On July 24, 2026, John Roger Barrie published a short, standalone Kindle edition of the very first spiritual lecture he ever gave in public, Two Facets of a Religion. This publication commemorated the 40th anniversary of Barrie’s lecture. Here is the link to the Kindle edition on Amazon.
Two Facets of a Religion has been revised for this July 2026 release. Two Facets is a chapter from Barrie’s upcoming 2026 book, The Forgotten Gospel of Christ and Other Writings on Spirituality. In this short read, Barrie champions the need to combine the contemplative and active aspects of our spiritual life.
Barrie writes, “What is needed is a decompartmentalization of these two facets that would allow for both to exist simultaneously without conflict.” A thorough overview is given and many interfaith examples are cited in Barrie’s convincing, easy-to-understand narrative in Two Facets of a Religion.
John Roger Barrie’s Two Facets of a Religion is an extraordinary work: intellectually sophisticated, spiritually profound, beautifully written, and remarkably relevant to our time. – Anne Steinemann, PhD
Read Professor Anne Steinemann’s glowing review of Two Facets of a Religion below. An edited version of her review was posted on Amazon on August 5, 2026.
A Luminous, Learned, and Profound Exploration of the Spiritual Life
by Anne Steinemann, PhD
John Roger Barrie’s Two Facets of a Religion is an extraordinary work: intellectually sophisticated, spiritually profound, beautifully written, and remarkably relevant to our time.
At the heart of this compelling essay is one of the enduring questions of religious and spiritual life: How are we to reconcile the inward life of prayer, contemplation, and communion with God with the outward life of service, responsibility, and engagement with the world? Barrie explores this question with exceptional clarity and depth, showing that these are not competing paths but complementary dimensions of an integrated spiritual life.
What makes this work especially impressive is the breadth of its scholarship. Barrie moves gracefully across religious traditions and centuries of spiritual thought, drawing upon Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam and Sufism, while bringing into conversation figures as diverse as St. Augustine, St. Teresa of Avila, John Ruysbroeck, John Tauler, Brother Lawrence, Thomas Kelly, Arnold Toynbee, Gerald Heard, Swami Prabhavananda, and Hakuin. Yet the scholarship never feels merely academic or ornamental. Every reference advances the central argument and illuminates the lived experience of the spiritual seeker.
Barrie is particularly perceptive in showing the limitations of either action or contemplation when pursued in isolation. Contemplation without outward expression can become self-absorbed; action without an inner spiritual foundation can lose its source, direction, and sustaining purpose. His presentation of their reconciliation—of an inward life rooted in the Divine that simultaneously finds expression in loving action—is both intellectually persuasive and spiritually inspiring.
There is also a rare generosity of spirit throughout this book. Barrie respects differences in religious temperament and vocation rather than forcing spiritual experience into a single prescribed form. His interfaith perspective is discerning rather than superficial: he recognizes genuine distinctions among traditions while illuminating profound points of convergence.
Perhaps most impressive is the essay’s ability to unite scholarship with wisdom. This is not simply a discussion about spirituality. It invites the reader to reconsider how one actually lives: how periods of withdrawal and contemplation can transform our engagement with the world, and how service to others can become an expression of an interior life centered in God.
Two Facets of a Religion is a gem of spiritual writing—concise in length but expansive in insight. It is the kind of work one can read in an afternoon and contemplate for years. I recommend it enthusiastically and without reservation to anyone interested in comparative religion, Christian mysticism, interfaith spirituality, contemplative practice, or the deeper meaning of a life devoted both to God and to others. A superb and deeply enriching book!
Anne Steinemann, PhD, is an internationally recognized scientist and Catholic social missionary. She maintains an informative website. Check out her publications on Amazon, including her two books published by Sky Parlor Publications: Love is Like the Universe (Special Edition), and Flying on the Wings of the Angels of Love.
