Saints: The Chosen Few

by Manuela Dunn-Mascetti

Near the heart of the world's great religions stand saints -- transcendently holy men and women whose "otherness" serves as an example of God's grace to ordinary believers everywhere. As miracle workers, healers, and teachers, saints are the most tangible manifestation of God's loving power. They are deeply mysterious as well, for they are both wholly human and have privileged contact with the divine.
THE CHOSEN FEW gathers together the stories of these holy individuals, from all faiths and from around the Islam's mystical Sufis; the saints of Christianity, who range from the mystically powerful to the practically helpful; the humble, holy beggars of India; the humanitarian bodhisattvas of Buddhism; the scholars, righteous men, and Hasidim of Judaism. Along with all these spiritual guides are included two living saints, the Dalai Lama and the Hindu avatar, Sathya Sai Baba. And for those intrigued by the power of the saints, there is a guide to specific saints and the miracles they will perform for the faithful.
Lavishly illustrated, here is a glorious, multicultural tribute to the God-filled men and women who keep the flame of faith alive among us. Like the saints themselves, THE CHOSEN FEW reminds us that life is wider, deeper, and more mysterious than it often appears in the light of our small, everyday struggles.

Genres: Christianity

255 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1994

Reviews

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an examination of the phenomenon of sainthood as it occurs in several of the world's major religions. The author examines Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism. The analysis is in-depth and interesting. For instance, Judaism and Islam officially frown on the veneration of human beings and yet certain individuals (tsaddiqim and marabouts, for example) have assumed an importance similar (but not identical) to that of Christian saints. The photographs and illustrations are so exquisite that a previous reader ripped a leaf out of the book.

[Pat Camalliere · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was meant to be a presentation of how saints are viewed by the various religions of the world, and to provide an introduction to the idea of sainthood. I suppose for the most part it does that, however, the task is almost doomed to failure from the outset, since the topic requires a more thorough understanding than can be accomplished on an all-inclusive introductory level. The author further confuses the reader by reverting over and over to language that cannot be clear to a beginner. As a Catholic, I know that many of the “facts” stated in the book are in error, and therefore am highly suspect of what is said about religions I am not familiar with. The organization of material and relevance of images to the text left a lot to be desired, and although the general effect of the interior design was pleasing the captions were in italic print so small as to be unreadable without a magnifying glass. Whenever a topic came up that I wanted to know more about, it was dropped or obscure before I reached understanding. The book may have been understood by those with the appropriate background, but again, the idea of the book was as introduction so it did not meet that purpose. Admittedly, I learned some, but I cannot recommend this book to anyone who seriously wants to understand saints on any level. Sorry.