Download or read book The Evidential Power of Beauty written by Thomas Dubay and published by Ignatius Press. This book was released on 2009-09-03 with total page 372 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While everyone is delighted by beauty, and the more alive among us are positively fascinated by it, few are explicitly aware that we can recognize truth by its beauty and simplicity. Dubay explores the reasons why all of the most eminent physicists of the twentieth century agree that beauty is the primary standard for scientific truth. Likewise, the best of contemporary theologians are also exploring with renewed vigor the aesthetic dimensions of divine revelation. Honest searchers after truth can hardly fail to be impressed that these two disciplines, science and theology, so different in methods, approaches and aims, are yet meeting in this and other surprising and gratifying ways. This book relates these developments to nature, music, academe and our unquenchable human thirst for unending beauty, truth and ecstasy, a thirst quenched only at the summit of contemplative prayer here below, and in the consummation of the beatific vision hereafter.
Download or read book The Sound of Beauty written by Michael Kurek and published by Ignatius Press. This book was released on 2019-10-01 with total page 231 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Music remains something of a mystery to many people—ephemeral sounds floating invisibly through the air—here, and then gone. This book begins with the basic question of what music actually is, scientifically, employing simple, clear explanations of wave theory and the acoustics of sound as part of God's natural creation. It presents accessible and fascinating explanations of some theories of the psychology of perception of music, how music speaks to the mind, emotions, and spirit. Some of these concepts have rarely been addressed outside the ivory tower and even more rarely been seen through the lens of Catholic theology. Moving from music and the individual to music in the culture and the Church, the author addresses numerous issues in the context of Catholic thought, including: immanence and transcendence in music the Real Presence and music Moral Theology, Natural Law and music ordered and disordered understandings of music as it relates to the emotions understanding the authentic meanings of "beauty" and "creativity" the real function of music in Catholic liturgy the role of music in evangelization This is a kind of "layman's handbook," a comprehensive theology of all things music, which anyone can understand, written by an internationally respected classical composer and music professor at a top secular university who is also a faithful Catholic. It sheds light on the mysteries of music and furthers the spiritual formation regarding music for Catholics of many ages and walks of life. It is groundbreaking in its comprehensive and holistic treatment of music from a Catholic perspective, and particularly timely in advocating for the renewal of the norms for music in liturgy found in the documents of Vatican II. It also presents one of the most penetrating critical examinations to be found of contemporary classical music, from an insider.
Download or read book Happy are You Poor written by Thomas Dubay and published by Ignatius Press. This book was released on 2009-09-03 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: To the modern mind, the concept of poverty is often confused with destitution. But destitution emphatically is not the Gospel ideal. A love-filled sharing frugality is the message, and Happy Are You Poor explains the meaning of this beatitude lived and taught by Jesus himself. But isn't simplicity in lifestyle meant only for nuns and priests? Are not all of us to enjoy the goodness and beauties of our magnificent creation? Are parents to be frugal with the children they love so much? The renowned spiritual writer Dubay gives surprising replies to these questions. He explains how material things are like extensions of our persons and thus of our love. If everyone lived this love there would be no destitution. After presenting the richness of the Gospel message, more beautiful than any other world view, he explains how Gospel frugality is lived in each state of life.
Download or read book Saints written by Thomas Dubay and published by Servant Books. This book was released on 2007 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Anyone can achieve a reasonable level of sanctity, but the saints are in a league of their own. What sets them apart? Does holiness come more naturally to them than to the rest of us? Do they endure severe temptation? How do grievous sinners become saints? How has history been influenced by the saints? Are the saints relevant today? What do they mean for you? In answering these questions and many more, Father Thomas Dubay not only reveals what makes the saints tick, but also nudges readers toward the heights of sanctity themselves. It's an uphill battle for everyone, but the lives of the saints make it clear that great holiness is possible for all if we allow ourselves, as they do, to fall radically in love with God.
