Soldier, Sage, Saint - by Robert Cummings Neville (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

This is a philosophic study of some aspects of spiritual development, broadly defined. Professor Neville has been influenced significantly by comparison between several of the world's great spiritual traditions, and he has tried to be faithful to experiences in those traditions. Readers whose interest in spiritual development come out of non-Western traditions will find this book congenial. But this is a philosophical study, and the book puts forward a philosophical theory of spiritual development, paying attention to personal, social, and metaphysical concerns, and analyzing three central images of spiritual "heroism." The central contribution attempted here is a way of understanding the quest for spiritual liberation or perfection through the models of the spiritual soldier, the sage, and the saint. At times the argument aims, not just to understand, but to promote spiritual liberation, and to do so through philosophic understanding.

Review Quotes

...this is a compassionate work that will enrich the reader's sense of the spiritual.-- "--Journal of the American Academy of Religion"

"Robert C. Neville . . . present[s] three prototypes--soldier, sage, and saint--who challenge the seeker to rise above the vacuous, self-centered 'solutions' offered as alternatives by our consumer society. . . . there are great lessons here."-- "--The New York Times"