consistency and care in a few areas makes it necessary to conclude that evangelicals have not yet produced the standard for our time. With a bit more care (compare the meticulous editing of the IDB and NBD) a much more satisfying result could have been achieved.

In closing, I will repeat what I said at the beginning. Despite their faults, both these works are a treasure-house of reverent, accurate, and clearly written scholarship. Their very existence testifies to the distance American evangelicals have come in their quest for intellectual life. We wish both sets a long life and feel confident that any purchaser will enjoy many an hour of mining treasures old and new.

BRIEFLY NOTED

Fill Your Days With Life, by Mildred Vandenburgh (Regal, 186 pp., $1.95 pb). Retirement can be a time of fulfillment, according to the author. She describes the joy of involvement and the sense of ministry she has experienced with the “Jolly Sixties” group from her church.

Make God Your Friend, by Carol Williams (Zondervan, 90 pp., $1.25 pb). A short, excellent volume on learning to know the personal God.

Baptism: A Pastoral Perspective, by Eugene Brand (Augsburg, 125 pp., $3.50 pb). A simple and concise treatment of the place of water baptism in the Church through the centuries. Specifically examines Lutheran practices.

Mandatory Motherhood: The True Meaning of “Right to Life,” by Garrett Hardin (Beacon, 136 pp., $4.95), and The Morality of Killing: Sanctity of Life, Abortion and Euthanasia, by Marvin Kohl (Humanities, 112 pp., n.p.). More on the growing debate over abortion and euthanasia, this time on the pro side. Hardin tries to refute the emotional responses of many of the “right to lifers” by using an emotional appeal of “mandatory motherhood.” Kohl uses a more “logical” reasoning that encourages situation decisions. Both would discount a biblical definition of life and death.

Bible Handbook For Young Learners, by Michael and Libby Weed (Sweet, 236 pp., $7.95, $5.95 pb). This is truly for the young reader and should be very helpful. Divided into four sections it covers the history of God’s people through the New Testament, important Bible verses as they relate to various doctrines, colorful and simple maps, and a dictionary that clearly explains terms and names the reader will encounter in the Bible. Every Sunday school should have a copy in its junior department.

Patterns For a Christian, by A. L. Mennessier (Alba House, 228 pp., $4.95), Thinking About God, by Fisher Humphreys (Insight [P.O. Box 625, 3939 Gentilly Boulevard, New Orleans, La. 70126], 244 pp., n.p. pb), To Speak of God, by Urban Holmes III (Seabury, 154 pp., $6.95), and What Faith Has Meant to Me, edited by Claude Frazier (Westminster, 172 pp., $4.95). Four differing theological statements. The first is a new translation of Mennessier’s exposition on the thoughts of St. Thomas Aquinas. Meaty content for the theologically mature. Humphrey’s volume is a much simpler but not simplistic approach to the major tenets of Christianity. Biblically sound. The first half of Holmes’s book explains a view of God not specifically Christian. In the second half he fits Christianity into his theological system. The last volume, edited by Frazier, contains the personal testimonies of nineteen theologians and church leaders from all parts of the Christian spectrum. Interesting and readable.

Once Saved … Always Saved, by Perry Lassiter (Broadman, 96 pp., $1.50 pb). A brief, competent defense of the doctrine of eternal security.

Mystery Doctrines of the New Testament, by T. Ernest Wilson (Loizeaux, 128 pp., $1.95 pb). Examines fourteen “mysteries” referred to in the New Testament. Among them are faith, the Jew and Gentile in one body, godliness, Israel’s blindness, and the rapture. Readable for non-specialists.

The Johannine Synopsis of the Gospels, by H. F. D. Sparks (Harper & Row, 96 pp., $15). Excellent tool for the study of John. The text of the Revised Version of 1881 is printed in order, and in parallel columns are the related passages and similarities from the Synoptic Gospels.

Go to the Mountain, by Robert Voigt (Abbey, 148 pp., $2.95 pb), Hang In There, by Robert Whitaker (Logos, 56 pp., $.75 pb), and Speaking in Tongues, by Joseph Dillow (Zondervan, 192 pp., $1.75 pb). Differing approaches to the charismatic movement. Voigt, a Catholic priest, documents the Catholic “charismatic renewal,” speaks of his personal involvement, and encourages investigation. Whitaker addresses charismatics who have received cold responses to their experiences from their local church. Dillow, a non-charismatic, presents a balanced view of the movement.

