Young spiritual leaders are beginning to
remove the reasons why
so many of us have kept religion at
arm's length.
Spiritual sagacity does not belong only to
seniors like Mother Teresa and Dorothy Day, Martin Buber and
Abraham Joshua Heschel, the veteran Desmond Tutu and the aging
Dalai Lama. Let's hear from a generation that is marked by new
experiences.
—from the Preface by Martin E. Marty
By transforming our faith traditions in
light of today's increasing diversity, the search for
community, the Internet and our changing lifestyles, these
young, visionary spiritual leaders are helping to create the
new spirituality.
Ten contributors, most in their
mid-thirties, span the spectrum of religious
traditions—Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Unitarian,
Buddhist—and offer their "visions," bold
spiritual manifestos, for transforming our faith communities
and our lives.
Hear how one Catholic priest proclaims
"all religion and spirituality ought to be zesty,
passionate, rich and deep"; how one rabbi serves a
"congregation" on the web for Microsoft and rides in
squad cars on drug busts in New York City; how a self-described
"Zen priest" is serving an Episcopal church in
Alaska; and how a talented young woman lives her "wild and
precious life" changing the world as a nun.
These stories, and others, will challenge
your assumptions about what religion is—and isn't.
"Articulate, funny, moving, frank,
and full of life, these young leaders (most in their 30s)
practice what they preach. Their "manifestos" express
the rich warmth of lives touched by daily interaction without
their communities."
—The Christian Science Monitor
"From the irreverent and playful to
the dogmatically stern and clerically cocksure, our Gen-Xers
lead us into the millennium."
—Daniel
Berrigan, S.J., West Side Jesuit
Community
"Spiritual Manifestos helps us awaken
to the fresh breath of new spirituality in our land and our
hearts. It is a call to transformation, both personal and
communal. Don't miss it."
—Lama
Surya Das, author of Awakening the Buddha Within and Awakening to the
Sacred
"A book everyone interested in
religion must devour and debate."
—Archbishop
Rembert G. Weakland, Archdiocese of
Milwaukee
"With passion and commitment, a new
generation of religious leaders reveals an exciting vitality at
the heart of their religious traditions."
—Mary
Catherine Hilkert, department of
theology, University of Notre Dame
"What a wonderful, optimistic book!
These young spiritual leaders, deeply dissatisfied with the
religious status quo, offer a vision, both positive and
practical, of where our congregations and religious
institutions should be going."
—Rabbi
Eric H. Yoffie, president, Union of
American Hebrew Congregations
"These ten articulate young spiritual
leaders engender hope for the vitality of 21st century
religion."
—Rev.
Forrest Church, minister of All
Souls Church in New York City and author of Life Lines
"Goldstein has created a hopeful and
incisive look into religious life in America today. All
libraries interested in staying current with the way our
communities are changing will find this a pertinent title.
Those interested in religion or spirituality will find that,
while bold, this is easy to digest."
—Library Journal
Niles Elliot Goldstein is the founding rabbi of The New Shul in Greenwich
Village, New York City, a program officer/educator at the
Jewish Life Network, and an associate of CLAL: the National
Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership. He has written for Newsweek magazine,
is the voice behind "Ask the Rabbi" for Microsoft,
and is the National Jewish Chaplain for the Federal Law
Enforcement Officers Association. He is the author or editor of
three other books. Goldstein lives in Brooklyn, New York.
