In the introduction, the author tells the story of St. Francis in chronological order, and this is the part of the book that makes the most sense. Several reviewers have stated that this book is written in reverse chronological order, but it is not. Major sections of the book are in reverse order, but confusingly, the chapters within each major section are in chronological order. Adding to the confusion is that the first major section of the book is supposedly about the death of Francis, but it is actually only about his last days. His death does not occur until the next to last chapter of the book, and is followed in the final chapter by the earliest scene we are to see: when Francis encounters a leper in the road. If you think my review is confusing, just wait until you read the book. Is the author trying to say that the sequence of events is unimportant? In the case of Francis, who started off as the son of a wealthy merchant and ended up barefoot and penniless by choice, the sequence of events would seem to be all-important. Readers should know that the scenes from the life of Francis focus almost entirely on the physical: what he wore, where and how much he bled, how doctors branded him with hot irons, etc. Seldom if ever are we given any understanding of his inner life or spiritual motivations.

I was prepared to dislike this book, although for the life of me I can't quite remember why. Perhaps it's because I distrust fictional accounts of Christian saints, particularly when they're written by nonbelievers. But I was quite mistaken in this case. Martin's "biography" of St. Francis is a wonderfully beautiful series of sketches. She takes scenes from his life--those related by the two earliest biographies by Thomas of Celano, but also later accounts such as Bonaventure's--and imaginatively weaves them into a cinematic-like skein that offers glimpses of the man Francis. So the reviewer who carps about her chronological lapses really misses the point. Martin doesn't intend to offer a straightforward account of the saint's life so much as a string of meditations that take their starting point from specific events in his life. Along the way she offers prose that is breathtaking in its beauty. Here's an example, taken from Martin's description of Francis early encounter with a leper--the episode that he himself, in his Testament, describes as his "conversion." Francis has just kissed the leper's hand: "His ears are filled with the sound of wind, and he can feel the wind chilling his face, a cold, harsh wind blowing toward him from the future, blowing away everything that has come before this moment, which he has longed for and dreaded, as if he thought he might not live through it. He reaches up, clinging to the leper's tunic, for the wind is so strong, so cold, he fears he cannot stand against it. . . . The two men clutch each other, their faces pressed close together, their arms entwined. The sun beats down, the air is hot and still, yet they appear to be caught in a whirlwind. Their clothes whip about; their hair stands on end; they hold on to each other for dear life."

I just finished Salvation: Scenes from the Life of St. Francis and found it to be a provacative read. Martin is a captivating writer, who handles a potentially biased topic with journalistic objectivity. But still, she manages to relay the deep emotion that surrounded and continues to surround St. Francis and his life. What I appreciated most about Martin's writing was that it gave small pictures of St. Francis, some which showed clearly his holiness and devotion to Christ, others that made you wonder if he was a complete lunatic.

For those of us who have studied the life of Christ, we find an interesting parallel. CS Lewis once said that Christ was either the Savior of the world or a raging lunatic. Too often, people shy away from the uncomfortable when they approach such topics. Because of that, people miss out on the complexity of the people. Too many people think Christ floated 3 inches off the ground and acted like he was stoned most of the time. They don't talk about anger, despair, humor and the like. They often make the same mistakes regarding saints.

Martin shows here that St. Francis was a man who took a radical stand in his faith. Who knows...maybe he was holy AND insane!

This book really does, as one of the reviewers here notes, represent an all-star cast of anti-Mormons. Its poor quality is all the more striking for that very fact.

Several fundamental problems mar the book. For one thing, its authors consistently offer up the most damning possible version of Latter-day Saint belief -- often in a form that few Mormons, if any, would be willing to accept. Then it compares that caricatured version to the authors' own less-than-obviously-true understanding of the Bible or of Christianity, as if their interpretations were the only ones on the market. Moreover, the authors don't always seem to know much about their subject. (Geisler is a particular disappointment in this regard.)

And, of course, the book's relentlessly antagonistic attitude toward the Latter-day Saints and their faith shouldn't exactly inspire its readers with confidence in the fairness of its approach. But then, lack of fairness probably won't matter to a considerable proportion of the book's audience, who may well get too much pleasure out of seeing the Mormons trashed to worry much about such matters as bias, accuracy, and context.

The best chapter in this book is by Francis Beckwith, a philosophy professor who has written an academic monograph on Mormonism as well as a number of academic articles (which means, I presume, that he knows something about Mormonism). Ron Rhodes's chapter is second best, but Geisler and Roberts could use some improvement. I think a project like this is good, but it should be a little more tight. It is written clearly and intended for a wide audience. The book is worth buying just for Beckwith's well-reasoned critique of the Mormon concept of God.

My only complaint: Let's just take it a step further and say "The Counterfeit Religion of Christianity". All of Christiandom (and Islam and Buddhism and every other "other worldly" religion had the same formative processes that created Mormonism, only so long ago no one seems to muster the critical scope to take it on.