Sexuality and Human Values, edited by Mary Calderone (Association, 158 pp., $7.95), Psyching Out Sex, by Ingrid Rimland (Westminster, 142 pp., $6, $3.25 pb), and Beyond Sexual Freedom, by Charles W. Socarides (Quadrangle, 101 pp., $7.95). Three on the psychology of sex (not marriage manuals). Calderone’s is a SIECUS book; selections deal with sexual values including religious influences. Rimland provides some good insights into our cultural sexual values; little mention of God. Socarides’ thesis is that modern sexual freedom has led and will continue to lead to chaos. Although he does not argue from the Scriptures, many evangelicals will agree with his conclusions.

A Guide to the Parables, by John Hargreaves (Judson, 132 pp., $3.95 pb), Exposition of the Parables, by Benjamin Keach (Kregel, 904 pp., $12.95), Parables Told by Jesus, by Wilfrid Harrington (Alba, 136 pp., $2.95 pb), and The Jesus of the Parables, by Charles Smith (Pilgrim, 264 pp., $8.95). Four expositions of the New Testament parables. Hargreaves has written on twelve parables with guides for discussion on their applications today. Keach’s book was written in the seventeenth century; good insights for those who can wade through it. Harrington’s, subtitled “A Contemporary Approach,” is concerned with making applications as well as examining the form of the parables. Smith’s, an updated reprint from 1948, concentrates on what the parables can show about Jesus.

Just Take It From the Lord, Brother, by Jeanette Lockerbie (Revell, 126 pp., $3.95). A creative examination of how to accept the circumstances of life as being from God. Readably and honestly stresses the need for faith in God as the Giver.

Give, by Harvey Katz (Doubleday, 252 pp., $6.95). Carefully examines many charities and has some good hints on how to give wisely.

A Gathering of Lambs, by Gertrude Johnson (Concordia, 144 pp., $5.95), Crying For My Mother, by Wesley Nelson (Covenant, 103 pp., $4 pb), Czech Mate, by David Hathaway (Revell, 187 pp., $1.75 pb), Disciple in Prison, by Robert Johnson (Tidings, 70 pp., $1.25 pb), How to Live Like a King’s Kid, by Harold Hill (Logos, 214 pp., $2.95), Thanks For the Mountain, by Erling and Marge Wold (Augsburg, 122 pp., $2.95), The Emancipation of Robert Sadler, by Robert Sadler (Bethany Fellowship, 254 pp., $6.95), and The Frog Who Never Became a Prince, by James “Frog” Sullivan (Vision House, 174 pp., $4.95). Eight authors tell how God has worked in their lives. Gertrude Johnson tells the moving story of her family’s struggles against the Nazi regime in Poland, and how God brought them safely through. Nelson candidly examines his life, both as a clergyman and earlier. Hathaway was a Bible smuggler; this is the story of his arrest and imprisonment in Czechoslovakia. Robert Johnson murdered four of his five children in a blind rage. He was converted in prison and writes about his growth there. Hill, a charismatic leader, uses a rather flip style to describe his deliverance from alcoholism, conversion to Christ, and subsequent growth. The Wolds’ book, a sequel to What Do I Have to Do, Break My Neck?, shows them facing triumphantly the despair that set in several months after Erling broke his neck. Sadler was sold into slavery in 1916 when he was five years old. His story makes fascinating reading. A hurricane demolished Sullivan’s home in 1970. That incident caused a re-evaluation of priorities and is the starting point for a book about a Christian so busy “doing” he had forgotten what God called him to “be.”

Aging Is Not For Sissies, by Terry Schuckman (Westminster, 128 pp., $2.95 pb). Written in a light-hearted vein for those of retirement age, but the younger set too can gain some insight into how to age gracefully and with a full enjoyment of life.

Disguises of the Demonic, edited by Alan Olson (Association, 160 pp., $6.95). Essays attempting to approach the demonic in a serious rather than sensational style. Not necessarily espousing the concept of a “personal” devil, the writers deal with the “forces of evil” as seen by four major religious traditions: Christianity, Islam, the African experience, and the folk wisdom of Central Europe.

