4 stars (An essential guide to leaving a legacy of love, blessing, and affirmation to your children) - Greg Vaughn had never been close with his dad. So after his dad died and Vaughn was cleaning out the garage, he was surprised at the depth of his grief. "The only thing I had left from my dad was an old tackle box and silence." He continues, "I remember crying out to God, 'This is it? This is all I get? I don't even have my father's signature!' " That garage moment set in motion Vaughn's growing nationwide movement to encourage men to write periodic letters to their children --- and wives and parents --- leaving a legacy of blessing, affirmation, and love. The book essentially explains how to set about writing letters, complete with sample letters, a table of contents listing topics that letters might address over time, and writing tips from a college professor. Vaughn suggests that letters include three elements: praise, hope and vision for the future, and assurance of loving commitment. But it also has an unfolding plot with multiple characters, explaining how Vaughn gathered a dozen men to join him in his initial, tentative venture. They met monthly for four months, agreeing to write and then read to the group letters they'd written --- first to wives, then to children, then to parents, living or dead, and finally a letter on the order of a final testament: "If our friends who've passed away had been able to speak at their own funerals, I wonder what they would've said. Have you ever thought about that? What would you say if you could speak at your own funeral?" You see the men interested in the letter-writing concept but clueless as to what to say or how to start. You see the reactions of wives and children when they receive their first letters, presented, according to Vaughn's schema, in wooden boxes with engraved nameplates. You see glimpses into Vaughn's own blended family. You see the birth of a church-based course called "Letters from Dad." On one le... Integrity Publishers :: Religious life :: Religion - Marriage & Family :: Religion - Christian Living :: Religion :: Fathers :: Christianity - Christian Life - Parenting :: Christianity :: Letters From Dad
5 stars (Better than the Oxford Blackfriars) - Of course, the Oxford Blackfriar's 60-volume edition would bankrupt most of us by it's sheer expense. But if one wants an English translation opposite the Latin original, it's certainly the reference work that many scholars prefer. For the rest of us, the English Dominican Fathers' translation of the early 20thC. is very, very good indeed. It's single virtue is that the same translation of words is used consistently throughout, even if the particular choice of words might not strike 21stC. readers in quite the same way. Some of the language is beginning to show its wear and tear, but once one is in the mindset, the reading is exceptionally clear. For those new to Aquinas, his methodology may strike some readers as odd. It's really a simple, yet elegant, system. First, Aquinas poses a question to be answered. Then he gives a variety of answers from others in the past. When you see, "but I reply," then you know you're getting to nugget of Aquinas' gems. After his reply, he responds to each of the previous author's opinions, stating why or how they are in any way deficient. Several features become instantly obvious. Aquinas had an encyclopedic mind and a good knowledge of Patristic and Aristotlean thought. Whenever possible, his answers are an a priori synthesis of the best Patristics and the best of Aristotle. These five, dense volumes in this edition illustrate the majestic scope of his enterprise. (His Summa Contra Gentiles is very similar.) There isn't really a subject or vantage that Aquinas doesn't cover. All his Summas are really magisterial (in the non-ecclesiastical sense). Lastly, Aquinas' command of the syllogism is unparalleled in human history. This is at once both its strength and its weakness. Strength in the sense of deductive logic, weakness in the sense of inductive logic. I'm convinced one can use the syllogism to argue just about anything, and if Aquinas is an example, he's an example of this mastery... Christian Classics :: Theology :: Doctrinal :: Spirituality - General :: Religion - Roman Catholic :: Religion :: Early works to 1800 :: Doctrines :: Christianity - Theology - Catholic :: :: St Thomas Aquinas Summa Theologica (translated by Fathers of the English Dominican Province) (5 Volu
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