Book Review of "The Jew in the Lotus" by Rodger Kamenetz

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The Jew in the Lotus [Softcover]

by Rodger Kamenetz

304 pages

ISBN-13: 978-0060645748

Nonfiction

Review by Steven King, MBA, MEd

Religious faith without conviction seems to be antithetical to the very essence of conviction. Perhaps blind adherence to religious principles is the most restrictive philosophy adopted by a particular religion's devotees. As a Christian, this writer feels compelled to make a disclaimer - adherence to Christianity requires exclusivist thinking. To follow Jesus implies that the devotee has accepted the scriptural tenet which Christ spoke, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father but through me." [John 14:6]

Does such faithful adherence imply that no truth can be found in other religious expression? Of course not, but truth seldom intrudes where a locked mind exists. In the words of J.L. Borges: Truth never penetrates an unwilling mind.

The Jew in the Lotus is a fascinating discovery of what occurs when a diversified group of Jewish rabbis travel to India to have an exclusive meeting with the Dalai Lama, the religious and political leader of Tibetan Buddhism. Although this pilgrimage to Dharamsala, the seat of the Tibetan political administration in exile, occurred in 1990, the discoveries unfolded serve as a type of road map for pluralistic religious discussion.

At the heart of the book, Judaism meets Buddhism. What could these religious expressions have in common at all? Without trying to exhaustively detail the tenets of either religion, the first asserts that the pathway to God is accomplished by knowing and following his will as revealed in the Tanakh, a slightly altered derivation of the Christian Old Testament. The latter believes that life is marked by suffering and its purpose, in this life or another, is to follow the Eightfold Path to ameliorate suffering and to help all attain enlightenment, or Nirvana. From the outset, most would believe that there were very little points of convergence. As you read the story of this classic meeting, you see a different characterization unfolding.

The greatest convergence of these two diametrically opposed religious expressions is the reality of surviving in exile. For many centuries, Jewish people have been scattered worldwide via the Diaspora and have maintained their religious and cultural identity. Such survival expertise intrigued the Dalai Lama as he sought a way to keep his people inclined to their religious expression while in exile.

Another point of convergence surrounds their common belief that a type of exoteric enlightenment occurs via meditation, where both groups are attempting to quantify truth via ritualistic means. It is instructive that the term Jubu, which characterizes a Jew who practices Buddhism, was made famous by the narrative of this book.

Perhaps due to his proclivity for poetry, Kamenetz's prose seems unnecessarily lengthy in places. The reader should give him a wide berth as this tome reflects his rediscovery of his Jewish identity through Buddhism. Fortunately, for Kamenetz this trip helps him to veer away from a progressive atheism toward his religious heritage.

Kamenetz goes to great lengths to preserve many quotes from the liaison between the travelling Jews and the Dalai Lama. Many of these quotes will cause you to ponder: how is my religious expression practically working out in my life?

Larry Taunton - The Grace Effect - Book Review

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Many non-fiction books present their case and successfully persuade through intellectual reasoning. Fewer effectively wield the weapon of emotional appeal. Larry Taunton, Founder of Fixed Point Foundation, CNN columnist, and adoptive father, has managed to blend both strategies to create a very stimulating case for the power of Christian influence in society.

Taunton's book, The Grace Effect, begins with a conversation between two unlikely friends-Taunton himself, an apologetic and defender of Christianity, and the late Christopher Hitchens, prominent journalist and author of God is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. As both parties present intellectual and historical evidence to promote their individual cases, the question arises, are atheists correct in their hypothesis that religion, such as Christianity, offers more societal destruction than good (demonstrated by events such as the Crusades), or, can religion, particularly Christianity, be the life breath of civility within a nation? At this point, the intellectual discussion takes a back seat to Taunton's deeply emotional story detailing his adoption of a little Ukrainian orphan, Sasha.

Ukraine, unlike the United States, has little to no Christian heritage. Rather, its foundation rests on the humanistic ideology of secularism, spawned by the Communist revolutions that plagued the eastern block of Europe in the last century. So when Taunton, his wife, and two sons flew to Ukraine to begin what should have been the happy process of adding an additional member to their family, they instead meet a seemingly unending series of obstacles deposited by Ukraine's secular bureaucracy. As we get to know Sasha, and are drawn into the story of her adoption, each road block motivates a frustration within the reader that forces one to reflect on the notion-does the influence of Christianity truly shape a culture for the better, as seen in the contrast between America and Ukraine?

Here's where Taunton presents what he calls inherited grace, or, the grace effect. Essentially, a society dominated by Christianity, even deep in its past, benefits as a whole from the ideology of love and forgiveness as proclaimed by Jesus. Naturally, even those who are not living the Christian faith benefit from those who are. Selfishness, greed, slander, and deceit take a backseat to generosity, encouragement, truth, and hope of purpose. These attributes become a societal norm, and filter all the way to the highest levels of government. Taunton proposes that America has benefited deeply from thisgrace effect, and demonstrates how Ukraine suffers from the lack thereof.

Ultimately, after weeks and weeks of arduous struggles with the corrupt Ukrainian orphanage and judicial systems, little Sasha finally gets to fly home with her new parents, and family. Here the reader realizes that the grace effect truly begins in the family, and that families are the cells that make the greater organism of society. Experiencing Sasha's delight with her new family and home as she learns she's no longer an orphan, but a daughter, offers a powerful closing argument for Taunton's grace effect theory. I highly recommend The Grace Effect to any reader wishing for a broader understanding of how Christian ideology can shape society through inherited grace.

I was provided a free copy of this book through the Pinkston Group and was not required to provide a positive review.

Peter Dudek is a writer/blogger at http://www.christian-fantasy.com/.