The Deity of Christ, by W. J. Martin (Moody, 48 pp., $.75 pb), and The Lord From Heaven, by Leon Morris (InterVarsity, 112 pp., $2.25 pb). Reprints of short, excellent defenses of the deity of the Second Person of the Trinity. Important because not only modernists but also many heresies that appeal to biblical authority are defective in this area.

An American Catholic Catechism, edited by George Dyer (Seabury, 308 pp., $10, $4.95 pb), The Catholic Catechism, by John Hardon (Doubleday, 624 pp., $9.95, $5.95 pb), Catholicism Confronts Modernity, by Langdon Gilkey (Seabury, 212 pp., $8.95), The Church Yesterday and Today, by John Sheridan (Our Sunday Visitor, 312 pp., $4.50 pb), Focus on Doctrine, by James Gaffney (Paulist, 150 pp., $1.65 pb), Keeping Up With Our Catholic Faith, edited by Jack Wintz (St. Anthony Messenger, 103 pp., $1.75 pb), The Spirituality of Vatican II, compiled by William Kashmitter (Our Sunday Visitor, 272 pp., $7.95), Your Confession: Using the New Ritual, by Leonard Foley (St. Anthony Messenger, 105 pp., $1.50), and Positioning Belief in the Mid-Seventies, by William Bausch (Fides, 176 pp., $7.95). A large selection taking various approaches to modern Catholicism, but all aimed at reassuring concerned Catholics that the changes occurring since Vatican II are changes not in essential doctrines but in the way these doctrines are carried out in the world. The American Catechism, in traditional question-and-answer form, claims to deal with every aspect of the Catholic faith as taught by the church today. The Catholic Catechism treats the same subject, incorporating a historical perspective into the contemporary teachings. Gilkey is a Protestant whose thesis is that Catholicism is finally confronting modern man and that in this crisis, it may profit from the long history of Protestant experiences. Sheridan uses a question-and-answer format to bring out his views on the changing church and its approach to the Bible, liturgy, society, authority, and prayer. Gaffney deals with the same matters in a shorter, more informal volume. He tries to explain the changes to a traditional, unchanging audience. The volume edited by Wintz, written in a more casual, colloquial style, is also an explanation of the changes in the church since Vatican II and is the first in a series on developments in Catholic thinking. Kashmitter has gathered official statements from Vatican II on such topics as God, man, the church, priests, and spiritual duties. Foley’s short book treats one aspect of the new ritual: confession. Bausch, addressing a general but educated audience, explains the church’s position on eight traditional doctrines.

Listen Prophets!, by George Maloney (Dimension, 210 pp., $7.95). The author, a Catholic charismatic, summons all Christians to become prophets. Some good thoughts on discernment, prayer, fasting, and quietness.

Art As Spiritual Discipline

An Encounter With Oomoto, by Frederick Franck (Cross Currents, 1975, 63 pp., $2.50 pb), Pilgrimage to Now/Here, by Frederick Franck (Orbis, 1974, 156 pp., $6.95, $3.95 pb), and The Zen of Seeing, by Frederick Franck (Vintage, 1973, 135 pp., $7.95, $3.45 pb), are reviewed by Virginia Mollenkott, professor of English, William Paterson College, Wayne, New Jersey.

Frederick Franck, whose drawings and paintings are part of the permanent collections of such museums as the Whitney, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Tokyo National Museum, holds doctorates in medicine, dentistry, and the fine arts, and for three years served with Albert Schweitzer in Africa. He was the only artist to record all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council in 1962–65, and in addition to foreign-language readers has written several plays and twelve books, most of them dealing with various aspects of spiritual experience. He converted the ruins of an eighteenth-century watermill in Warwick, New York, into a chapel called Pacem in Terris, which he terms “a transreligious place of inwardness.” Christians who want to deepen appreciation of their own faith by re-examining it from what is admittedly a radically different perspective cannot afford to remain unacquainted with this man and his work.

