Download or read book The Book of Longings written by Sue Monk Kidd and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2020-04-21 with total page 434 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “An extraordinary novel . . . a triumph of insight and storytelling.” —Associated Press “A true masterpiece.” —Glennon Doyle, author of Untamed An extraordinary story set in the first century about a woman who finds her voice and her destiny, from the celebrated number one New York Times bestselling author of The Secret Life of Bees and The Invention of Wings In her mesmerizing fourth work of fiction, Sue Monk Kidd takes an audacious approach to history and brings her acclaimed narrative gifts to imagine the story of a young woman named Ana. Raised in a wealthy family with ties to the ruler of Galilee, she is rebellious and ambitious, with a brilliant mind and a daring spirit. She engages in furtive scholarly pursuits and writes narratives about neglected and silenced women. Ana is expected to marry an older widower, a prospect that horrifies her. An encounter with eighteen-year-old Jesus changes everything. Their marriage evolves with love and conflict, humor and pathos in Nazareth, where Ana makes a home with Jesus, his brothers, and their mother, Mary. Ana's pent-up longings intensify amid the turbulent resistance to Rome's occupation of Israel, partially led by her brother, Judas. She is sustained by her fearless aunt Yaltha, who harbors a compelling secret. When Ana commits a brazen act that puts her in peril, she flees to Alexandria, where startling revelations and greater dangers unfold, and she finds refuge in unexpected surroundings. Ana determines her fate during a stunning convergence of events considered among the most impactful in human history. Grounded in meticulous research and written with a reverential approach to Jesus's life that focuses on his humanity, The Book of Longings is an inspiring, unforgettable account of one woman's bold struggle to realize the passion and potential inside her, while living in a time, place and culture devised to silence her. It is a triumph of storytelling both timely and timeless, from a masterful writer at the height of her powers.

Download or read book The Illusion of God s Presence written by John C. Wathey and published by Prometheus Books. This book was released on 2016 with total page 464 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An essential feature of religious experience across many cultures is the intuitive feeling of God's presence. More than any rituals or doctrines, it is this experience that anchors religious faith, yet it has been largely ignored in the scientific literature on religion.Starting with a vivid narrative account of the life-threatening hike that triggered his own mystical experience, biologist John Wathey takes the reader on a scientific journey to find the sources of religious feeling and the illusion of God's presence. His book delves into the biological origins of this compelling feeling, attributing it to innate neural circuitry that evolved to promote the mother-child bond. Dr. Wathey argues that evolution has programmed the infant brain to expect the presence of a loving being who responds to the child's needs. As the infant grows into adulthood, this innate feeling is eventually transferred to the realm of religion, where it is reactivated through the symbols, imagery, and rituals of worship. The author interprets our various conceptions of God in biological terms as illusory supernormal stimuli that fill an emotional and cognitive vacuum left over from infancy. These insights shed new light on some of the most vexing puzzles of religion, like the popular belief in a god who is judgmental and punishing, yet also unconditionally loving; the extraordinary tenacity of faith; the greater religiosity of women relative to men; religious obsessions with sex; the mysterious compulsion to pray; the seemingly irrepressible feminine attributes of God, even in traditionally patriarchal religions; and the strange allure of cults. Finally, Dr. Wathey considers the hypothesis that religion evolved to foster reproductive success, arguing that, in an age of potentially ruinous overpopulation, magical thinking has become a luxury we can no longer afford, one that distracts us from urgent threats to our planet.Deeply researched yet elegantly written in a jargon-free and accessible style, this book presents a compelling interpretation of the evolutionary origins of spirituality and religion.

Download or read book The Magnificent Story written by James Bryan Smith and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2017-08-08 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What is the story you have been told about the gospel? James Bryan Smith, author of the bestselling book The Good and Beautiful God, brings us this spiritual formation resource full of field-tested material and practices for both individuals and groups. Uncover the magnificent story of beauty, goodness, and truth that will satisfy the ultimate longings of your heart.

Download or read book Opening to God written by David G. Benner and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2010-09 with total page 182 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Spiritual director Benner invites believers to discover openness to God as the essence of prayer, spirituality, and the Christian life. Using the four movements of "lectio divina," he explores prayer as attending, pondering, responding, and being.

