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Many people in the US today are searching for meaning, longing for a spiritual home. Unfortunately, in ever increasing numbers, they fail to find either in our churches. In 1970, for example, only one in twenty Americans responded "none" when asked about their religious affiliation; today that number is closer to one in three. During the same period, the percentage of Americans who stated that they never attend religious services has increased from nine to 30 percent. Some blame secularization for the steady decline in Church affiliation; others point to the rise of individualism. Still others express frustration with the structure and politics of organized religion. They judge it to be more concerned with money, status, and influence than with the gospel of Jesus Christ. In recent years, the terms the "nones," "dones," and "seekers" have been used to describe those who find themselves alienated from traditional faith communities. Members of the first group have no religious affiliation; those in the second, once active in a Church, report that their spiritual needs are no longer being met there; those in the third group have not given up completely on organized religion. What has been the reaction of many mainstream churches to this growing phenomenon? Some have been at a loss as how to respond; others have failed to understand the deep sense of alienation experienced by so many; still others appear reluctant to take action to connect us all with the heartbeat and message of a God who loves us profoundly. Rarely have the "nones," "dones," and "seekers" heard a church minister say, "I get it," "I see it, "I've been there." We offer the reflections found in this book not only for those involved in Church life but also to help build a bridge between those alienated from organized religion and those of us involved in ministry within at least two of its denominations. The book is made up of a series of reflections. Many address challenges that are facing our world today: greater self-understanding, trust, love, a generous outreach to others, the need for prophetic leadership and greater care for the human community. Painful topics are also considered: racism, exclusion, poverty, sexual violence, the plague of COVID-19 as well as its devastating effects on the lives of so many. The reflections in this book have their origin in sermons and homilies given as part of Church services, on retreats, and during the celebration of life events such as baptisms, weddings, the commemoration of those who have died. The book's title has its origin in Luke's account of two disciples on the road to Emmaus. Its details are familiar: confused and demoralized, Cleopas and a companion are walking on the way to Emmaus when a stranger joins them. They are amazed that he appears ignorant of recent events in Jerusalem as well as the crucifixion of Jesus. They share their hopes, now dashed, that he might have been the Promised One. Slowly and steadily, the stranger explains the scriptures to them, shares the stories, makes sense of the tales. They press him to join them for dinner and to stay the night at an inn. It is in the breaking of the bread during dinner that they come to realize just who he is. It is the Lord. We hope that this book will appeal to readers who long to deepen their experience of God as well as to those who continue to search for a spiritual home. May it serve as a guide for us all as we seek to find the place of faith in our lives as well as for those of us who are eager to transform our religious institutions into the harbors of hope that they can and must be.
The great corpus that is medieval literature contains, at its very center, the tale. These verse and prose fictional narratives, as well as stories that are grounded in some degree of historical truth, are the foundation of what readers, scholars, and enthusiasts often point to as signifiers of the medieval age. These tales - from the skillfully crafted to the more rudimentary and plain - often make familiar to modern readers what seems so distant and foreign about the Middle Ages. This volume of essays focuses on the tale and its ability to create "mirth," what modern audiences would often define as "happiness" or "joy," and the significance that the book has had on the transference of this mirth to audiences. This volume also celebrates the scholarship of Thomas H. Ohlgren, a medievalist whose work encompasses a number of different areas, but at its center lives the power of the tale and its ability to create a lasting impression on readers, both medieval and modern.
Julia Bolton Holloway's The Pilgrim and the Book: A Study of Dante, Langland and Chaucer investigates major fourteenth-century texts, the Commedia, Piers Plowman and The Canterbury Tales, in the light of the medieval theory and practice of pilgrimage, especially concentrating on Emmaus and Exodus paradigms. Holloway's analysis draws extensively on iconography, musicology, typology and anthropology. The concluding chapter explains why each poet places himself within his poem - in his own image - as a pilgrim.
This multi-academic perspective on contemporary environmental issues reminds us of our oneness with the natural world and what that calls us to as moral creatures. Fashioned as a series of stories based on the model of biblical narrative, these seemingly multivalent voices and perspectives are joined together with biblical stories, references, and theological reflection to create in All Creation Is Groaning a seamless story that is both provocative and revelatory. All Creation Is Groaning provides a clear Vision of living life in a sacred universe. This Vision is linked to the biblical Vision of justice and righteousness for all of creation, and humankind's responsibility to hasten the Vision through a call to ethical practice. Critical and hermeneutical, this book reflects an interdisciplinary approach so as to build bridges of understanding between the Bible and contemporary disciplines." Chapters are *Stories from the Heart, - *New Ways of Knowing and Being Known, - *An Islamic Perspective on the Environment, - *Christian Values, Technology, and the Environment Crisis, - *Feeding the Hungry and Protecting the Environment, - *Mental Cartography in a Time of Environmental Crisis, - *Toward an Understanding of International Geopolitics and the Environment, - *Sustainability: An Eco- Theological Analysis, - *The Stewardship of Natural and Human Resources, - *Development of Environmental Responsibility in Children, - *An Ecological View of Elders and Their Families: Needs for the Twenty-First Century, - *Symphonies of Nature: Creation and Re-creation, - *A Sense of Place, - and *Hope Amidst Crisis: A Prophetic Vision of Cosmic Redemption.
