The Lost Spiritual World: Mark

Book Review
By Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

The Lost Spiritual World: Mark
Ruth Rimm
The Global Renaissance Society 02/07 Hardcover $33.95
ISBN: 0974575062

"This unusual book presents the Jesus Seminar's 1992 Scholars Version of the Gospel of Mark, a midrash that includes a celebration of all the wisdom traditions, an innovative text with bold and colorful designs, and a pathway to spiritual enlightenment that is in sync with our scientific, postmodern world. The imaginative person behind this daring interfaith work is Ruth Rimm, a young woman who by day teaches at an inner city school in the Bronx and by night is hard at work on further volumes in the Lost Spiritual World, all designed"to foster an environment of peace, love, empathy, forgiveness, tolerance, pluralism, inclusivity and reconciliation through beautiful artwork, inspiring commentary and fresh translations of the Scriptures of our great wisdom traditions.”

We knew we were on the same wavelength with the author when she used the metaphor of the spiritual journey as a scuba diver since one of our favorite quotations from Ramakrishna is"Dive deeper.”Then we nodded our heads when she quoted Thich Nhat Hanh: "We human beings can be nourished by the best values of many traditions.”Rimm interweaves these quotations and others in and around the Gospel of Mark where Jesus evokes ecstasy and wonder in others, demonstrates the healing power of touch, sleeps at sea on a boat tossed by waves, acknowledges an important place for women in his life, tolerates the intolerant, practices loves and humility, and demonstrates a close connection and communion with God.

Rimm points out the many constrictions of a judgmental, literalistic, dogmatic, and harsh religion that is down on the world, science, and sex. She discovers good in all religions and refuses to accept one as superior to all the others. No wonder Rimm can commend the writer Raimon Panikker who had a Catholic mother, a Hindu father, and who studied first in America and then in India. He says: "I left as a Christian, found myself a Hindu, and returned as a Buddhist, without having ceased to be a Christian.”That is a fine and commendable example of a new global spirituality that is at the heart and soul of The Lost Spiritual World: Mark.”

The Lost Spiritual World: Mark
Ruth Rimm

Product Description

The Lost Spiritual World takes you on an unforgettable journey—a journey of learning to smile in the face of adversity, of healing and refreshing your spirituality, and of finding joy in the magnificent mystery that is you. It explores the emergence of a new global spirituality that mixes the best of each wisdom tradition with the latest findings in psychology, quantum physics, neuroscience, and linguistics.

The wavy shape and wavy designs challenge orthodox (which means"straight thinking"In Greek) kinds of spirituality. They remind us that the journey of life is full of new discoveries, expanding perspectives, and magnificent twists and turns; it is anything but a"straight and narrow"path. The book's twelve metallic inks invite readers to explore the ecstasy of our connection to the cosmic stardust of which we are all made.

Few issues of our day are more urgent than engaging people of different faiths in a constructive interfaith dialogue. The Lost Spiritual World series takes you deep into the sacred texts of each tradition and reveals the critically important (and often overlooked) roots of religious pluralism.

The Lost Spiritual World is an illuminated volume of the Bible for the 21st century seeker who wants to experience the awe and mystery of God, but who is lost and confused and distracted, uncertain of how to tune into the Divine in a wired world.

Disclaimer: Our material may be copied, printed and distributed by referring to this site. This site also contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available to our readers under the education and research provisions of "fair use" in an effort to advance freedom of inquiry for a better understanding of religious, spiritual and inter-faith issues. The material on this site is distributed without profit. If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes other than “fair use” you must request permission from the copyright owner.