The Heart Is a Little to the Left: Essays on Public Morality

by William Sloane Coffin

Book Overview

William Sloane Coffin offers here a powerful antidote to the politics of the religious right with a clarion call to passive intellectuals and dispirited liberals to reenter the fray with an... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0874519586
• ISBN13: 9780874519587
• Release Date: January 1999
• Publisher: Dartmouth
• Length: 96 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.7" x 8.8"

Customer Reviews

Prophetic Wisdom for America and the World

This is another gem from Bill Coffin in which he proposes how and why government and religion should not be completely separate in America. He targets injustice as the intolerable source of turmoil for our country and the world and promotes a public policy of compassion as key to church and state agendas. An easy, yet thought-provoking read.

The Heart is a Little to the Left

This book is so inspiring that I wish I could send copies of it to every single Congressman and Senator poised to go to Washington in 2007. This book is so inspiring that, if they ever do a remake of the movie "Fahrenheit 451" I want to play the part of the person who commits this book to memory. This book is possibly the most life-affirming thing I have read in the past year -- and I read a LOT on this general subject.

Reading Bill Coffin is enhanced in Hearing him Preach

When I recently chose to go into the life of one who greatly influenced me in the 1980's I chose "The Heart is a Little Left of Center" because it's filled by Coffin's big & best themes! In his years while at Riverside he stayed busy with Conferences like Montreat Music & Worship Week! Not only did he admire my wife's soprano voice but I could sit next to him in the bass section of Elaine Brown's fabulous choir. He was at home with great choral traditions...Always intensely in-tune with both the text & music. I quickly saw first-hand how his preaching each day in Worship was an exact replay of his momenteous living! Those themes woven into this later book are "Authority of the Bible, Homophobia, Fundamentalism, Meaning of Life & Death, and Civility!" As he goes thru his severe heart problems in Calif. with his Family, I can bet he's still an inspiring, giving, and caring Person! Still quoting Bishop Tutu, ML King, Rabbi Abraham Heschel: "some are guilty but all are responsible." Thoreau as well as, Abba Eban: "God is not mocked!" Likely unknowingly that he was also quoting Robert Shaw, in Atlanta, who called him Bill Coffin! I will always be able to hear his resonant, deeply rich bass voice both preaching and singing in the Choir. This should be required reading in all seminaries! Retired Chap Fred W Hood