This bi-weekly book discussion group runs September through May. It takes its name from the title of Unitarian minister, educator and author James Luther Adams’ book of essays, “An Examined Faith.” The title relates to Socrates’ famous dictum: “An unexamined life is not worth living.” Adams asserts that “An unexamined faith is not worth having.” Faith Examined Group (FEG) discusses what Garrison Keillor might call “life’s persistent questions.”
FEG reads books — a few chapters at a time — from a list generated by members over the summer and ranked in September to decide the order of what books get read.
Our last two gatherings of the season will be May 8 and 22, in person at 4 Palmer St., from 10-11:15 a.m. We will meet again in the fall, 2023.
For our May sessions we will wrap up discussion of:
“The Religious Beliefs of America’s Founders: Reason, Revelation, and Revolution” by Gregg L. Frazer (2014). “Deftly blending history, religion, and political thought, Frazer succeeds in showing that the American experiment was neither a wholly secular venture nor an attempt to create a Christian nation founded on biblical principles. By showcasing the actual approach taken by these key Founders, he suggests a viable solution to the twenty-first-century standoff over the relationship between church and state—and challenges partisans on both sides to articulate their visions for America on their own merits without holding the Founders hostage to positions they never held.”
Upcoming Books
“Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto” by Tricia Hersey [AKA “The Nap Bishop”] (2022).”Rest is Resistance is rooted in spiritual energy and centered in Black liberation, womanism, somatics, and Afrofuturism. With captivating storytelling and practical advice, all delivered in Hersey’s lyrical voice and informed by her deep experience in theology, activism, and performance art, Rest Is Resistance is a call to action, a battle cry, a field guide, and a manifesto for all of us who are sleep deprived, searching for justice, and longing to be liberated from the oppressive grip of Grind Culture” (from hachettebookgroup.com).
“Beyond Tolerance: How People Across America Are Building Bridges Between Faiths” by Gustav Niebuhr (2009), a religion journalist, “sets off across America to find people who are building, not burning, the bridges between faiths. As he travels across the country — from Queens and Baltimore to Louisville and Los Angeles — he finds Buddhists, Catholics, Jews, Baptists, Muslims, and Episcopalians reaching out to one another to find common ground between their faiths. This insightful and deeply felt exploration of the nature of community and religion is a tribute to their efforts and a boost of much-needed optimism that reminds all Americans of their common goals, no matter their faith” (from Amazon description).
This bi-weekly book discussion group runs September through May. It takes its name from the title of Unitarian minister, educator and author James Luther Adams’ book of essays, “An Examined Faith.” The title relates to Socrates’ famous dictum: “An unexamined life is not worth living.” Adams asserts that “An unexamined faith is not worth having.” Faith Examined Group (FEG) discusses what Garrison Keillor might call “life’s persistent questions.”