Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.
Sample Book Insights:
#1 The skull told Macarius that those who were pagan priests and worshiped idols were forced to stand crowded together, day and night, wrapped from head to foot in flames, and suspended above an abyss of fire stretching as far below their feet as the sky had stretched above their heads when they had lived on the earth.
#2 The story of Abba Macarius and the skull was a ghost story meant to frighten children and credulous peasants. I had no idea what the preacher was talking about. I had read enough folklore to know what the story was, but I did not take it seriously.
#3 The most obvious and crucial question for me is whether Christianity can offer a coherent picture of reality. I cannot accept the idea that God would allow someone to be tortured forever just because that person is free to condemn himself or herself to such a fate.
#4 I was already fascinated with Asian literatures, cultures, and religions at a young age, and knew that this would be a significant part of my future scholarly and literary interests. I was not a Buddhist, and did not anticipate becoming one. I found the Macarius legend troubling, because it seemed like the Christian God was immeasurably less compassionate than the bodhisattvas of the Mahayana Buddhist religion.