Reviews for Spiritual Exercise: A Simplified Version of the Basic Lesson Series on Practical Christian Living

The average rating for Spiritual Exercise: A Simplified Version of the Basic Lesson Series on Practical Christian Living based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2017-03-28 00:00:00 Patricia Elerick I often find myself reading somewhat odd books because I have heard their authors interviewed on CBC radio. This is one of those books. Where else would I have heard about a book featuring the bits and pieces of long dead religious people? Truth be told, I was puzzled last year, when I heard that my city (Calgary) was to receive a visit in the form of the severed arm of St. Francis Xavier. I knew that such things were important in the Middle Ages (read Ellis Peters' excellent mystery story, A Morbid Taste for Bones, as an illustration of this), but I was unaware that religious relics were still a thing in the 21st century. In preparation for this odd visitation, the author of this book was interviewed by our public radio station. I don't remember the details of that interview, but I was intrigued enough to put this book on my TBR list and I'm glad that I read it, even if just for the quirk factor. Poor old Saint F-X, he wasn't the most successful proselytizer of the Christian faith, but in death he managed to find more fame and sainthood (he is featured early in the book). It's these stories of the people behind the relics that are interesting, as well as finding out that Buddhists and Muslims also have treasured relics. It seems to be a bizarre human tendency, perhaps starting when the Neanderthals buried their dead in the caves that they inhabited. The author is a religion scholar, but this offering is not a scholarly tome. It is sometimes humerous and very informative, without being overwhelming. If you are looking for something a little different in your reading docket, you could definitely do worse than Rag and Bone.

Review # 2 was written on 2014-07-29 00:00:00 Sandra Capezzuto Rather more anecdotal and less "fact based" than I would have liked. Features a nice joke about Jesus's penis but even that is so old (the joke, not the penis) that it goes back to John Calvin.