Download or read book The Probability of God written by Dr. Stephen D. Unwin and published by Forum Books. This book was released on 2004-10-26 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Does God exist? This is probably the most debated question in the history of mankind. Scholars, scientists, and philosophers have spent their lifetimes trying to prove or disprove the existence of God, only to have their theories crucified by other scholars, scientists, and philosophers. Where the debate breaks down is in the ambiguities and colloquialisms of language. But, by using a universal, unambiguous language—namely, mathematics—can this question finally be answered definitively? That’s what Dr. Stephen Unwin attempts to do in this riveting, accessible, and witty book, The Probability of God. At its core, this groundbreaking book reveals how a math equation developed more than 200 years ago by noted European philosopher Thomas Bayes can be used to calculate the probability that God exists. The equation itself is much more complicated than a simple coin toss (heads, He’s up there running the show; tails, He’s not). Yet Dr. Unwin writes with a clarity that makes his mathematical proof easy for even the nonmathematician to understand and a verve that makes his book a delight to read. Leading you carefully through each step in his argument, he demonstrates in the end that God does indeed exist. Whether you’re a devout believer and agree with Dr. Unwin’s proof or are unsure about all things divine, you will find this provocative book enlightening and engaging. “One of the most innovative works [in the science and religion movement] is The Probability of God...An entertaining exercise in thinking.”—Michael Shermer, Scientific American “Unwin’s book [is] peppered with wry, self-deprecating humor that makes the scientific discussions more accessible...Spiritually inspiring.”--Chicago Sun Times “A pleasantly breezy account of some complicated matters well worth learning about.”--Philadelphia Inquirer “One of the best things about the book is its humor.”--Cleveland Plain Dealer “In a book that is surprisingly lighthearted and funny, Unwin manages to pack in a lot of facts about science and philosophy.”--Salt Lake Tribune
Download or read book Wandering in Darkness written by Eleonore Stump and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2012-09-13 with total page 688 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Only the most naïve or tendentious among us would deny the extent and intensity of suffering in the world. Can one hold, consistently with the common view of suffering in the world, that there is an omniscient, omnipotent, perfectly good God? This book argues that one can. Wandering in Darkness first presents the moral psychology and value theory within which one typical traditional theodicy, namely, that of Thomas Aquinas, is embedded. It explicates Aquinas's account of the good for human beings, including the nature of love and union among persons. Eleonore Stump also makes use of developments in neurobiology and developmental psychology to illuminate the nature of such union. Stump then turns to an examination of narratives. In a methodological section focused on epistemological issues, the book uses recent research involving autism spectrum disorder to argue that some philosophical problems are best considered in the context of narratives. Using the methodology argued for, the book gives detailed, innovative exegeses of the stories of Job, Samson, Abraham and Isaac, and Mary of Bethany. In the context of these stories and against the backdrop of Aquinas's other views, Stump presents Aquinas's own theodicy, and shows that Aquinas's theodicy gives a powerful explanation for God's allowing suffering. She concludes by arguing that this explanation constitutes a consistent and cogent defense for the problem of suffering.
Download or read book And You Are Christ s written by Thomas Dubay and published by Ignatius Press. This book was released on 2011-06-21 with total page 156 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Father Thomas Dubay, one of the foremost authorities on the religious life, discusses one of the most important but not fully appreciated or understood charisms of the consecrated life, the charism of virginity. Although the idea of virginity is unpopular and even despised in modern society, Dubay emphasizes that the importance of evangelical virginity is rooted in its Biblical foundation, both in the Old and New Testaments. Examining in detail what the call to virginity is and how it is integrated into the whole of consecrated life, Dubay presents his study in such a way as to be of importance to men as well. Noting that a woman, because of her feminine nature and traits, can image and live the Church's wedded relationship to Christ more realistically, Dubay points out that men with the celibate charism are also members of the virgin Church that is wedded to Christ, just as in the Old Testament the People of God was a virgin bride wedded to Yahweh. The common and distinct elements of male and female consecrated love are fully captured in these pages.
Download or read book Seeking Spiritual Direction written by Thomas Dubay and published by . This book was released on 1993 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A guide for Christians who are considering spiritual direction or who are already engaged in the process. It explains what spiritual direction is, the qualities to look for in a director, the process of finding a director and ways to develop a deeper prayer life.
