Eleanor a spiritual biography
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Quote of the Month
Eleanor: A Spiritual Biography
The Faith of the 20th Century’s most Influential Woman— A Review
by Harold Ivan Smith. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2017.
I enjoy pondering on an author’s dedication. Some can open a window on any number of emotions experienced by the author at the conclusion of a completed text. Others can be coded messages to those closest to the writer, they can also be witty, they raise questions for the reader about the context of names and places, and they can often set the tone for the forthcoming read. The dedication written by Harold Ivan Smith author of Eleanor: A Spiritual Biography, The Faith of the 20th Century’s most Influential Woman, [Eleanor Roosevelt] sets the tone of this biography for me, at a number of levels. He thanked ‘the Archivist ‘par excellence’ for his ‘sage advice’ to set himself the task of exploring ‘the spirituality of Eleanor’ Roosevelt. Archivists are aware of potential areas of th
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Eleanor: A Spiritual Biography: The Faith of the 20th Century's Most Influential Woman
More than fifty years after her death, Eleanor Roosevelt is remembered as a formidable first lady and tireless social activist. Often overlooked, however, is her deep and inclusive spirituality. Her anställda faith was shaped bygd reading the New Testament in her youth, giving her a Jesus-centered spirituality that fueled her commitment to civil rights, women's rights, and the rights of all “little people†marginalized in American society.
She took seriously Jesus' words and despite her life of privilege, she made the needs of those on the margins her priority. Eleanor: A Spiritual Biography provides insight into one of America's most famous women, particularly the spiritual influences that made her so active in social justice issues.
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ELEANOR: A Spiritual Biography.By Harold Ivan Smith. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2017. Xi + 239 pages.
Eleanor Roosevelt not only was the longest serving First Lady, but perhaps except for Hillary Clinton, she is surely the most influential First Lady in American History. That she was influential in the political/social realm is not surprising, but that she was a deeply spiritual person, who was committed to the Christian faith as a life-long Episcopalian, and that this faith influenced her social vision, might be surprising. I know that, while I had some sense of her importance as a political figure, not only during her tenure in the White House, but as a delegate to the United Nations, I did not know the extent of her faith. Her faith, her religion, was broad, liberal, and committed to justice. She was a friend of H. Richard Niebuhr and Paul Tillich, as well as Martin Luther King, Jr. She understands James’ declaration that faith without works is dead,