Showing titles in Essays & Commentary

Walter Brueggemann points us toward energizing hope for an alternative life of social equity and thriving. In Brueggemann's work, hope is not understood as easy optimism but as an honest facing of the unjust structures that human beings have created and a call to lean into the deep symbols of Scripture that imagine the alternative way of God, restoring solidarity and relationship that have been eroded by the violence of empire.

Is Joseph - the deserted son of Jacob from the Old Testament - relevant in our modern age? For Madeleine L'Engle, the answer is a resounding yes; not solely because Joseph is an important historical character, but primarily because his experiences of disenfranchisement, tragedy, and profound betrayal resonate within our own society. These thoughtful meditations on obedience, prophecy, forgiveness, and compassion are masterfully woven to bridge gaps of belief, politics, education, and even faith.

The critic and essayist Meghan O'Gieblyn was born into an evangelical family, attended the famed Moody Bible Institute in Chicago for a time before she had a crisis of belief, and still lives in the Midwest, aka "Flyover Country". She writes of her "existential dizziness, a sense that the rest of the world is moving while you remain still", and that rich sense of ambivalence and internal division inform the 15 superbly thoughtful and ironic essays in this collection.  

Despite protests and warnings from friends and family, author Madeleine L’Engle, at the age of seventy-four, embarked on a rafting trip to Antarctica. Her journey through the startling beauty of the continent led her to write Penguins and Golden Calves, a captivating discussion of how opening oneself up to icons, or everyday “windows to God,” leads to the development of a rich and deeply spiritual faith.

With childlilke boldness and profound logic, Martin Zender exposes the spiritual bankruptcy of the religious institution. Zender's mastery of satire separates him from the pious; his Scriptural expertise launches him as the primary spokesman for those who desire God, but don't trust the establishments that boast His name.

Defeated in her marriage and disheartened with the church, Angela Sue Garvey recalls growing up in the evangelical church during the purity culture of the '90s. Once married, she found herself sitting across from an evangelical pastor who advised her to be quiet and submissive to a husband who routinely destroyed her. She recounts her spiral into a decade-long spiritual crisis and the growing bitterness and cynicism she felt as she questioned her place in the church and with God.

The idea that religion has undergone a radical change since the Christian Reformation—from totalitarian and socially repressive to private and relatively benign—is a familiar part of the story of secularization. It is often invoked to explain and justify the liberal politics and world view of modernity. And it leads to the view that "politicized religions" threaten both reason and liberty. Asad's essays explore and question all these assumptions.

«Si solo leemos una obra de Chesterton —debería avergonzarnos si así fuera— ha de ser Ortodoxia. Seguramente, nadie ha defendido la fe cristiana con argumentos tan sorprendentes y ejemplos tan deslumbrantes, como Chesterton lo hizo en Ortodoxia. Una obra maestra de retórica que (...) realmente constituye uno de los libros mejor escritos del siglo XX» (Dale Ahlquist, presidente y cofundador de la American Society Ches- terton ). Ortodoxia es el libro más importante de una personalidad excepcional.

For more than fifty years, Madeleine L'Engle has delighted and inspired readers/listeners with her warm, eloquent prose and inspirational poetry. She continues this tradition with Miracle on 10th Street, a collection of poignant writings and reflections that give listeners a glimpse of how the wonder of Christmas resonates in her personal life, which deeply involves her family and faith: "I think back to that Christmas when my husband and I did not know whether our little girl would live to grow up," she writes.

La escuela del alma es una fascinante invitación para descubrir, partiendo de los cimientos de la educación, el horizonte de una vida madura, fecunda y espiritual. Paso a paso las realidades que nombran palabras como lugar, enseñanza, compañía, atención, mundo, cuidado, contemplación, creación... van iluminando el camino con luz propia, y nos descubren nuevos sentidos: cada ser humano se nos revela como origen y el encuentro, como "un alma que toca otra alma".

More than 50 years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote his Letter from a Birmingham Jail. Much has transpired in the half-century since, and progress has been made in the issues that were close to Dr. King’s heart. Thankfully, the burning crosses, biting police dogs, and angry mobs of that day are long gone. But in their place, passivity has emerged. A passivity that must be addressed. That’s the aim of Letters to a Birmingham Jail. A collection of essays written by men of various ethnicities and ages.

Thoughtful reflections for active humanists from a freethinking former minister.

From time immemorial, prayer has provided comfort in our darkest hours, stirred us to action beyond what we thought possible, and shown us the way through seemingly insurmountable challenges. In this engaging tour of world history, author and historian Jean-Pierre Isbouts takes us on an inspiring tour of 10 prayers that played a pivotal role in world events.

Much has been written about the concept of Trinity or three parts over the centuries. From simply meaning God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit to what we hear in many churches is disturbing. Debates about predestination and subordination seem to never end. Due to the great number of denominations, the definition of a Christian has suffered, watered down in a corrupt world. From the simplicity of the Bible has come a rash of new doctrines that boggles the mind. What used to be straightforward in the 1st century is now twisted and turned into many ways of thinking about the Bible.

I was raised Catholic. You can all bless me now. Surviving a Catholic upbringing is a lot like surviving a repetitive hurricane. Just when you think you’ve got enough protection from the danger someone (Usually my Mother) throws a curve ball of Catholic guilt at you and you’re stuck trying to remember if it is a sin or not, whether it requires a confession, and the amount of shame you should feel. It’s like dodging the hurricane all over again. Depression runs a rough shot in the Catholic religion and trust me, I know why. Happiness is frowned upon.

A spiritual aspirant’s journey is sprinkled with many battles overcoming mind over matter through different sadhanas (spiritual practices). One such sadhana is going on a pilgrimage, which provides challenges for the body, mind, and intellect.

Conferenza tenuta a Stoccarda nel 1908 in cui Steiner riassume il solo apparente conflitto tra filosofia e antroposofia, e il falso conflitto tra scienza e misticismo.

This work is the first letter to my friend Aloysius regarding the “Virtue of the Gods.” It has been made available to you the reader in what shall be multiple formats. In the letter, I discuss the first virtue required to be one with the gods, which is: “a god walks through fire.” This encompasses many ideas, including that a god fears not pain nor suffering, a god has confidence, self-belief, has concern for the present and future of humanity, a god has agency and intent. A god does not succumb to threats of hellfire. A god knows that faith is not a virtue – faith is lazy. ...

Figuring out who you want to be in life is never easy. In High Points and Lows, Austin Carty traces his own stumbling journey toward adulthood and true faith, drawing on lessons from pop culture and Christianity. In these funny and moving essays that address questions on faith, goals, and vocation, Carty offers an uplifting message for religious and secular audiences alike.

With this collection of essays on the life of faith, Fred Smith tells the truth in a way that does not blind but simply turns the prism a degree or two for seeing differently. He "tells it slant" as Emily Dickinson called it. Fred's themes range from finding significance to navigating life transitions to living a life of obedience. Fred writes that this book is not about my life but seeing the world for a time through my eyes. It is about the prism through which the light divides. A point of view.