This is a reprint of a book first published in 1935. While it has historical information about Isaac Jogues, it comes packaged in the author's cultural baggage of another era. It is full of derogatory references to the native peoples as "savages," and lacks an appreciation of inculturation. Since Vatican II the Church has forged new directions in missiology and an awareness of culture in evangelization. Speaking to a group of native Americans, the pope himself has stated that "The early encounter between your traditional cultures and the European way of life...was a harsh and painful reality for your peoples. The cultural oppression, the injustices, the disruption of your life and of your traditional societies must be acknowledged..." (Speech in Phoenix, AZ, Sept. 14, 1987) This book presents quite a different picture. The heroism of the martyrs can only be admired. But it is ironic that they themselves practiced a form of inculturation far ahead of their time, and so they would presumably be in the vanguard of the Church's missionary outreach today. Publishing this book now can only do them a disservice, as it does to the native peoples whom they loved enough to give their lives for.

This is a thoroughly researched and enthralling biography of what would have to be one of the most extraordinary lives of all time - the life of a highly educated Jesuit of the 17th century golden age of France, sent as a missionary to the native tribes in the jungles of America. St Isaac Jogues' heroism, holiness, perseverance and indomitable courage, in the midst of the Native Americans, shine out in a well-told story.

This book should be carefully avoided. It has a modernist bias and seems to almost criticize the Church's holy saints. A perfect example is the passage on St. Louis Grignion de Montfort and his treatise on the Virgin Mary "True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin", which according to the author, "waned considerably in influence after Vatican II, when emphasis was placed more on Jesus and the Bible". Pope John Paul II has used De Montfort's motto "Totus Tuus" throughout his pontificate, not to mention the fact that "True Devotion" is interlaced with exhaustive scripture quotes and references, from both the Old and New Testaments. This is not a Catholic book, I don't know what it is, but don't line a birdcage with it. Don't buy this book, but do pray for the author!!!!!

This book is a worthwhile guide to McBrien's odd biases. As a noted 'dissenter', this book should be a great comfort and resource to like-minded people.

To those looking for a credible, well-written guide to Saints - those chosen by God as exemplars off heroic virtue, the book will not do at all. A few lines on great, wildly popular modern saints such as Faustina and Padre Pio? But longer disquisitions on McBrien hobbyhorses such as Albert Schweitzer. Martin Luther King, and Cardinal Bernardin? Please.

Lives of the Saints
Richard McBrien

McBrien's compilation of saints for each day covers a multitude of canonized and non-canonized people. He also offers saints who are recognized by the Anglican/Episcopalian, Lutheran and Greek Orthodox churches. His descriptions are short, comparatively with Butler's descriptions, but non-devotional. He includes in his short essays references to history, legend and myth. This book can exist along side other longer works and can offer some perspectives that others do not.

Father Paul Rout's small study of these two seminal figures in Chrisitanity leaves the reader feeling that more is needed. It is a short and fragmented study which may have amounted to something if more time and effort were put into the scholarship.

It seems to be an outline for what could be a great study. However, the current work amounts to rehashed lecture notes.

Rout's book is simply the *best* summary of the lives, thoughts, and actions of Francis of Assisi and his second-generation disciple and expositor, Bonaventure. With clarity and agility, Rout traces the lives of both men, showing the former's charismatic personality and the latter's scholarly excellence and how both used their gifts in spreading the good news of God's love in Jesus Christ to the people of their time. Since Bonaventure is the systematic theologian and was the most significant early Franciscan to give shape to Francis' wisdom, Rout concentrates on his writings and thoughts a great deal, but in no way excludes the life of Francis nor its profound impact on people to this very day. Rout's final chapter on Francis encounter with the Sultan as the basis for modern ecumenical dialogue is excellent. There is simply nothing about this book not to like. It is short and to the point, doesn't get lost in theological jargon, is accessible to anyone, and is profound in its reflections on the experience of God these two had and how it relates to living a Christian life today. As an admirer of both, I highly recommend this book to anyone else who does, and who believes there is more to medieval theology than Thomas Aquinas!!

Every page of this easy-to-read book is inspiring and worth taking a highlighter to! I loved the prayers and quotes that were included; they showed the sensitivity and compassion of these two wonderful saints. A beautiful book for sure!

I'm pleased, I guess, that Beckwith and Parrish have made an attempt to engage on a philosophical basis with Mormon theology.

I just don't think they've made a persuasive case. David Paulsen and Blake Ostler have offered impressive Mormon criticisms of this book and its arguments in various venues. Those really interested in the subject should consult their reviews (in the "International Quarterly for the Philosophy of Religion," in "Religious Studies," and in the "FARMS Review of Books," among other places).

Professor Sabatier's long-out-of-print work is the ur-text of Francis biographies, the one to which most of the contemporary biographers refer most centrally in their own work (Julien Green in particular). Therefore, reading this text in its particular historical and scholarly context is essential; to truly appreciate Sabatier's intervention into the popular and scholarly understanding of St. Francis is to have ready reference to the body of work, and the weight of tradition, to which Sabatier was responding. Unfortunately, Mr. Sweeney sees fit to excise just this apparatus in his "edition" of Sabatier; he cuts out Sabatier's Introduction, condenses several chapters, and replaces Sabatier's footnotes and bibliography with his own commentaries and explanations of the text, set right into the margins of Sabatier's own text, and a cursory bibliography that cuts out the vast majority of Sabatier's own points of reference. Scholars are left without resources for critical or comparative study, and readers who wish to learn more about Francis are pushed into Mr. Sweeney's particular framework of understanding with little warning. I hope another more reputable publisher sees fit to reprint Sabatier's seminal work in an uncompromised edition; until that happens, let the reader beware.