Download or read book Holy Living written by Rowan Williams and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2017-09-21 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Apart from being a scholar and theologian, Rowan Williams has also demonstrated a rare gift for speaking and writing plainly and clearly about essentials of the Christian faith. In the chapters of this book he writes with profound perception about the life of holiness to which we are called. The range of Williams' frame of reference is astonishing – he brings poets and theologians to his aid, he writes about the Rule of St Benedict, the Bible, Icons, contemplation, St Teresa of Avila and even R. D. Laing. He concludes with two chapters on the injunction 'Know Thyself' in a Christian context. Throughout, Williams points out that holiness is a state of being – it is he writes 'completely undemonstrative and lacking any system of expertise. It can never be dissected and analysed.'
Download or read book Why Study the Past written by Rowan Williams and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 2005-07-06 with total page 140 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this small but thoughtful volume, a respected theologian and churchman opens up a theological approach to history.
Download or read book Being Disciples written by Rowan Williams and published by SPCK. This book was released on 2016-07-21 with total page 79 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "If discipleship is a journey, this book belongs in the rucksack. . . Like the scriptures on which it is based, it deserves repeated reading." Stephen Cherry, Dean of Kings College, Cambridge This fresh and inspiring look at the meaning of discipleship covers the essentials of the christian life, including: faith, hope and love; forgiveness; holiness; social action; life in the Spirit. Written for the general reader by one of our greatest living theologians, this book will help you to see more clearly, love more dearly and follow more nearly the way of Jesus Christ.
Download or read book The Lion s World written by Rowan Williams and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2012 with total page 167 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams offers fascinating insight into The Chronicles of Narnia, the popular series of novels by one of the most influential Christian authors of the modern era, C. S. Lewis. Lewis once referred to certain kinds of book as a "mouthwash for the imagination." This is what he attempted to provide in the Narnia stories, argues Williams: an unfamiliar world in which we could rinse out what is stale in our thinking about Christianity--"which is almost everything," says Williams--and rediscover what it might mean to meet the holy. Indeed, Lewis's great achievement in the Narnia books is just that-he enables readers to encounter the Christian story "as if for the first time." How does Lewis makes fresh and strange the familiar themes of Christian doctrine? Williams points out that, for one, Narnia itself is a strange place: a parallel universe, if you like. There is no "church" in Narnia, no religion even. The interaction between Aslan as a "divine" figure and the inhabitants of this world is something that is worked out in the routines of life itself. Moreover, we are made to see humanity in a fresh perspective, the pride or arrogance of the human spirit is chastened by the revelation that, in Narnia, you may be on precisely the same spiritual level as a badger or a mouse. It is through these imaginative dislocations that Lewis is able to communicate--to a world that thinks it knows what faith is--the character, the feel, of a real experience of surrender in the face of absolute incarnate love. This lucid, learned, humane, and beautifully written book opens a new window onto Lewis's beloved stories, revealing the moral wisdom and passionate faith beneath their perennial appeal.
Download or read book Rowan s Rule written by Rupert Shortt and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 2009-02-24 with total page 481 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A fascinating, fair-minded depiction of Archbishop Rowan Williams. /Rowan Williams is a complex and controversial figure. Widely revered for his personal qualities, he is also an intellectual giant who towers over almost all his predecessors as Archbishop of Canterbury. Among other achievements, he has trounced the atheist Richard Dawkins, and published over twenty well-regarded books, including several volumes of poetry and a major study of Dostoevsky. / Yet he is also one of the most reviled church leaders in modern history. Long before facing calls to step down after his lecture on sharia law in early 2008, he had been accused of heresy on account of his pro-gay views. He has disappointed many of his own supporters as well. So how has high office changed Rowan Williams? Has he been bullied and manipulated? Or is he perhaps playing a long game, obliged to rate church unity above the pursuit of his own vision at a time when the Anglican Communion has never looked more unstable? / Rupert Shortt, already the author of an acclaimed introduction to the Archbishop's thought, offers answers to these and other questions in this authoritative biography. He explores how the events of the Archbishop's remarkable life have shaped his beliefs and practices today. Of particular interest is the riveting account of Williams's experience near the World Trade Center towers on the morning of September 11, 201. Written with Williams's cooperation, Rowan's Rule not only elucidates his ideas but gives a compelling portrait of a private and in some ways surprisingly vulnerable man.