An Encounter With Oomoto is a brief, clear introduction to a modern Japanese religious community called Oomoto, rooted in the mystical Shinto, Buddhist, and folk traditions of Japan. For Western minds, which tend to get caught up in exclusive either/or choices, perhaps the most important of Oriental attitudes is the tendency to let intellectual opposites interact with each other and thus reconcile themselves. For instance, rather than setting up a dualistic opposition between the secular and the sacred, the Japanese find the sacred within nature, within interpersonal relation, and within ritual, folklore, and magic. For the Oomoto Community, cofounded by the extraordinary artist Onisaburo Deguchi (1871–1948), the proper practice of an art form is one of the Ways by which a person may experience union with God. Onisaburo taught that the vocation of every human being is to evolve toward full identification with the divine essence that is a part of each person. And in this evolution or ripening of full human potential, the disciplines of art play an important role. Art, then, is “more than a purely aesthetic concern; it is a yoga, a way of becoming fully human, a means of making contact with the divine.”

The thrust of Frederick Franck’s basic concern is well summarized in these teachings of Onisaburo Deguchi. In the various programs held at Pacem in Terris, in his drawings and paintings, and his plays and books, Franck is constantly urging mankind toward a spiritual awakening that might be called “incarnational humanism,” in order to “restore the lost connection with our inner self in the all-encompassing Structure of Reality [i.e., God].” Pilgrimage to Now/Here sharply distinguishes incarnational humanism from what Franck calls “that naïve optimistic humanism which closes its eyes to the indescribable horror deluded, unregenerate man is capable of.” Franck interprets the Fall as a split between the subject and the object, the ego and the other, the individual human soul and the source or fountain or groundwork of its own being and of all being; and he makes enlightening analogies to the Buddhist term for such a fall, Avidya.

Pilgrimage to Now/Here provides a lucid theoretical basis for incarnational humanism by describing Franck’s experiences during a journey to India, Sri Lanka, the Himalayas, and Japan. By detailing conversations with such religious thinkers as Sri Krishna Saxena (a Hindu philosopher), the Dalai Lama, and Neiji Nishitani (a Buddhist philosopher), Franck gradually clarifies for the Western mind the profound meanings of what has been termed, with deceptive simplicity, Zen. One cannot read this book without thinking often of such Christian mystics as Saint John of the Cross, Meister Eckhardt, or Jacob Boehme. More importantly, one cannot read it without thinking, often with a sense of new comprehension, about the doctrines of God’s omnipresence and of the indwelling Holy Spirit, and of such wonderful New Testament passages as Colossians 1:15–20; Ephesians 4:13, and Luke 17:20–21. Franck himself refers to “the childlike rhymes of that underrated seventeenth-century German mystic,” Johannes Scheffler, who captured something of the immediacy of dynamic Christian faith:

Stop, where dost thou run!

God’s heaven is in thee.

If thou seekest elsewhere,

Never shalt thou see!

In good time we shall see

God and his light, you say.

Fool, never shall you see

What you don’t see today!

Learning to see is precisely the subject of Franck’s exquisitely illustrated and handwritten book, The Zen of Seeing. It is as if this contemporary artist had provided ocular evidence for a memorable statement by that great seventeenth-century Christian, the dean of London’s St. Paul’s Cathedral, John Donne:

The sight is so much the noblest of all the senses as that it is all the senses.… Employ then this noblest sense upon the noblest object, see God; see God in everything, and then thou needst not take off thine eye from beauty, from riches, from honor, from anything.

But Franck puts it all into a more Oriental manner of speaking:

We do a lot of looking.… Our looking is perfected every day—but we see less and less.… The purpose of “looking” is to survive, to cope, to manipulate, to discern what is useful, agreeable, or threatening to the Me, what enhances or diminishes the Me.… When, on the other hand, I SEE—suddenly I am all eyes, I forget this Me, am liberated from it and dive into the reality of what confronts me, become part of it, participate in it.

The Zen of Seeing is not just a book for artists or would-be artists, though it seems essential for them. It is a book for anyone who wants to learn how that which ultimately matters “can be perceived through the senses, not denied but maximally affirmed.”

Speaking of worshiping God through an enlightened appreciation of the natural world, Gerard Manley Hopkins wrote, “I greet Him the days I meet Him, and bless when I understand.” These books by Frederick Franck even though written from a different religious stance can do much to help Christians achieve a more profound understanding, and hence a more frequent encounter.

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