Download or read book The Way of Beauty written by David Clayton and published by . This book was released on 2015-07-21 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In The Way of Beauty, David Clayton describes how a true Catholic education is both a program of liturgical catechesis and an inculturation that aims for the supernatural transformation of the person so that he can in turn transfigure the whole culture through the divine beauty of his daily action. There is no human activity, no matter how mundane, that cannot be enhanced by this formation in beauty. Such enhanced activity then resonates in harmony with the common good and, through its beauty, draws all people to the Church--and ultimately to the worship of God in the Sacred Liturgy. The Way of Beauty will be of profound interest not only to artists, architects, and composers, but also to educators, who can apply its principles in home and classroom for the formation and education of children and students of all ages and at all levels--family, homeschooling, high school, college, and university. "Since the good, the true, and the beautiful are a manifestation of the Trinity, it is always a grievous fault to leave beauty out of any discussion of the relationship between faith and reason. This being so, I am thrilled at the way David Clayton illustrates how beauty stands in eternal communion with the good and the true."--JOSEPH PEARCE, Aquinas College "In spite of the great proclamation that the sacred liturgy is the font and apex of all we are about as Catholics, fifty years after the Council we still seem far from seeing and living this truth in all its fullness. Drawing upon years of experience as artist and teacher, David Clayton thoroughly unpacks this truth and shows, with an impressive range of examples, how it can and should play out every day in our schools, academic curricula, cultural endeavors, and practice of the fine arts. His treatment of the ways in which architecture, liturgy, and music reflect the mathematical ordering of the cosmos and the hierarchy of created being is illuminating and exciting. The Way of Beauty is a manifesto for the re-integration of the truth laid hold of in intellectual disciplines, the beauty aspired to in art and worship, and the good embodied in morals and manners. Ambitiously integrative yet highly practical, this book ought to be in the hands of every Catholic educator, pastor, and artist."--PETER KWASNIEWSKI, Wyoming Catholic College "In The Way of Beauty, David Clayton offers us a mini-liberal arts education. The book is a counter-offensive against a culture that so often seems to have capitulated to a 'will to ugliness.' He shows us the power in beauty not just where we might expect it--in the visual arts and music--but in domains as diverse as math, theology, morality, physics, astronomy, cosmology, and liturgy. But more than that, his study of beauty makes clear the connection between liturgy, culture, and evangelization, and offers a way to reinvigorate our commitment to the Good, the True, and the Beautiful in the twenty-first century. I am grateful for this book and hope many will take its lessons to heart."--JAY W. RICHARDS, Catholic University of America "Every pope who has promoted the new evangelization has spoken about how essential 'the way of beauty' is in engaging the modern world with the Gospel. What is it about the experience of beauty that can arrest the heart, crack it open, and stir its deepest longings, leading us on a pilgrimage to God? David Clayton's book provides compelling answers."--CHRISTOPHER WEST, Founder and President of The Cor Project DAVID CLAYTON is an internationally acclaimed Catholic artist, teacher, and published writer on sacred art, liturgy, and culture. He was Fellow and Artist in Residence at Thomas More College of Liberal Arts in New Hampshire from 2009 until May 2015 and is the founder of the Way of Beauty program, which has been taught for college credit, featured on television, and is now presented in this book.
Download or read book Baxter s Explore the Book written by J. Sidlow Baxter and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2010-09-21 with total page 1846 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explore the Book is not a commentary with verse-by-verse annotations. Neither is it just a series of analyses and outlines. Rather, it is a complete Bible survey course. No one can finish this series of studies and remain unchanged. The reader will receive lifelong benefit and be enriched by these practical and understandable studies. Exposition, commentary, and practical application of the meaning and message of the Bible will be found throughout this giant volume. Bible students without any background in Bible study will find this book of immense help as will those who have spent much time studying the Scriptures, including pastors and teachers. Explore the Book is the result and culmination of a lifetime of dedicated Bible study and exposition on the part of Dr. Baxter. It shows throughout a deep awareness and appreciation of the grand themes of the gospel, as found from the opening book of the Bible through Revelation.
Download or read book The Power of Silence written by Robert Sarah and published by Ignatius Press. This book was released on 2017-03-30 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Now with a new afterword by Pope emeritus Benedict XVI! In a time when technology penetrates our lives in so many ways and materialism exerts such a powerful influence over us, Cardinal Robert Sarah presents a bold book about the strength of silence. The modern world generates so much noise, he says, that seeking moments of silence has become both harder and more necessary than ever before. Silence is the indispensable doorway to the divine, explains the cardinal in this profound conversation with Nicolas Diat. Within the hushed and hallowed walls of the La Grande Chartreux, the famous Carthusian monastery in the French Alps, Cardinal Sarah addresses the following questions: Can those who do not know silence ever attain truth, beauty, or love? Do not wisdom, artistic vision, and devotion spring from silence, where the voice of God is heard in the depths of the human heart? After the international success of God or Nothing, Cardinal Sarah seeks to restore to silence its place of honor and importance. "Silence is more important than any other human work," he says, "for it expresses God. The true revolution comes from silence; it leads us toward God and others so as to place ourselves humbly and generously at their service."
Download or read book Prayer Primer written by Thomas Dubay and published by Ignatius Press. This book was released on 2009-09-03 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fr. Thomas Dubay, a renowned teacher and writer on prayer and the spiritual life, presents a simple, profound and practical book on the most important of all human activities, communion with God. Prayer Primer is written for intelligent adults (and teenagers) who want God and a serious prayer life, but it does not presuppose that they need or have a theological background. It does take up many questions rarely answered adequately in the classroom or from the pulpit, often not mentioned at all: Why pray? (be ready for some surprises) ... Why vocal prayer is important and yet should be limited ... What contemplation is and is not ... Praying with Scripture ... Family prayer - even how to introduce children to group meditation ... Prayer in a busy life ... Pitfalls and problems - together with solutions ... Buddhism? New Age? Centering prayer? ... What should you do when dry and empty and not at all inclined to pray? How do you even get started? ... Where and how to begin? ... Assessing progress ... Growing in depth. All of these subjects, and more, are clearly and concisely explained for citizens of this 21st century.