Download or read book Where God Happens written by Rowan Williams and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2007-08-14 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The place "where God happens," according to Rowan Williams's striking new reading of the Desert Fathers and Mothers, is between each other. It's a truth that we of the twenty-first century most urgently need to learn in order to heal the experience of alienation that has become endemic to our age, and these odd and appealing ancient figures, surprisingly, hold keys to this healing. The fourth-century Christian hermits of Egypt, Syria, and Palestine understood the truth of Christian community profoundly, and their lives demonstrate it vividly—even though they often lived in solitude and isolation. The author breaks through our preconceived ideas of the Desert Fathers to reveal them in a new light: as true and worthy role models—even for us in our modern lives—who have much to teach us about dealing with the anxieties, uncertainties, and sense of isolation that have become hallmarks of modern life. They especially embody valuable insights about community, about how to live together in an intimate and meaningful way. Williams makes these radical figures, who clearly have a special place in his heart, come to life in a new way for everyone. The book includes an appendix of selections from the teachings of the Desert Fathers.
Download or read book Praying with Icons written by Jim Forest and published by Orbis Books. This book was released on with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book A Ray of Darkness written by Rowan Williams and published by Cowley Publications. This book was released on 1995-01-25 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection of pastoral sermons and addresses, shows how the faith of the creeds can still equip Christians for a vigorous and critical engagement with the world of today.
Download or read book Dostoevsky written by Rowan Williams and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2008-01-01 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rowan Williams explores the intricacies of speech, fiction, metaphor, and iconography in the works of one of literature's most complex and most misunderstood, authors. Williams' investigation focuses on the four major novels of Dostoevsky's maturity (Crime and Punishment, The Idiot, Devils, and The Brothers Karamazov). He argues that understanding Dostoevsky's style and goals as a writer of fiction is inseparable from understanding his religious commitments. Any reader who enters the rich and insightful world of Williams' Dostoevsky will emerge a more thoughtful and appreciative reader for it.
Download or read book Christ the Stranger The Theology of Rowan Williams written by Benjamin Myers and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2012-02-02 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rowan Williams is a complex, creative and versatile thinker. Not only a theologian and church leader, he is also a poet, a translator, a literary critic, a social theorist and historian. His imaginative vision brings together the streams of modern literature, patristic theology, Russian orthodoxy, German philosophy and Welsh piety. In this lucid and elegant guide, Benjamin Myers explores Williams' thought from the 1960s to the present. He shows that Williams has developed an immensely resourceful - and distinctively Christian - response to some of the major social, moral and intellectual challenges of our time.
Download or read book Being Christian written by Rowan Williams and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 2014-07-23 with total page 96 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this simple, beautifully written book Rowan Williams explores four essential components of the Christian life: baptism, Bible, Eucharist, and prayer. Despite huge differences in Christian thinking and practice both today and in past centuries, he says, these four basic elements have remained constant and indispensable for the majority of those who call themselves Christians. In accessible, pastoral terms Williams discusses the meaning and practice of baptism, the Bible, the Eucharist, and prayer, inviting readers to really think through the Christian faith and how to live it out. Questions for reflection and discussion at the end of each chapter help readers to dig deeper and apply Williams's insights to their own lives.
Download or read book Writing in the Dust written by Rowan Williams and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 2002-01-02 with total page 100 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On September 11, 2001, Rowan Williams, the newly appointed Archbishop of Canterbury, was at Trinity Church, Wall Street, just two blocks from the World Trade Center. Trapped by dust and debris as the terrible events of that morning unfolded, Williams offered encouragement and prayer to those around him. Soon after, he wrote this small, poignant reflection on the meaning of that horrific day. This is not a book of academic theology or a program for action. Rather, it is one person's heartfelt attempt to find words for the grief, shock, and loss following one of America's darkest days. It is also an effort to find wisdom for the days ahead. Newly available in paperback, Writing in the Dust offers spiritual direction to all who struggle to discern how faith might begin to think and feel its way through the nightmare.
