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Book Description
A mixture of Studs Terkel's oral histories and the Dalai Lama's The Art of Happiness, this charming chronicle of William Elliott's quest to understand Jesus interweaves his personal, often quirky epiphanies with the insights of well-known men and women of every spiritual tradition. Raised in the Catholic Church, William Elliott's faith was shattered at the age of twelve when both his parents died. Many years later, he embarked on a journey to find answers to the questions that continued to haunt him---What is the purpose of life? Does God exist? What happens after death? His travels resulted in Tying Rocks to Clouds, an engaging narrative about the renewal of faith he achieved through the simple act of presenting his questions to a broad spectrum of thinkers and spiritual leaders. The review in Publishers Weekly summed it up this way: "This invaluable record deserves to be a bestseller, not only for its inherent wisdom but also for its clarity and respect for the many ways there are to be and to believe."
A Place at the Table is an account of Elliott's latest pilgrimage, and like its predecessor, it is a magical blend of humor and idealism. Triggered by the memory of praying for his dying mother beneath an ornately framed painting of The Last Supper in their living room, Elliott set out to discover the role Jesus plays in people's lives. Over the course of several years, he interviewed such spiritual teachers and icons as Deepak Chopra, Neale Donald Walsch, Marianne Williamson, and Billy Graham. He went to Jerusalem to walk in the footsteps of Jesus, and even conceived of a bold (if ultimately unsuccessful) plan to meet with Pope John Paul II in Rome. Each encounter illuminates another facet of Jesus' teachings, but it is Elliott's wry and sincere commentary on his own spiritual journey that reveals the most insight.
A Place at the Table is at once down to earth and rich in spirit. The story of one man's persistent search for answers, it provides invaluable guideposts for everyone seeking to understand Jesus' centrality in Western civilization and the meaning of Christianity in today's world.
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From Publishers Weekly
Another "rediscovering Jesus" book? Just when we thought there was nothing left to rediscover, spiritual pilgrim and psychotherapist Elliott (Tying Rocks to Clouds) offers this original, challenging and affecting investigation of "the real Jesus." Seeking the answer to one simple question (what does Jesus mean in people's lives?), Elliott travels the country in a motor home, interviewing believers. His finished product is an engaging blend of reportage and memoir. Readers will meet a diverse cast, including evangelist Josh McDowell, New Testament scholar Luke Timothy Johnson and theologian J.I. Packer. With representatives from every corner of Christendom, this book is capacious. Evangelicals tell Elliott that Jesus was without sin, died on the cross and had a bodily resurrection, while liberals such as Episcopal Bishop John Shelby Spong insist that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and interpret the resurrection and virgin birth metaphorically. Moreover, the interlocutors aren't just Christians. Some of the most fascinating discussions of Jesus emerge when Elliott sits at the feet of Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi (who suggests that the Messiah will not be one individual, but rather that we all will become Messiah) and New Age guru Deepak Chopra. In between the interviews, we gain insight into Elliott's own spiritual life. Readers won't find tidy answers about Jesus here. What they will find is a heartfelt love poem to a Jewish carpenter from Palestine who had something profound to teach about love itself.
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From Library Journal
A Roman Catholic psychotherapist and motor home pilgrim who wrote the oral history classic Tying Rocks to Clouds: Meetings and Conversations with Wise and Spiritual People, Elliott here undertakes another personal crusade, this time touring Texas, the Bible Belt, the East Coast megalopolis, and Israel to ask spiritual leaders his life's biggest question: "What does the life of Jesus Christ mean to you?" The resulting 24 full-length interviews with scholars, evangelists, and mystics are laced with Elliott's engaging, homespun humor, as he faxes letters to the Pope and spots a janitor ejecting pilgrims from the Shrine of the Holy Sepulcher so that he can sweep the floor. Articulating a wide range of views (Elliott's interviewees include Jerry Falwell, John Dominic Crossan, and Marianne Williamson), this volume offers a suitable snapshot of "the Judeo-Christian state of the art" at the millennium. The book's long, leisurely ride has something to offer Christian readers at every level of sophistication. Recommended for larger public library collections.
Joyce Smothers, M.L.S., MD student, Princeton Theological Seminary, NJ
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"This invaluable record deserves to be a bestseller, not only for its inherent wisdom but also for its clarity and respect for the many ways there are to be and to believe." -Publishers Weekly
"This is an utterly winsome book, one that will win a special place in readers' hearts . . . It's not just the wise and spiritual things his respondents say that make it sing---it's the search that Bill Elliott undertook and his bold idea of finding wisdom by simply asking. By the book's end, Elliott is wiser, more spiritual. So will be many of his readers." -Booklist
"A treasury of talks about the treasure of life, the great hidden pearl that is out there right in the open." -Book Reader
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