Prayer

A minister and theologian in the Quaker tradition presents his musings and experiences regarding prayer. While he certainly has some evangelical tendencies, Foster's approach to the topic is quite within the Quaker tradition of emphasis on the personal, subjective "inner light." He touches not only on prayer, but also on many other aspects of the worship of God. Terence Aselford gives a competent performance of this work, which is a combination of lecture, sermon, how-to suggestions, and stories of inspirational incidents. Aselford reads clearly and with appropriate expression as the discussion moves from topic to topic. M.T.F. (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine


The author of THE CELEBRATION OF DISCIPLINE offers selected chapters of his 1994 book, this time read by a professional. The writing is packed with cultural and historical references that sound pasted together, at least in this recording. The result is a work that makes sense to the mind but largely falls short of engaging the heart and soul. Listeners can decide whether it's the writing or the reading, especially if they've heard the author or Tom Parker narrate audio productions of Foster's other books. Somewhere in this writing there is wisdom and inspiration, but in this audio you have to wade through what sounds like intellectual overachievement to get to it. T.W. (c) AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine