The Good Life: Truths That Last in Times of Need

by Peter J. Gomes

What do I need to be good?
How can I truly be happy?
To whom or to what dare I give my
ultimate loyalty, my deepest love,
my full and total service? Out of all
this moral discourse and analysis,
what can I find and use to make a life,
and not just a living?
-from the Introduction After more than thirty years as minister at Harvard University, Peter J. Gomes has given his share of advice to the best and the brightest as they set sail into the world. Yet he has found that even these highly privileged students often run aground on the harsh realities of a life based in values that lead to ruin. The Good Life is his distillation of years of observation and insight into what is wrong and how we can all set our minds and hearts on higher things. Gomes begins with the contemporary crisis of moral education in higher learning and subverts the prevalent assertion that the youth of today's colleges and universities are spoiled and lacking in the capacity and desire to become good people and good citizens. Impressed by the sharp moral curiosity of young people today, as well as their strong desire to know, to be, and to do good, Gomes sets out to reclaim the tradition of virtue he believes can make this the greatest generation . In this search for a new nobility, he distinguishes between the plausible lies that our culture tells us about the good life and the fantastic truths that alone can bring true and abiding happiness, working through each of the unquestioned values of modern life. Along the way he redefines the central elements of the pursuit of the good life (failure, success, discipline, and freedom), then offers a new presentation of the four cardinal virtues (prudence, justice, temperance, and fortitude), and finally concludes with a passionate argument for the three theological virtues of faith, hope, and love. A challenge to educators, civic leaders, parents, and the youth who hold our collective future, The Good Life is a timely and important book about the recovery of moral knowledge and the choices we must make in order to live truly well.

Genres: Religion, Theology, Spirituality, Nonfiction, Faith, Christian

384 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Born May 22, 1942, in Boston, Massachusetts from Cape Verdean parents, Gomes graduated from Bates College in 1965 and Harvard Divinity School in 1968. He also spent time at the University of Cambridge and is now an Honorary Fellow of Emmanuel College, where The Gomes Lectureship is established in his name. Gomes was ordained as an American Baptist minister by the First Baptist Church of Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1968. Gomes remains a member of First Baptist and occasionally preaches there. Since 1970, he has served in the Memorial Church of Harvard University; and since 1974 as Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church. Also at Harvard, he serves as faculty adviser of The Harvard Ichthus. Gomes is a leading expert on early American religion. He has been a visiting professor at Duke University as well as UNC-Chapel Hill. In 2008 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Westfield State College.

Widely regarded as one of America’s most distinguished preachers, Professor Gomes has fulfilled preaching and lecturing engagements throughout the United States and Great Britain. He was named Clergy of the Year in 1998 by Religion and American Life. His New York Times and national best-selling books, The Good Book: Reading the Bible with Mind and Heart and Sermons, the Book of Wisdom for Daily Living, were published by William Morrow & Company. He has published in total ten volumes of sermons, as well as numerous articles and papers.

His most recent work, The Scandalous Gospel of Jesus, includes extensive commentary and observation on the interrelations of Church and State throughout history and particularly in recent US history. On September 15, 2008 he appeared on The Colbert Report to promote his book. During this interview, he also states that he was baptized Catholic and claims gospels are "a dime a dozen."

Gomes surprised many when he revealed in 1991 that he is gay, and has since become an advocate for wider acceptance of homosexuality in American society. However, he has stated that he has remained celibate.

A lifelong Republican, Gomes offered prayers at the inaugurals of Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush. However, in August 2006 he moved his registration to Democrat, supporting the gubernatorial candidacy of Deval Patrick, who would later become the first African-American elected governor of Massachusetts. (Gomes, 2006) In 2008 Henry Louis Gates featured Gomes and his family on the PBS documentary African American Lives 2. A DNA test showed that Gomes is related to the Fulani, Tikar, and Hausa peoples of West Africa. Gomes is also descended from Portuguese Jews through his paternal grandfather who was born in the Cape Verde Islands

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've had this book for about two years now, and I almost got rid of it a few times, but something made me hang on to it, and I'm glad I did. Rev. Peter Gomes was the chaplain of Harvard's Memorial Church for many years, as well as a professor of theology and ministry at Harvard Divinity School. He was also an African-American, gay, and--up until the very end of his life--a Republican. Talk about an interesting man!

