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These essays in this book are pastoral and scholarly, to encourage parents to nurture and foster Christian family life by learning from scripture and history. The Bible, in both testaments, offers us stories that provide moral and spiritual substance to the nurture of the child and the family. Beginning with the mythopoetic story of Adam and Eve, and the fratricide of Abel by the envy of Cain, the stories of the sacrifices parents made, then moving on to the stories of Abraham and Isaac, Ruth and her mother-in-law, Hannah and her son Samuel, Jeremiah the child prophet, these stories form our moral imaginations. Further, for Christians, they all augur the promise of the Incarnation, with the birth of Jesus to Mary and Joseph. Then through the history of the Church the role of the Child is further unfolded. It begins with Jesus teaching that to be as one of his disciples is to be a child. This is so radical that the subsequent churches have found it hard to follow. Perhaps one symbolic attempt was that of the monks' cowl which is a child's garment, and still worn in their monasteries. The book even explores the way that Christian maturity is one of childlikeness.
This anonymous fourteenth-century text is the glory of English mysticism, and one of the most practical and useful guides to finding union with God ever written. Carmen Acevedo Butcher’s new translation is the first to bring the text into a modern English idiom—while remaining strictly faithful to the meaning of the original Middle English. The Cloud of Unknowing consists of a series of letters written by a monk to his student or disciple, instructing him (or her) in the way of Divine union. Its theology is presented in a way that is remarkably easy to understand, as well as practical, providing advice on prayer and contemplation that anyone can use. Previous translations of the Cloud have tended to veil its intimate, even friendly tone under medieval-sounding language. Carmen Butcher has boldly brought the text into language as appealing to modern ears as it was to its original readers more than five hundred years ago. Also included in the volume is the companion work attributed to the same anonymous author, The Book of Privy Counsel, which contains further advice for approaching God in a way that emphasizes real experience rather than human knowledge.
A marvelously readable translation of the great Middle English classic of Christian mysticism—now part of the beautifully designed Shambhala Pocket Library collection This anonymous fourteenth-century text is the glory of English mysticism, and one of the most practical and useful guides to finding union with God ever written. Carmen Acevedo Butcher’s new translation is the first to bring the text into a modern English idiom—while remaining strictly faithful to the meaning of the original Middle English. The Cloud of Unknowing consists of a series of letters written by a monk to his student or disciple, instructing him (or her) in the way of Divine union. Its theology is presented in a way that is remarkably easy to understand, as well as practical, providing advice on prayer and contemplation that anyone can use. Previous translations of the Cloud have tended to veil its intimate, even friendly tone under medieval-sounding language. Carmen Butcher has boldly brought the text into language as appealing to modern ears as it was to its original readers more than five hundred years ago.
If you walk down the aisle in the Christian growth section of your local bookstore, you will be spoiled for choice. However, what you will struggle to find is a book on how suffering plays a part in one’s Christian growth. This book seeks to bring a helpful corrective to the current trend in Christianity that views suffering as something to be avoided entirely. It dives into the letter of First Peter to explicate how Peter envisioned suffering as not only helpful but necessary for true Christian formation.
There has been a marked increase of interest in the art of spiritual direction in recent decades. Yet in many circles, especially in ecumenical and interfaith contexts, it is unclear what grounds the practice of this ancient art. As a tradition's practice of spiritual direction expresses its particular theology, which, in turn, is shaped by its unique history, this work explains that ecumenical spiritual direction must make and retain the tri-perspective of history, theology, and method that faithfully reflects each tradition's distinctives as requisite for true ecumenical enrichment. The importance of this trinocular vision is brought into sharp focus through a comparative study of Ignatius of Loyola and John Calvin, where points of continuity and discontinuity between the Ignatian and Reformed traditions underscore the importance of this work's thesis.
Gold Nautilus Book Award Winner: “Nourishing and self-empowering” advice for living your happiest and most authentic life (Michael Bernard Beckwith, author of Life Visioning). We live in difficult, stressful times. You’ve read books and done workshops, but you still have to face so many stubborn obstacles. Yet it’s often our pain and dissatisfaction that push us to seek a more conscious life. Your Ultimate Life Plan is the missing “how to” for getting unstuck and moving past your problems and into a richer and more meaningful life, creating lasting change, and making a difference. It’s a practical roadmap to help you improve every moment of your life by teaching you how to buil...
Introduces key figures from Christian history Combines academic story and practical experience Offers spiritual application in each chapter Each chapter is sub-divided into smaller sections for ideal devotions Experiencing the love of God gives us a taste of his goodness, but often those moments are fleeting. Our awareness and understanding fade while our longing to experience him again increases. Here you can begin to fill that longing by developing your capacity to receive and respond to God's love. Spiritual formation is the process through which one's inner self is opened to the work of the Holy Spirit, who forms us into the image of the Son. Here Richard Foster and Gayle Beebe, both experienced leaders in spiritual formation, introduce you to people from the past who have known God deeply. Each person helps you to grasp one of the seven primary paths to intimacy with God that have been developed throughout Christian history. Written in short segments, each surrounding a key figure, Longing for God is ideal devotional reading.
The beloved Chronicles of Narnia are only the "top layer" of the rich treasure trove of C.S. Lewis's writing. This brilliant Oxford don made a tremendous impact on contemporary Christian thought and has deeply influenced generations of followers of Jesus in the half-century since his death. The authors in this collection examine Lewis's many contributions and reflect deeply on their significance for theology, spiritual imagination, and the challenge of Christian discipleship today. From Narnian adventures to Screwtape's letters, through studies of Lewis's collaborators (like J.R.R. Tolkien) and inspirations (like George MacDonald), and by way of reflection on deeper theological themes like human will, joy, and the End of Days, this book will inspire and provoke contemplation of God's presence in your life and in our world. CONTRIBUTORS: Chris Armstrong, Laurence DeWolfe, Brenton Dickieson, Sarah Grondin, David Hawkesworth, Carol Kuzmochka, David Purdy, Allen B. Robertson, Wayne Smith, Michael Tutton
Understanding Religious Conversion begins with emphasis on the value of respecting religious/theological interpretations of conversion while coordinating social scientific studies of how personal, social, and cultural issues are relevant to the human transformational process. It encourages us to bring together the perspectives of psychology, sociology, anthropology, and religious studies into critical and mutually-informing conversation for establishing a richer and more accurate perception of the complex phenomenon of religious conversion. The case of St. Augustine's conversion experience superbly illustrates the complicated and multidimensional process of religious change. By critically ex...
The book of Jonah has been richly commented upon by centuries of Christians and Jews. Writers of prose and poetry have loved it as well as those interested in liturgy. Jonah is a small book about a man swallowed by a big fish while running from God. Yet it is concerned with issues powerful over time among readers of many types and cultures. In essence, interpreters of Jonah have a great deal of territory to explore. In Jonah's Journeys, Barbara Green, OP, focuses on the character Jonah and explores the variety of way in which the prophet and the book have been represented and understood over the ages. The question of how readers construct meaning is central to the text.