Download or read book God in the Age of Science written by Herman Philipse and published by Oxford University Press (UK). This book was released on 2012-02-23 with total page 391 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Herman Philipse puts forward a powerful new critique of belief in God. He examines the strategies that have been used for the philosophical defence of religious belief, and by careful reasoning casts doubt on the legitimacy of relying on faith instead of evidence, and on probabilistic arguments for the existence of God.
Download or read book The Power of Music written by Elena Mannes and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2011-05-31 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The award-winning creator of the documentary The Music Instinct traces the efforts of visionary researchers and musicians to understand the biological foundations of music and its relationship to the brain and the physical world. 35,000 first printing.
Download or read book Fire Within written by Thomas Dubay and published by Ignatius Press. This book was released on 1989 with total page 378 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An outstanding book on prayer and the spiritual life written by one of the best spiritual directors of our time. Dubay synthesizes the teachings on prayer of the two great Doctors of the Church--St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Avila--and the teaching of Sacred Scripture.
Download or read book Romeo and Juliet written by William Shakespeare and published by Ignatius Press. This book was released on 2011-01-01 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Star-crossed Romeo and Juliet are Shakespeare's most famous lovers. A staple of high school reading lists, the tragedy especially resonates with young adult readers who, like Romeo and Juliet, have experienced the exhilarating and perilous phenomenon of being in love. Given the tragic ending of the play, what does Shakespeare illustrate about his teen protagonists: Are they the hapless victims of fate, or are they responsible for the poor choices they make? Is their love the real thing, or is it self-indulgent passion run amok? These are some of the ever relevant questions discussed in this critical edition of Romeo and Juliet.
Download or read book An Unexpected Journal Medieval Minds written by C.M. Alvarez and published by An Unexpected Journal. This book was released on 2020-09-12 with total page 223 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Garden of Medieval Minds The medieval period was a time of greats: great courage, great words, great light, and great darkness. The writers, philosophers, and artists of the time still touch and influence our lives today. This volume celebrates these masterpieces that merged the physical and the spiritual into meaningful, incandescent truth. Contributors: C.M. Alvarez: “Death, Grief, & Hope in Pearl” on progressing through grief as illustrated in the Gawain poet’s medieval poem Pearl. Donald W. Catchings, Jr.: “The Dream of the Crown,” a medieval inspired poem on the piercing of Christ’s brow and “Chronological Snobbery: In Reply to Contemporary Petrarchs” on valuing the past. Annie Crawford: “Hogwarts in History: The Neo-Medieval Vision of Harry Potter” on our love of the medieval and “Cosmos” on holy wonder. Alison Delong: “A Call to Lament: An Apologetic Study of the Anglo-Saxon Elegies” on comprehending struggle and responding to it. Karise Gililland: “Wearing One’s Habits: Aristotle, Aquinas, and the Making of a Virtuous Man” on the ancient and medieval views on cultivating goodness and “The Quest of the Golden Queen,” a heroic poem on the Lady and the dragon. Sandra G. Hicks: “Death and Redemption for the Modern Heart: What We Can Learn from the Anglo-Saxon Elegy” on Christ, the Warrior-King illustrated in the medieval elegy, “The Wanderer.” Alex Markos: “Christ, Our Hero at Calvary: Meaning and Metaphor in Beowulf and ‘The Dream of the Rood’” on understanding the resurrection. Korine Martinez: “An Unlikely Witness” on the perspective of the cross illustrated in The Dream of the Rood. Jacqueline Medcalf: “The Book of Kells,” a medieval influenced poem on seeing a wonder. Seth Myers: “Dante for Moderns” on serving our fellow man and “Francis of Assisi” on medieval relevance. Annie Nardone: “The Venerable Bede: Following the Medieval Christian Footpath” on preserving history and “Thomas Aquinas: Understanding Evil” on darkness and life. Cherish Nelson: “The Gravity of Sin: Truth in the Grotesque in Dante’s Inferno” on the depths of evil. Holly Ordway: “Memento Mori: A Reflection on ‘The Ruin’” on the question of progress. Ted Wright: “Hagia Sophia and the Evidential Power of Beauty: Divine Architecture as Apologetics” on truth in stone. About the Cover Our cover illustration was provided by Chilean artist, apologist, and physician Virginia De La Lastra depicting the vibrant imagery of medieval illuminations. Vigorous and verdant green life battles against the dragons symbolizing evil, while the peacocks give the promise of the hope and power of the resurrection. Fall 2020 Volume 3, Issue 3 310 pages