Download or read book The Power of Divine Eros written by A. H. Almaas and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2013-09-17 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Two innovative spiritual teachers show how to use desire and passion—eros—as a gateway to realizing our fullest potential What do desire and passion have to do with our spiritual journey? According to A. H. Almaas and Karen Johnson, they are an essential part of it. Conventional wisdom cautions that desire and passion are opposed to the spiritual path—that engaging in desire will take you more into the world, into egoic life. And for most people, that is exactly what happens. We naturally tend to experience wanting in a self-centered way. The Power of Divine Eros challenges the view that the divine and the erotic are separate. When we open to the energy, aliveness, spontaneity, and zest of erotic love, we will find it inseparable from the realm of the holy and sacred. When this is understood, desire and passion become a gateway to wholeness and to realizing our full potential. Through guided exercises, the authors reveal how our relationships become opportunities on the spiritual journey to express ourselves authentically, to relate with openness, and to discover dynamic inner realms with another person. Through embodying the energy of eros, each of us can learn to be fully real and alive in all of our interactions.

Download or read book Our Life Is Love written by Marcelle Martin and published by . This book was released on 2016-02-19 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Our Life is Love describes the transformational spiritual journey of the first Quakers, who turned to the Light of Christ within and allowed it to be their guide. Many Friends today use different language, but are still called to make the same journey. In our time people seeking deeper access to the profound teachings of Christianity want more than just beliefs, they want direct experience. Focusing on ten elements of the spiritual journey, this book is a guide to a Spirit-filled life that affects this world. Quakers in the seventeenth century and today provide examples of people and communities living in the midst of the world whose radical understanding of Christ's teachings led them to become powerful agents of social change. The book offers a simple, clear explanation of the spiritual journey that is suitable not only for Quakers, but for all Christians, and for seekers wanting to better understand our spiritual experience and the fullness of God's call to us. The book would make an excellent focus for study groups. Marcelle Martin has led workshops at retreat centers and Quaker meetings across the United States. She served for four years as the resident Quaker Studies teacher at Pendle Hill and was a core teacher in the School of the Spirit program, The Way of Ministry. She is the author of the Pendle Hill pamphlets Invitation to a Deeper Communion and Holding One Another in the Light. In 2013 she was the Mullen Writing Fellow at Earlham School of Religion while working on this book.

Download or read book The Crucified King written by Jeremy R. Treat and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2014-05-27 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The kingdom of God and the atonement are two of the most important themes in all of Scripture. Tragically, theologians have often either set the two at odds or focused on one to the complete neglect of the other. In The Crucified King, Jeremy Treat demonstrates that Scripture presents a mutually enriching relationship between the kingdom and atonement that draws significantly from the story of Israel and culminates in the crucifixion of Christ the king. As Israel’s messiah, he holds together the kingdom and the cross by bringing God’s reign on earth through his atoning death. The kingdom is the ultimate goal of the cross, and the cross is the means by which the kingdom comes. Jesus’ death is not the failure of his messianic ministry, nor simply the prelude to his royal glory, but is the apex of his kingdom mission. The cross is the throne from which he rules and establishes his kingdom. Using a holistic approach that brings together the insights of biblical and systematic theology, this book demonstrates not only that the kingdom and the cross are inseparable, but how they are integrated in Scripture and theology.

Download or read book Renewing the Evangelical Mission written by Richard Lints and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 2013-05-26 with total page 283 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The "culture story" of evangelicalism during the second half of the twentieth century has been well told. It is important now to think about the theological mission of the church in an ever-increasing post-Christian and post-partisan context. What is the theologian's calling at the beginning of the third millennium? How do global realities impact the mission of evangelical theology? What sense can be made of the unity of evangelical theology in light of its many diverse voices? This collection of essays draws together a stellar roster of evangelical thinkers with significant institutional memory of the evangelical movement who nonetheless see new opportunities for the evangelical voice in the years ahead. Contributors: Os Guinness Michael S. Horton Richard Lints Bruce McCormack Mark Noll J. I. Packer Gary Parrett Rodney Peterson Cornelius Plantinga Tite Tienou Kevin J. Vanhoozer Adonis Vidu Miroslav Volf

Download or read book Spiritual Longings and Divine Reponses written by William H. Porter and published by . This book was released on 1887 with total page 80 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Wounds That Heal written by Stephen Seamands and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2003-07-03 with total page 186 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Balancing sound biblical exposition with sensitive pastoral care, Stephen Seamands shows that because Jesus experienced abuse, shame and rejection, he understands the hurts we experience today. And Jesus' response to pain and suffering gives us hope that we too can experience forgiveness and new life.

