Holy: Understanding it Perhaps Better Through Two New Books

If you are looking to understand holy, there are two new books that may help.  One deals more directly with holiness as a topic and the other deals more directly with wholeness as its topic.   Wholeness is one of the top three candidates for the correct definition of holy.  That is why I recommend both of these for their potential insights. 

I have not read either of these two books as a whole, but I have read a summary on each.  My interest in both of them stems from my interest in the twin concepts of holiness and wholeness and in the possibility that holy means whole. 

The first book is: The Utter Relief of Holiness.  It is written by John Eldredge (who is best known for his book Wild at Heart).  Part of the summary of the book says that he deals with "how God makes us whole and holy".   I find this last connection interesting, because it follows closely the concept of "whole and holy" as taught at Bethel University and Seminary, where I attended in the 80s and 90s.  If you search on-line, then you can find Bethel's stance on this topic in their course catalog. 

The second book is: Solo: An Uncommon Devotional.  I am not yet clear on who authors this book from the summary that I read.  What I did read that interested me, was that: "The ancient practice of lectio divina or `divine reading' was all about wholeness - whole practice, whole Bible, whole God".  It just so happens that I have a classmate at Nashotah House (Seminary) who is writing on the topic of liturgy and the "lectio divina.  So this one caught my interest for that reason as well.  Maybe he and I will be able to collaborate on our writing! 

Anyway, I wanted to share these two titles with my readers and I plan to eventually own them both.  I think each may have something to say about the implications of holiness, especially if it does in fact mean moral wholeness. 

I hope you enjoy your reading.  If you would like, then you can leave your comments after reading either or both of these books on my blog and then you will have a chance to let others know your perspective.  Take care.

In Christ,

Jon