The Moonbeam Award Gold Medal Winner in the religion category, The Jesus Storybook Bible tells the Story beneath all the stories in the Bible. At the center of the Story is a baby, the child upon whom everything will depend. Every story whispers his name. From Noah to Moses to the great King David---every story points to him. He is like the missing piece in a puzzle---the piece that makes all the other pieces fit together. From the Old Testament through the New Testament, as the Story unfolds, children will pick up the clues and piece together the puzzle. A Bible like no other, The Jesus Storybook Bible invites children to join in the greatest of all adventures, to discover for themselves that Jesus is at the center of God's great story of salvation---and at the center of their Story too.
Separate chapters deal with narrative techniques in gnostic literature, the reception of Luke's Gospel throughout the ages, and the author's own highly sensitive reading of Luke's Gospel. He shows how gnostic enlightenment functions in the development of Jesus as a character as well as in his own teaching technique toward his disciples. Wojcik demonstrates how the implied author of Luke's Gospel uses these same techniques to withhold information and foster insight in the reader. The final chapter isolates the essential differences between canonical and non-canonical biblical scholarship and contains an impassioned argument for the value of scholarly analysis of the Bible from a literary standpoint.
Among Christian devotional works, My Utmost for His Highest stands head and shoulders above the rest, with more than 13 million copies sold. But most readers have no idea that Oswald Chambers's most famous work was not published until ten years after his death. The remarkable person behind its compilation and publication was his wife, Biddy. And her story of living her utmost for God's highest is one without parallel. Bestselling novelist Michelle Ule brings Biddy's story to life as she traces her upbringing in Victorian England to her experiences in a WWI YMCA camp in Egypt. Readers will marvel at this young woman's strength as she returns to post-war Britain a destitute widow with a toddler in tow. Refusing personal payment, Biddy proceeds to publish not just My Utmost for His Highest, but also 29 other books with her husband's name on the covers. All the while she raises a child alone, provides hospitality to a never-ending stream of visitors and missionaries, and nearly loses everything in the London Blitz during WWII. The inspiring story of a devoted woman ahead of her times will quickly become a favorite of those who love true stories of overcoming incredible odds, making a life out of nothing, and serving God's kingdom.
Jesus tells us that to be his disciple we must surrender everything and, with his grace, brave the path provided for us by God. Such a sojourn will surely be marked by joy, suffering, uncertainty, and—above all—adventure. Accordingly, The Adventure of Discipleship presents the Gospel through the lens of great adventure stories—from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings and C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia to popular adventure movies, comic book superheroes, and TV series. While these stories we create and read and retell are but reflections and refractions of the great adventure of discipleship, they provide us with genuine insight into life with Christ. Author Daniel Keating shows why we must respond to the call of discipleship with venturesome faith, as many great saints have before us. Along the way of discipleship, we come to understand the cost of following Jesus, the importance of hope in light of setbacks, and the gift of true friendship in this great adventure.
• Popular author and HuffPost blogger • Good for use by individuals or groups Whether we realize it or not, how we respond to life’s opportunities and challenges, to other people, and to ourselves depends upon the stories we tell about ourselves. Too often, we tell distorted stories drawn from painful experiences or internalized from others’ critical voices. These fake stories diminish our dreams, damage our relationships, and fill us with fear and self-blame. Research shows that people yearn for personal experiences of the holy, and Jake Owensby begins by inviting readers to re-imagine Jesus as friend and lover. He then turns to encouraging readers to hear and tell how Jesus would express their story and the stories of others. Jesus’ story about us is our true story: the gospel, the story of the beloved. It helps us experience the richness of life, see the stranger as friend, and make a difference in the world. Useful for both personal spiritual practice and group studies, Your Untold Story will help expand the soul by engaging imagination and deepening relationships among group members. It is a discipleship tool that will aid any individual or group of spiritually minded people. The missional church requires well-formed disciples; here is a resource to help in that process.
In The Magnificent Defeat, Frederick Buechner examines what it means to follow Christ, the lessons of Christmas and Easter, the miracles of grace, and "the magnificent defeat" of the human soul of God.