Download or read book Being Human written by Rowan Williams and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 2018-09-04 with total page 96 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What is consciousness? Is the mind a machine? What makes each of us a person? How do our bodies relate to our minds? In this deeply engaging exploration of what it means to be human, Rowan Williams addresses these frequently asked questions with lucid meditations that draw from findings in neuroscience, philosophy, psychology, and literature. Then he presses on to ask, Might faith be necessary to human flourishing? If so, why? And how can a traditional Christian practice—namely, silence—help us advance on the path to human maturity? The book ends with a brief but profound meditation on Christ’s ascension, inviting readers to consider how, through Jesus, our humanity in all its variety and vulnerability has been transfigured and taken into the heart of the divine life. Being Human is a book that readers of all religious persuasions will find both challenging and highly rewarding. Questions at the end of each chapter encourage personal reflection or group discussion.
Download or read book Christ the Heart of Creation written by Rowan Williams and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2018-09-06 with total page 331 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this wide-ranging book, Rowan Williams argues that what we say about Jesus Christ is key to understanding what Christian belief says about creator and creation overall. Through detailed discussion of texts from the earliest centuries to the present day, we are shown some of the various and subtle ways in which Christians have discovered in their reflections on Christ the possibility of a deeply affirmative approach to creation, and a set of radical insights in ethics and politics as well. Throughout his life, Rowan Williams has been deeply influenced by thinkers of the Eastern Christian tradition as well as Catholic and Anglican writers. This book draws on insights from Eastern Christianity, from the Western Middle Ages and from Reformed thinkers, from Calvin to Bonhoeffer – as well as considering theological insights sparked by philosophers like Kierkegaard and Wittgenstein. Christ the Heart of Creation concerns fundamental issues for Christian belief and Williams tackles them head-on: he writes with pellucid clarity and shows his gift for putting across what are inevitably complex ideas to a wide audience.
Download or read book The Edge of Words written by Rowan Williams and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2014-09-25 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Edge of Words is Rowan Williams' first book since standing down as Archbishop of Canterbury. Invited to give the prestigious 2014 Gifford Lectures, Dr Williams has produced a scholarly but eminently accessible account of the possibilities of speaking about God – taking as his point of departure the project of natural theology. Dr Williams enters into dialogue with thinkers as diverse as Augustine and Simone Weil and authors such as Joyce, Hardy, Burgess and Hoban in what is a compelling essay about the possibility of language about God.
Download or read book Resurrection written by Rowan Williams and published by Darton Longman and Todd. This book was released on 2002 with total page 125 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Shows in a thought provoking and profound manner, how the experience of the resurrection was from the first one of forgiveness and of healing memories of injury, guilt and failure.
Download or read book Looking East in Winter written by Rowan Williams and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2021-06-24 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In many ways, we seem to be living in wintry times at present in the Western world. In this new book, Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury and a noted scholar of Eastern Christianity, introduces us to some aspects and personalities of the Orthodox Christian world, from the desert contemplatives of the fourth century to philosophers, novelists and activists of the modern era, that suggest where we might look for fresh light and warmth. He shows how this rich and diverse world opens up new ways of thinking about spirit and body, prayer and action, worship and social transformation, which go beyond the polarisations we take for granted. Taking in the world of the great spiritual anthology, the Philokalia, and the explorations of Russian thinkers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, discussing the witness of figures like Maria Skobtsova, murdered in a German concentration camp for her defence of Jewish refugees, and the challenging theologies of modern Greek thinkers like John Zizioulas and Christos Yannaras, Rowan Williams opens the door to a 'climate and landscape of our humanity that can indeed be warmed and transfigured'. This is an original and illuminating vision of a Christian world still none too familiar to Western believers and even to students of theology, showing how the deep-rooted themes of Eastern Christian thought can prompt new perspectives on our contemporary crises of imagination and hope.