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A Handful of Stars Texts That Have Moved Great Minds
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265 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1994
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170 people want to read
About the author
F.W. Boreham
204 books57 followersRev. Dr. Frank W. Boreham
(March 3rd 1871 – May 18th 1959) Served, and wrote, in the UK, New Zealand, and Australia.
(March 3rd 1871 – May 18th 1959) Served, and wrote, in the UK, New Zealand, and Australia.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
June 15, 2022
I enjoyed the second volume in this series as much as the first one. Boreham has such an engaging writing style. He makes non-fiction as interesting as a fiction book. It's hard to pick a favorite chapter, because they were all so good. With some of his references to classics, he piqued my interest in reading some of these books. He makes these various Bible verses come alive, and shows how they apply to our lives on a day to day basis. No wonder this was a sermon series Boreham's parishioners loved!
March 11, 2015
Boreham doesn't so much write as he paints with words. This book was my introduction to F.W. Boreham and I will definitely read more of his work.
September 1, 2015
I just love the way Boreham weaves these verses together with the stories of people whose lives were changed. There are a few times where a reference is dated or the background story is obscure to me, but this does not diminish his work. I would have loved hearing him preach these stories. (I've preached some of his stories myself.) In his writing I hear the passion of his heart. I highly recommend the whole series.
September 22, 2018
I forget how I first came across Frank Boreham. I remember that my interest was initially grabbed by his connection with New Zealand. He was an English Baptist preacher who, beginning in 1895, pastored a church in Mosgiel in the South Island, before moving onto Hobart and Melbourne in Australia. He was a prolific and popular writer (publishing over 50 books and around 3000 editorials for the Hobart Mercury over the course of 47 years) and, according to Wikipedia, was a famous enough evangelical that Billy Graham sought him out for a private meeting in 1959.
'A Handful of Stars' is part of a series of books he published based on his sermons under the general theme 'Texts that Made History'. In it, he presents the stories of heroes of British Christendom (my term, not his, chosen because it inevitably carries the whiff of empire) and the particular scriptures that transformed and defined their lives and became their assurance and security.
Although the book was published in 1922 it feels Victorian in its sensibilities. I can imagine it being read as edifying fireside or Sunday afternoon reading, and it is written in often earnest tones, which I'm certain come from a genuine place of conviction and ardency for the gospel. Though the approach may have aged, there are inevitably things to be gained by reading the book with an open heart - it would be arrogant and overly-clever to say otherwise. The ardency and conviction can be infectious.
I usually have more than one book on the go at any given time. One thing that interests me is how different (and sometimes quite disparate) books converse with each other by being placed side by side. Usually the connection is relatively random happenstance, though of late I've been thinking more of deliberately experimenting along these lines. I'm interested in the way new ideas, concepts and pictures emerge when you place two separate and/or diverse elements together. This approach also hopefully helps to mitigate epistemological echo-chambers (to use the overly technical jargon which nonetheless communicates exactly what I mean).
So to deviate from the mode of reviewing, to follow this random thread: I read 'A Handful of Stars' (1922) alongside (as it happens, non-deliberately), J.B. Phillips's 'Your God is Too Small' (1952) and Pádraig Ó Tuama's 'In the Shelter' (2015).
I won't speculate on how each of these writers would critique the work of the others (though that might be a fascinating game). While the Baptist Boreham presents a turn of the century appeal to the ardent convictions of the reader, the Anglican Phillips undertakes a mid-century intellectually-reasoned, psychologically-informed dissembling of popular constructs of God, and the Catholic Ó Tuama puts forth a thorough-going work of postmodernism - non-linear, non-didactic and non-dogmatic. Here, hosted by my beside table, we have a conversation, albeit bounded by the wider Christian tradition, between three very different voices.
The theme for discussion that my mind lands on for our unusual symposium is the question of certainty. 'Certainty' gets a bad rap in contemporary thinking, which actively seeks to embrace unknowing and the arbitrary nature of life. The proposition is that the embrace, or at least the acknowledgement, of these things is the healthiest way to be. (Disclosure: I am tending to concur.)
But Boreham (writing 100 years before the current era) in chapter after chapter reinforces a kind of certainty that is very strongly held. Now, this certainty, of course, is contingent on faith, but, through conversion by the various scriptural texts, his main characters become adamant and remain adamant to the very end. They all die in a state of utter conviction. And I love it, but I confess I'm not thoroughly familiar (at least yet) with the feeling as Boreham conveys it.
