Come into the Light

by Tony Scully

Overview

Tony Scully's poems in Come into the Light offer an outspoken conversation with the Gospels, arguably the most transformative teaching in our known history. The wisdom of the great masters among us, Jesus, the Buddha, and Mohammed, speak of universal compassion, love, and forgiveness. Jesus preaches that one will find God, not in invoking what amounts to an anthropomorphic idol, but in searching one's own heart, as in his fundamental teaching, "the kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:21). Tony Scully's poems address Jesus, the central figure of the Gospels, with questioning, irreverence, and occasional confrontation. In his view, many of the stories, even that of the resurrection itself, hinge on miracles, reflecting earlier religions that expected gods to cure illnesses, raise the dead, and even to walk on water, rather than on the powers of compassion, love, and forgiveness that characterize Jesus. In the author's view, the heart of Jesus is proof enough of his transcendence.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781725279988
Publisher:	Wipf & Stock Publishers
Publication date:	09/03/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	350
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Tony Scully has been a Broadway playwright, a Jesuit, and a mayor of a Southern city. A graduate of Boston College and Yale School of Drama, he pursued liturgical reform at the Woodstock Center for Religion and Worship in Manhattan. In Hollywood, he was a writer/consultant. He has taught painting, worked in street theater, and these days seeks to nurture the individual voice. He is the author of A Carolina Psalter (Wipf & Stock, 2019).

Tony Scully has been a Broadway playwright, a Jesuit, and mayor of a Southern city. After Boston College and the Yale School of Drama, he pursued liturgical reform at the Woodstock Center for Religion and Worship in Manhattan. In Hollywood, he was a writer/consultant. He has taught painting and worked in street theater. He is the author of A Carolina Psalter (Resource, 2019) and Come into the Light (Resource, 2020).

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“One of those rare books that pulls you in and won’t let go. Tony Scully’s poetic ruminations are profound, irreverent, uncompromising, funny, hopeful—and maybe most of all, wise. Come Into the Light is the work of a brilliant mind and sacred heart.”

—Richard Brown, Director, University of South Carolina Press



“Scully’s bold voice unmoors the spirit, leaving behind what is taken for granted, jettisoning clichés, prying loose from half- or heavy-hearted ties, sighting new shores, all the while making the adventure of faith exhilarating.”

—Drew Casper, Alma and Alfred Hitchcock Professor of American Film, University of Southern California



“After his beautiful insights into the Psalms, Tony Scully now illuminates the very heart of the Gospels with his understanding of what matters most to us all—knowing God’s love through the presence of Jesus. In his meditations it is not the mysteries and miracles but the enduring, comforting meaning of love, forgiveness, and compassion.”

—Martha Daniels, South Carolina author and historian



“Tony Scully’s Come Into the Light begs the questions at the core of our being: our fragility, our search for nobility, our need for faith, our hope in the search for our humanity. Scully finds humor. He sprinkles his poems with sometimes laser hard cynicism in search of truth. He accepts and challenges with equal fervor. I read his poems, then feel refreshed. As a physician, I find his rapier sharp examination of the Gospels to be a healthy dose of medicine for our souls!”

—Earl W. Bryant, physician



“The poems are completely absorbing. They are like the little metal pinwheels we had as children. Push the button, make the wheel spin, and it shoots sparks in all directions. They are marvelous for their unexpected connections and current references. . . . They catch the spirit of the Gospels wonderfully.”

—William F. (Chip) Summers, minister

Editorial Reviews

One of those rare books that pulls you in and won’t let go. Tony Scully’s poetic ruminations are profound, irreverent, uncompromising, funny, hopeful—and maybe most of all, wise. Come Into the Light is the work of a brilliant mind and sacred heart.”

—Richard Brown, Director, University of South Carolina Press



“Scully’s bold voice unmoors the spirit, leaving behind what is taken for granted, jettisoning clichés, prying loose from half- or heavy-hearted ties, sighting new shores, all the while making the adventure of faith exhilarating.”

—Drew Casper, Alma and Alfred Hitchcock Professor of American Film, University of Southern California



“After his beautiful insights into the Psalms, Tony Scully now illuminates the very heart of the Gospels with his understanding of what matters most to us all—knowing God’s love through the presence of Jesus. In his meditations it is not the mysteries and miracles but the enduring, comforting meaning of love, forgiveness, and compassion.”

—Martha Daniels, South Carolina author and historian



“Tony Scully’s Come Into the Light begs the questions at the core of our being: our fragility, our search for nobility, our need for faith, our hope in the search for our humanity. Scully finds humor. He sprinkles his poems with sometimes laser hard cynicism in search of truth. He accepts and challenges with equal fervor. I read his poems, then feel refreshed. As a physician, I find his rapier sharp examination of the Gospels to be a healthy dose of medicine for our souls!”

—Earl W. Bryant, physician



“The poems are completely absorbing. They are like the little metal pinwheels we had as children. Push the button, make the wheel spin, and it shoots sparks in all directions. They are marvelous for their unexpected connections and current references. . . . They catch the spirit of the Gospels wonderfully.”

—William F. (Chip) Summers, minister

From the Publisher