Disciplines for Christian Living

Thomas Ryan spent a year living among Hindu, Buddhist, and Islamic practitioners in India, and Disciplines for Christian Living draws on that experience to enrich a deeply Christian spiritual formation guide. He covers practical disciplines — sabbath rest, fasting, contemplation, service, friendship, play, and exercise — with the kind of grounded warmth that comes from actual practice rather than theory. Henri Nouwen's endorsement means something here. The honest caveat is real and worth naming plainly: Ryan's interfaith framing has been criticized by evangelical and conservative Catholic readers who see the incorporation of Hindu and Buddhist elements as theologically problematic. Ecumenically-minded readers from Catholic and mainline Protestant traditions will find it rich; more conservative readers may find the synthesis uncomfortable. Published by Paulist Press, it reflects a thoughtful but clearly non-conservative theological approach.