Meanwhile, Phillips in dissembling popular (and, he argues, inadequate) constructs of God, dissembles aspects of mine. I haven't got to the bit where he completes his proposition of a vastly bigger God. So for now, we stand amidst the pieces of the deconstruction (I use that term in the non-technical way, though I do think aspects of what Phillips is doing anticipate postmodernism). What role does the question of certainty play in this in-between space?
Then along comes Ó Tuama, who welcomes everything - the good, the bad and the ugly. And, in fact, what do we mean by 'good', 'bad' and 'ugly' anyway? Certainty is not the winner as he undertakes his gentle (theo)poetic critique and re-visioning.
If this all sounds like over-analysis, over-thinking and the makings of an existential crisis, you'd be right. But I'm excited. And I'm excited because I believe there's a space and way of being in which all these threads can be pulled together. My inkling is that in the real unpredictability of life, where certainty has given way, perhaps a synonym of certainty that is more nuanced can come forth - assurance in the midst. In fact I believe in that possibility.
Out of a critique of certainty and a dissembling of false constructs, there can emerge a post-critical assurance, a homecoming. Because indeed all three writers, Boreham, Phillips and Ó Tuama share a common thread, sparked by the compelling nature of Jesus Christ - the desire to bring people home. A journey which, I'm sure all three writers would agree, is most definitely worth undertaking.
'A Handful of Stars' is part of a series of books he published based on his sermons under the general theme 'Texts that Made History'. In it, he presents the stories of heroes of British Christendom (my term, not his, chosen because it inevitably carries the whiff of empire) and the particular scriptures that transformed and defined their lives and became their assurance and security.
Although the book was published in 1922 it feels Victorian in its sensibilities. I can imagine it being read as edifying fireside or Sunday afternoon reading, and it is written in often earnest tones, which I'm certain come from a genuine place of conviction and ardency for the gospel. Though the approach may have aged, there are inevitably things to be gained by reading the book with an open heart - it would be arrogant and overly-clever to say otherwise. The ardency and conviction can be infectious.
I usually have more than one book on the go at any given time. One thing that interests me is how different (and sometimes quite disparate) books converse with each other by being placed side by side. Usually the connection is relatively random happenstance, though of late I've been thinking more of deliberately experimenting along these lines. I'm interested in the way new ideas, concepts and pictures emerge when you place two separate and/or diverse elements together. This approach also hopefully helps to mitigate epistemological echo-chambers (to use the overly technical jargon which nonetheless communicates exactly what I mean).
So to deviate from the mode of reviewing, to follow this random thread: I read 'A Handful of Stars' (1922) alongside (as it happens, non-deliberately), J.B. Phillips's 'Your God is Too Small' (1952) and Pádraig Ó Tuama's 'In the Shelter' (2015).
I won't speculate on how each of these writers would critique the work of the others (though that might be a fascinating game). While the Baptist Boreham presents a turn of the century appeal to the ardent convictions of the reader, the Anglican Phillips undertakes a mid-century intellectually-reasoned, psychologically-informed dissembling of popular constructs of God, and the Catholic Ó Tuama puts forth a thorough-going work of postmodernism - non-linear, non-didactic and non-dogmatic. Here, hosted by my beside table, we have a conversation, albeit bounded by the wider Christian tradition, between three very different voices.
The theme for discussion that my mind lands on for our unusual symposium is the question of certainty. 'Certainty' gets a bad rap in contemporary thinking, which actively seeks to embrace unknowing and the arbitrary nature of life. The proposition is that the embrace, or at least the acknowledgement, of these things is the healthiest way to be. (Disclosure: I am tending to concur.)
But Boreham (writing 100 years before the current era) in chapter after chapter reinforces a kind of certainty that is very strongly held. Now, this certainty, of course, is contingent on faith, but, through conversion by the various scriptural texts, his main characters become adamant and remain adamant to the very end. They all die in a state of utter conviction. And I love it, but I confess I'm not thoroughly familiar (at least yet) with the feeling as Boreham conveys it.
Meanwhile, Phillips in dissembling popular (and, he argues, inadequate) constructs of God, dissembles aspects of mine. I haven't got to the bit where he completes his proposition of a vastly bigger God. So for now, we stand amidst the pieces of the deconstruction (I use that term in the non-technical way, though I do think aspects of what Phillips is doing anticipate postmodernism). What role does the question of certainty play in this in-between space?
