Prayer for People Who Think Too Much: A Guide to Everyday, Anywhere Prayer from the World's Faith Traditions

This book attempts to convince individuals with some knowledge of prayer to deepen their practice by exposing themselves to other religious traditions. Finley (The Seeker's Guide to the Christian Story, etc.) very briefly sketches Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist approaches to prayer. He contends that, in the end, there is little experiential difference among these five traditions and that God (or ""the divine mystery"") is benevolent to all. As one section declares, Finley believes that ""true prayerfulness transcends religious institutions."" Finley succeeds in maintaining the universally affirming approach that all paths lead to the truth, but this is possible only as a result of a particularly shallow explanation of Buddhism; he essentially does a cut-and-paste job with his (mostly Western) sources. (The book also contains some careless factual errors; for example: Finley has the Romans destroying the Jerusalem Temple in 586 BC and the Babylonians destroying it in AD 70, reversing his dates.) While the book's praxis-oriented approach will be useful for beginners, others grounded in a particular faith may find that religion's treatment too shallow. That said, Finley's tone is respectful of all five traditions, providing an everyday guide to the ""action"" of prayer. (Sept.)