Bridging The Sacred And The Secular

International aid and development is increasingly channelled through religious groups and this collection examines the role that these faith-based organizations play in managing international aid, providing services, such as health and education, defending human rights and protecting democracy. Focusing on Asia, Africa and the Middle East, this book argues that greater engagement with faith communities and organizations is needed, particularly in achieving the Millennium Development Goals, and questions the traditional securalism that has underpinned development policy and practice in the North.

This collection brings together for the first time the theological essays of a 20th-century philosopher renowned for his defense of civil religious freedom. In this volume of essays, previously scattered among various periodicals over the course of thirty eyars, J. Leon Hooper, SJ, presents a selection of Murray's theological writings that outlines and highlights the integrity of Murray's moves toward a public theological discourse.

Do you want to invite God into every part of your day? Learn how to see Jesus in all facets of your life—from faith and family to finances and full-time work. Christian spirituality isn’t just about attending church on Sunday. Instead, it takes practice to discover God’s hand in every part of your day and recognize his presence. In Bridging the Sacred-Secular Divide: Celebrating the Spirituality of Everyday Life, you can learn how to experience biblical Christianity in all seasons. Through an informal, memoir-style collection of stories, you’ll acknowledge, discover, and celebrate God in every aspect of your day. Join author Peter DeHaan as he shows us how to bridge the sacred-secular divide by offering us personal illustrations and real-life examples of how we can see God in the everyday. Whether in work, health, family, or holiday celebrations, you’ll discover how to appreciate the blessings, challenges, and insights God reveals to you no matter what season you’re in. In Bridging the Sacred-Secular Divide, you’ll discover how to: - embrace God’s presence each day - celebrate the unique family and purpose God gave you - practice seeing God in His creation - uncover God’s hand in the details of our personal struggles - explore how you can live a more holistic and balanced life Through these short, insightful narratives on faith, family, work, seasons, holidays, creation and more, you’ll explore how to celebrate the everyday spiritual aspects of life so that you can rediscover the everyday spirituality of yours. Bridging the Sacred-Secular Divide includes a discussion guide for a small group study or personal application. Learn to embrace God’s presence in your everyday reality so that you can pursue a balanced, passionate, and prioritized life with Jesus. Begin Bridging the Sacred-Secular Divide and discover how God is working in your world. Get your copy today. [This book was first published as Woodpecker Wars.]

International aid and development is increasingly channelled through religious groups and this collection examines the role that these faith-based organisations play in managing international aid, providing services, such as health and education, defending human rights and protecting democracy.

The sacred-secular divide continues to threaten the health of the global church, disempowering lay Christians and undermining the call to integrate all aspects of life under the lordship of Christ. Theological educators seeking a path out of this dichotomy will find themselves both challenged and encouraged by this collection of essays drawn from the 2018 ICETE conference in Panama City. Within its four sections, contributors explore biblical frameworks for integration, urge seminaries to value identity formation as much as skill acquirement, call for a robust theology of work, and challenge theologians to consider their responsibility to the world beyond the church’s borders. Filled with thought-provoking questions and practical suggestions, this book is an excellent resource for all those pursuing a holistic approach to theological education.

What would it mean to conceive of the sacred as a source of knowledge that is as vital as the secular? What insights does a contemplative approach yield in analysing neoliberal globalisation or Hindu fundamentalism? Is a dew drop sacred, or is it secular? In today’s charged atmosphere many believe that the sacred is best kept firmly apart from the realm of the secular. SacredSecular: Contemplative Cultural Critique offers a contrasting view. It argues that the two are indivisible and can productively interweave in illuminating key contemporary issues. Essays investigate the quotidian (trash, cut flowers), the philosophical (advaita, karma), the economic (work, globalisation) and the political (war, violence). Mani invites us to rethink the prevailing view that secularism is the only progressive response to religious authoritarianism. SacredSecular proposes a conceptual approach in which body, mind, heart, nature, matter and spirit are not merely equals, but equally crucial to crafting an inclusive vision and practice. This book addresses several audiences: scholars of contemporary Indian society and culture, spiritual practitioners striving to integrate their practice with their politics, and all those interested in contemplating the present and what it portends for our collective future.

Studies consistently show that 90 percent of all people believe in a god of some sort or another. Spirituality, therefore, is not a demographic outlier but rather the statistically significant air we breathe. It is not a hobby for the scientifically illiterate but one of the basic elements in the periodic table of human experience. The real question before us then is not whether god exists, but rather, Who is this god in whom most people believe? We, therefore, need to begin our apologetic project by helping the majority identify their god rather than arguing with the minority about whether or not such a being exists. Most people prefer to live with a hazy notion of spirituality because they dont want a world where God is in control, yet they also dont want to be forced to robotically dance to the tune of their selfish genes. A vague understanding of spirituality gives them a culturally acceptable opt-out clause from a dreary world ruled by chemicals while simultaneously allowing them to define the terms of divine engagement. We are united by the fact that we all have a spiritual hole in our lives, but it is the odd ways in which we fill it that divides us. All paths do not lead to the same God, but they do begin with the same spiritual void. It is here that our journey must begin. In God Spoke, Dr. Strandness makes the case that our spiritual nature is the result of our hardwired human longing to rethink the thoughts of a God who has already spoken his mind. The divine discourse that fills the universe inspires us to bend our ears to hear his creational words, open our eyes to his written Word, and have our hearts transformed by his incarnate Word.

The global humanitarian movement, which originated within Western religious organizations in the early nineteenth century, has been of most important forces in world politics in advancing both human rights and human welfare. While the religious groups that founded the movement originally focused on conversion, in time more secular concerns came to dominate. By the end of the nineteenth century, increasingly professionalized yet nominally religious organization shifted from reliance on the good book to the public health manual. Over the course of the twentieth century, the secularization of humanitarianism only increased, and by the 1970s the movement's religious inspiration, generally speaking, was marginal to its agenda. However, beginning in the 1980s, religiously inspired humanitarian movements experienced a major revival, and today they are virtual equals of their secular brethren. From church-sponsored AIDS prevention campaigns in Africa to Muslim charity efforts in flood-stricken Pakistan to Hindu charities in India, religious groups have altered the character of the global humanitarian movement. Moreover, even secular groups now gesture toward religious inspiration in their work. Clearly, the broad, inexorable march toward secularism predicted by so many Westerners has halted, which is especially intriguing with regard to humanitarianism. Not only was it a highly secularized movement just forty years ago, but its principles were based on those we associate with "rational" modernity: cosmopolitan one-worldism and material (as opposed to spiritual) progress. How and why did this happen, and what does it mean for humanitarianism writ large? That is the question that the eminent scholars Michael Barnett and Janice Stein pose in Sacred Aid, and for answers they have gathered chapters from leading scholars that focus on the relationship between secularism and religion in contemporary humanitarianism throughout the developing world. Collectively, the chapters in this volume comprise an original and authoritative account of religion has reshaped the global humanitarian movement in recent times.