Download or read book Manresa written by Saint Ignatius (of Loyola) and published by . This book was released on 1881 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Longing for God written by Richard J. Foster and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2016-02-12 with total page 369 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Do you long for the closeness with God that you've tasted in fleeting moments? You can begin to fill that longing by developing your capacity to receive and respond to God's love. In this rich resource Richard Foster and Gayle Beebe introduce you to people from the past who have known God deeply and model the seven paths to intimacy with God from Christian history.

Download or read book Fill These Hearts written by Christopher West and published by Image. This book was released on 2013-01-08 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The bestselling author, speaker, and teacher of John Paul II's Theology of the Body explores the yearning we all have for God and each other. Fill These Hearts is a book about desire. Not trivial wants or superficial cravings, but the most vital powers of body and soul, sexuality and spirituality, that haunt us and compel us on our search for something. Weaving life-altering lessons together from classical and contemporary art, pop music, movies, and the Christian mystical tradition, popular theologian Christopher West explores the ancient but largely forgotten idea that the restless, erotic yearnings we feel in both our bodies and our spirits reveal the cry of our hearts for God. Along the way, West blows the lid off the idea of Christianity as a repressive, anti-sex religion by demonstrating that Christ came to stretch and inflame our desire for love and union to the point of infinity.

Download or read book Navigating the Interior Life written by Dan Burke and published by Sophia Institute Press. This book was released on 2019-07-25 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most of us have questions about spiritual direction. What is it? What if I cant find a spiritual director? These questions and more are well answered in Dan Burkes book. The Lord is clearly calling all Catholics into a deeper union with him. This book, in a style which is both inspiring and practical, provides some of the Churchs most important wisdom about how to respond to this call.

Download or read book Broken and Blessed written by Fr. Josh Johnson and published by Ascension Press. This book was released on 2018-08-27 with total page 148 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Only 2 in 10 Americans under 30 believe attending a church is important or worthwhile. Well over half of young adults raised in the Church have dropped out with many having a strong anti-Church stance, many even believing the Church does more harm than good.Fr. Josh Johnson was one of these people. In Broken and Blessed he tackles the harsh realities facing the Church in the 21st century. With charity and courage he speaks to his own generation of Catholic “Millennials,” who often feel their needs and concerns are not being addressed by the Church, or who simply do not believe the Catholic Faith has any relevance to their lives. Using his own experiences, both as a former struggling young Catholic and as a priest, Fr. Josh offers an inspiring witness of how he came to know God, rather than just knowing about him—and presents practical ways for us to truly know God as well. Broken and Blessed: Addresses head-on Millennials’ most pressing issues with the Catholic Faith Presents powerful and inspiring stories from Fr. Josh’s own faith journey Shows how one can truly encounter Jesus in a personal way Offers practical insights on how to overcome habitual sins Discusses the nature of prayer, as well as the challenges to prayer and how to overcome them

Download or read book Attached to God written by Krispin Mayfield and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2022-02-22 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why does God feel so far away? The reason--and the solution--is in your attachment style. We all experience moments when God's love and presence are tangible. But we also experience feeling utterly abandoned by God. Why? The answer is found when you take a deep look at the other important relationships in your life and understand your attachment style. Through his years working in trauma recovery programs, extensive research into attachment science, and personal experiences with spiritual striving and abuse, licensed therapist Krispin Mayfield has learned to answer the question: Why do I feel so far from God? When you understand your attachment style you gain a whole new paradigm for a secure and loving relationship with God. You'll gain insights about: How you relate to others--both your strengths and weaknesses The practical exercises you can use to grow a secure spiritual attachment to God How to move forward on the spirituality spectrum and experience the Divine connection we all were created for You'll learn to identify and remove mixed messages about closeness with God that you may have heard in church or from well-meaning Christians. With freedom from the past, you can then chart a new path toward intimate connection with the God of the universe.

Download or read book The Holy Longing written by Ronald Rolheiser and published by Image. This book was released on 2014-03-11 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ronald Rolheiser makes sense of what is frequently a misunderstood word: spirituality. In posing the question "What is spirituality?" Father Rolheiser gets quickly to the heart of common difficulties with the subject, and shows through compelling anecdotes and personal examples how to channel that restlessness, that deep desire, into a healthy spirituality. This book is for those searching to understand what Christian spirituality means and how to apply it to their own lives. Rolheiser explains the nonnegotiables--the importance of community worship, the imperatives surrounding social action, the centrality of the Incarnation, the sustenance of the spiritual life--and how spirituality necessarily impacts every aspect of human experience. At the core of this readable, deeply revealing book is an explanation of God and the Church in a world that more often than not doubts the credibility of both.