Rev. Gomes's book asks us to ponder the eternal question, what is a good life? Or, in a more Aristotelian formulation, what is a life that is well-lived? Rev. Gomes writes lucidly, with both great erudition and great charm (I am sorry I never had the opportunity to hear him preach; he died unexpectedly last year ago at the young age of 69. I'll bet he was marvelous). The good Reverend writes about the tensions between success and failure, for example, as well as freedom and discipline. He writes about the importance of virtues, and spends a great many pages on the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love. He offers many examples of people who have thought, wrote, and preached on the good life (Bonhoeffer, Kierkegaard, other less well known Christians). He keeps the Bible as his touchstone, and describes the insights of people he's known and learned from: Billy Graham, Mother Teresa, Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela.

This is not a light book by any stretch, but it is an excellent and intelligent discussion of what the good life is, how one can pursue it, and why one would want to in the first place.

I liked this book very much. It's given me plenty to think about.

[Garland Vance · Rating 2 out of 5]

If Gomes' book was my only way of knowing what the good life is, I would be thoroughly confused and frustrated. Gomes served as Harvard's chaplain at the time of this book, and his writing is filled with stories from that great school.

But the book had some serious needs. First and foremost, it needed a much better editor. Gomes somehow managed to articulate in 4 pages what could have been said in 2 sentences. I found huge chunks of the writing unnecessary and ultimately distracting from what he was trying to say. Very often he would use multiple synonymous adjectives in one sentence; these did not advance the writing but only slowed down the point he was trying to make.

Second, the book needed greater focus. I consider myself a fairly astute reader, but I frequently caught myself asking, "What in the world is his point here?" He told stories as illustrations that did not seem to fit the point he was trying to make. And, pointing back to the first need, his stories could have been told quickly and concisely, but usually took up several unneeded pages.

There were certainly some good quotations that I will use (thus the reason for 2 stars instead of 1), but these quotations were not worth the time that it took to get to them. Ultimately, I would not recommend to anyone unless you have loads of spare time and enjoy useless adjectives.

[Pablo Rodriguez · Rating 2 out of 5]

As much as I liked "The Good Book" and "The Scandalous Gospel of Jesus", this middle book somehow didn't connect with me very much. It focused a lot on the university experience. It was well written, but I didn't get much from it that made me stop and think.

[Mdaly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating book, unashamedly Christian, by a Harvard Professor of Christian Morals. It was written in the aftermath of the Twin Towers destruction.
I have to reflect on it more before writing a review.

[Megan Doney · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not completely finished with this book but I wanted to set it aside for a while. I needed a fiction fix. The late Rev. Gomes was my college graduation speaker, and I wanted to read what he had to say about, as he calls it, "the good life:" what are the values and disciplines which we need in order to live morally and truthfully? I concur with his argument that young college students are yearning for some kind of guidance, and the opportunity to wrestle, with that question, and his beliefs about the nature of spiritual and life discipline, self-restraint, truthfulness, and curiosity might sound old-fashioned, but I absolutely agree that they are underused, and undervalued. I found the writing a little on the pedantic side, however, which was making my reading rather slow. I'll come back to this periodically.

[Alice Korngold · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful and compelling book in which the Rev. Peter Gomes shares his perspective of the Millennial generation, and their interest in a good life and what that means. I had the great pleasure to hear Rev. Gomes speak in person...an extraordinary and wonderful person who has helped to enrich many people's lives.

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great understanding of the difference between 'the good life" and "a good life." I wish I had written this book. Very easy to understand -- nontechnical language. He uses personal stories well.

[Zac · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a wonderful book for those needing to recharge there spirtual batteries. A great book even for those non-religous types.

[AJ Ong · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great insights but he tends to ramble and the structure of the book isn't that comprehensive.

[Mckinley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked the first chapters very much. But had to return before I finished it. Liked his other book, The Scandalous Gospel of Jesus: What's So Good About the Good News?

[Sharon Archer · Rating 4 out of 5]

" Jesus's comments in the Sermon on the mount are at one and the same time or so arresting and so annoying". Peter Gomes

We know the right thing to do to have a good life…there is freedom in good choices.