Then along comes Ó Tuama, who welcomes everything - the good, the bad and the ugly. And, in fact, what do we mean by 'good', 'bad' and 'ugly' anyway? Certainty is not the winner as he undertakes his gentle (theo)poetic critique and re-visioning.
If this all sounds like over-analysis, over-thinking and the makings of an existential crisis, you'd be right. But I'm excited. And I'm excited because I believe there's a space and way of being in which all these threads can be pulled together. My inkling is that in the real unpredictability of life, where certainty has given way, perhaps a synonym of certainty that is more nuanced can come forth - assurance in the midst. In fact I believe in that possibility.
Out of a critique of certainty and a dissembling of false constructs, there can emerge a post-critical assurance, a homecoming. Because indeed all three writers, Boreham, Phillips and Ó Tuama share a common thread, sparked by the compelling nature of Jesus Christ - the desire to bring people home. A journey which, I'm sure all three writers would agree, is most definitely worth undertaking.
April 13, 2014
Seriously, one of the best books I've ever read EVER. If you like to hear about how Scripture changes people's lives, READ THIS BOOK! I love hearing why people love certain passages of Scripture and how it has affected the way they live their life, and this book is story after story of the way His Word has transformed people's lives! This book will change your life!! Soooo goood :)
June 27, 2023
This is not exactly what I expected. It’s a compendium of two of my least favourite things: commentary about other people’s works instead of showcasing the author's own unique vision, and this commentary is mere, dull religious fervour, that does not seem very passionate or true to the spirit, the kind that involves reciting mantra-like phrases rather than instilling any deep connection to the self.
February 5, 2018
This was my first FW Boreham book and I have to say I'm hooked. His writing is an art form that few writers I've read have ever come close to achieving. There's beauty, poetry, imagination, joy, and depth woven through his storytelling! As I read through this book, I felt very much like a small child sitting at the feet of a beloved grandfather eagerly soaking in each word. I loved every moment!
May 30, 2017
Great collection of short essays. Very compelling
July 3, 2017
Well written but not as interesting as other works.
Read
June 15, 2020Exceptional! Easy meditation.
June 30, 2020
I bought this series about fifteen years ago on the strong recommendation of a pastor friend. In retrospect, I think that pastor friend was simply enamored with all things Spurgeon and desired for the rest of us to be swept along with him. Boreham, a graduate of Spurgeon's Bible college, had a rather influential ministry in a wide and shallow way in the early 20th century. These books ought probably to have been left lie.
Boreham's basic approach here is to take a life story of some famous personage, connect it to a Scripture text that impacted or illustrated their life, and using that life preach the text. He misses much more often than he succeeds. This is for two reasons. First, he chooses his subjects seemingly at random, willy nilly, with little to no spiritual discernment apparently. Several chapters were openly based on fictitious characters centered at the heart of various works of literature. Others were plainly Roman Catholic in their theology/practice. Yet he would hold such up to us and use them to positively portray Scripture. Additionally, these books were written at the height of the British Empire, and their author is all in on that. They positively drip with national pride, steeped in a cultural milieu of colonialism, patriotism, and Christian civilization. Having said that, there are occasional moments of actual literature here. As well, we come across little bursts of historical information that crunch pleasantly between your teeth. But it has taken me 15 years to finish the first two in the series. I highly doubt I will bother with the other three. And those two sentences tell you all you have to really know, I think.
Boreham's basic approach here is to take a life story of some famous personage, connect it to a Scripture text that impacted or illustrated their life, and using that life preach the text. He misses much more often than he succeeds. This is for two reasons. First, he chooses his subjects seemingly at random, willy nilly, with little to no spiritual discernment apparently. Several chapters were openly based on fictitious characters centered at the heart of various works of literature. Others were plainly Roman Catholic in their theology/practice. Yet he would hold such up to us and use them to positively portray Scripture. Additionally, these books were written at the height of the British Empire, and their author is all in on that. They positively drip with national pride, steeped in a cultural milieu of colonialism, patriotism, and Christian civilization. Having said that, there are occasional moments of actual literature here. As well, we come across little bursts of historical information that crunch pleasantly between your teeth. But it has taken me 15 years to finish the first two in the series. I highly doubt I will bother with the other three. And those two sentences tell you all you have to really know, I think.
December 27, 2023
Great book, I listened to the audiobook version on YouTube. I will leave the link below so that everyone can enjoy it! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lXAG...
October 26, 2016
Read Darrel's short review below. Well said!
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews