Embracing The Mysterious God

One of Christianity Today's 2003 Books of the Year! We give ourselves to God and then struggle profoundly with the relationship. We are drawn in and then want to flee in fear. We move from faith to doubt, trust to confusion, intimacy to a feeling of abandonment. Coming to faith is like falling in love. It can be a head-over-heels rush to the altar or a slow acceptance that slips into a heartfelt embrace. Either way, eventually romance crashes headlong into reality. Often we make things worse either by feeling guilty about our struggles with doubt or by trying to dismiss them as unimportant or insignificant. We may even become resentful that God does not simply step in to clear up our confusion.When we find ourselves in any of these predicaments, the only way out is to face our uncertainties about God--deliberately and directly.In Embracing the Mysterious God James Emery White explores these struggles we all face--struggles of heart, soul, mind and strength. And struggles to love our neighbors as ourselves. Here you will find your tough questions about God addressed. Better still, you will find the way to renewed faith.

When we say that God is mystery, we mean that the Supreme Being is unknown and unknowable, incapable of being analysed, inexplicable, incomprehensible. This is often described as a basic tenet of Christian faith, and, on one level, we all accept it. On another, however, it seems to be the case that most of us experience enormous difficulty in truly embracing it. In short, although we are usually content to say that God is mystery, we behave as though this were not the case. We have our own pet ideas, our own versions of what God is. These are the products of our intellects and imaginations. Where mystery is concerned, however, those faculties of ours are simply not enough. In fact, they can all too easily get in the way. Well aware of this, the author of The Cloud of Unknowing pointed out that the Supreme Being cannot be grasped by thought. God can be grasped only by love. Unless we take hold of this basic insight, all our religious enterprise, indeed our religion, is likely to be misguided. The first two chapters of this book deal largely - although not exclusively - with mistakes we commonly make in this regard. The rest of the book then turns to the subject of our need to encounter mystery, and discusses the wonders that are revealed to us when we do succeed in opening ourselves up to the incomprehensible God. Within this context, there is a good deal of discussion about a number of related matters, including the kingdom of God, prayer, the concept of poverty in the Gospel message, the concept of miracle, enlightenment, faith, love, and, of course, the mystery of the human person.

James Emery White explores the doubts, confusion and uncertainties about God that we all face. He tackles deliberately and directly our toughest questions. And better still, he leads the way to renewed faith.

Arguments in favour of divine impassibility take many forms, one of which is moral. This argument views emotional risk, vulnerability, suffering, and self-love as obstacles to moral perfection. In Embracing Vulnerability: Human and Divine, the author challenges these mistaken assumptions about moral judgment. Through an analysis of Hebrew thought and modern philosophical accounts of love, justice, and emotion, Roberto Sirvent reveals a fundamental incompatibility between divine impassibility and the Imitation of God ethic (imitatio Dei). This book shows that a God who is not emotionally vulnerable is a God unworthy of our imitation. But in what sense can we call divine impassibility immoral? To be sure, God's moral nature teaches humanswhat it means to live virtuously. But can human understandings of morality teach us something about God's moral character? If true, how should we go about judging God's moral character? Isn't it presumptuous to do so? After all, if we are going to challenge divine impassibility on moral grounds, what reason do we have to assume that God is bound by our standards of morality? Embracing Vulnerability: Human and Divine addresses these questions and many others. In the process, Sirvent argues for the importance of thinking morally about theology, inviting scholars in the fields of philosophical theology and Christian ethics to place their theological commitments under close moral scrutiny, and to consider how these commitments reflect and shape our understanding of the good life.

Argues for a life based on humility, service, and sacrifice instead of the accepted worldview of a life valuing fame and recognition.

You’re not defined by what you’ve done. You’re defined by Who pursues you. What if you could believe that God not only chases you, but has yet to leave your side for a second, has yet to go a minute without courting you, whispering in your heart, I’m right here? What if you could believe that God is never distant, never out of reach, never indifferent to what’s going on in your life? Would that make a difference in your relationship with him? And what if you could go a step further and believe that God’s pursuit has nothing to do with your level of faithfulness? He is just as near, and just as vigilant in his pursuit, regardless of your dedication to the spiritual disciplines, and in spite of your struggle with sin. Because of his nature, it is impossible for God not to pursue you. In Furious Pursuit, Tim King and Frank Martin invite you to lay down the smaller story of your life and instead tap into the Larger Story. To begin today by allowing God to transform the nature of your relationship with him. To stop chasing God and start embracing the Romance that is already well under way. Begin today! Open yourself to God’s Furious Pursuit. Companion workbook also available.

Nothing so baffles the mind or staggers the soul than the reality and sheer intensity of human suffering. How can we explain such widespread malevolence in a world ruled by a benevolent God? What is the proper response to such pain and puzzlement? Skeptics and believers alike are compelled to ask, Why? Some have advocated an overly confident and simplistic theodicy, while others have retreated to a place of doubt or even unbelief. But neither of these options will do. Carmen DiCello urges that we reject both unwarranted confidence and outright skepticism, favoring an approach in which human knowledge and human ignorance are held in tension. Providing a helpful framework for thinking through these issues, DiCello balances what we can know with what we can't, showing that there is reason enough to believe along with ample cause to rest our hearts and minds in a good, sovereign, but also mystifying God. 'Why?' provides spiritual and intellectual guidance for all who are willing to venture into these troubling waters, and who desire to emerge with a realistic faith and a sustaining hope.

WHAT’S GOD DOING IN YOUR STORY? Our kids beg us for stories at bedtime or while we drive; we gather around firepits and dinner tables to tell and retell our favorite tales—the more dramatic the better. But when it comes to our actual lives, we prefer something less sensational, even boring—sunny skies and smooth sailing, please and thank you. We want our own stories to be predictable, safe, controllable, and catastrophe-free. When plans fall apart, jobs are lost, kids wander off, doctors give bad reports, we often wonder, "What are you doing, God? Are you sure you have this under control? It doesn’t really seem like it right now." God is the master Storyteller. He’s writing your story and it’s a part of His bigger, grander, eternal Story. But we’re still in the middle. We haven’t gotten to the happy ending yet, and it can be hard to trust Him in the thick of our struggles. That’s why Robert and Nancy share their own story, friends’ stories, and the stories of people in the Bible who have faced life-altering challenges, but, in the end, have found God to be faithful. Learn why you really can trust God to write your story—no matter what plot twists you may encounter along the way. "This is a unique and charming book, integrating stories of God’s providence from His people and His Word. Nancy and Robert write personally and beautifully, infusing readers with a Christ-centered vision, hope, and trust for the future." -Randy Alcorn, author of Heaven, Giving is the Good Life, and Deception "You Can Trust God to Write Your Story is an amazing book whose title says it all. For if you are a follower of Jesus, every day of your life—whether you feel like it or not—is weighted with kingdom purpose, eternal significance, and a royal destiny filled with joy and contentment. Let my dear friends, Robert and Nancy, help you embrace the mysteries of the Lord’s Providence. For when it comes to happy endings, you can’t find a better Author than the God of the Bible. Happy endings are His forte—turn the page, trust Him, and discover it for yourself." -Joni Eareckson Tada, Joni and Friends International Disability Center