Giving Beyond The Gift

This book explores the co-dependency of monotheism and idolatry by examining the thought of several prominent twentieth-century Jewish philosophers—Cohen, Buber, Rosenzweig, and Levinas. While all of these thinkers were keenly aware of the pitfalls of scriptural theism, to differing degrees they each succumbed to the temptation to personify transcendence, even as they tried either to circumvent or to restrain it by apophatically purging kataphatic descriptions of the deity. Derrida and Wyschogrod, by contrast, carried the project of denegation one step further, embarking on a path that culminated in the aporetic suspension of belief and the consequent removal of all images from God, a move that seriously compromises the viability of devotional piety. The inquiry into apophasis, transcendence, and immanence in these Jewish thinkers is symptomatic of a larger question. Recent attempts to harness the apophatic tradition to construct a viable postmodern negative theology, a religion without religion, are not radical enough. Not only are these philosophies of transcendence guilty of a turn to theology that defies the phenomenological presupposition of an immanent phenomenality, but they fall short on their own terms, inasmuch as they persist in employing metaphorical language that personalizes transcendence and thereby runs the risk of undermining the irreducible alterity and invisibility attributed to the transcendent other. The logic of apophasis, if permitted to run its course fully, would exceed the need to posit some form of transcendence that is not ultimately a facet of immanence. Apophatic theologies, accordingly, must be supplanted by a more far-reaching apophasis that surpasses the theolatrous impulse lying coiled at the crux of theism, an apophasis of apophasis, based on accepting an absolute nothingness—to be distinguished from the nothingness of an absolute—that does not signify the unknowable One but rather the manifold that is the pleromatic abyss at being’s core. Hence, the much-celebrated metaphor of the gift must give way to the more neutral and less theologically charged notion of an unconditional givenness in which the distinction between giver and given collapses. To think givenness in its most elemental, phenomenological sense is to allow the apparent to appear as given without presuming a causal agency that would turn that given into a gift.

Recent inquiries into the concept of the gift have been largely male-dominated and thus have ignored important aspects of the gift from a woman's point of view. In the light of philosophical work by Mauss, Lévi-Strauss, Derrida, and Bataille, Women and the Gift reflects how women respond to the notion of the gift and relationships of giving. This collection evaluates and critiques previous work on the gift and also responds to how women view care, fidelity, generosity, trust, and independence in light of the gift.

USA Today Bestseller Learn how to work your way through life’s unexpected challenges with grace and find a deeper faith while on your journey. In this biblical and conversational book by Dr. Tony Evans and his four adult children—Chrystal Evans Hurst, Priscilla Shirer, Anthony Evans, and Jonathan Evans—you will hear five insightful perspectives on what it means to hold on to faith when life breaks your heart. We have all been through difficult seasons and times in life when it seems like the hits keep coming and you can barely catch your breath. The Evans family knows what this is like, as they’ve experienced the deep grief of losing eight loved ones in less than two years’ time, including the devastating passing of Lois Evans, the matriarch of the family. In Divine Disruption, Dr. Tony Evans and his children pull back the curtain on their faith-shaking experiences, in order to provide biblical wisdom and practical encouragement for how to deal with the hard, unexpected things we all inevitably face. You’ll walk away with insights on: Why bad things happen despite a good and powerful God Persevering in difficult times and experiencing God’s peace What causes distress in your life—and how to move past it How to keep your faith from being damaged during tough times Join the Evans Family in this unique Kingdom Legacy partnership as they candidly share honest questions they’ve asked, raw emotions they’ve felt, and solutions they’ve learned. Your life may have been interrupted, but you can use that to grow closer to God—and find peace.

Bringing social theory and philosophy to bear on popular movies, novels, myths, and fairy tales, The Gift and its Paradoxes explores the ambiguity of the gift: it is at once both a relation and a thing, alienable and inalienable, present and poison. Challenging the nature of giving as reciprocal, the book engages critically with the work of Mauss and develops a new theory of the gift according to which the gift cannot be reduced to a model of exchange, but must instead entail a loss or sacrifice. Ultimately, the gift is examined in the book as the impossible occurrence of gratuitous giving. In addition to exploring the conditions of possibility and impossibility of the gift, the book draws on the thought of figures such as Derrida, Serres, Simmel, Cixous, Irigaray and Heidegger to argue for the relevance of the phenomenon of the gift to broader issues in contemporary social sciences. It takes up questions concerning the constitution of community and the processes by which people are included in or excluded from it, gender relations, materiality, the economy, and the possibility that death itself could be a gift, in the form of euthanasia or self-sacrifice. A rigorous yet accessible examination of the phenomenon of the gift in relation to a range of contemporary concerns, The Gift and its Paradoxes will appeal to scholars and students within sociology, philosophy, anthropology, political theory and film and literature studies.

Your gifts connect you to a world of giving Americans are generous with their pocketbooks, but trying to make a difference and actually making a difference are two different things. Where Am I Giving? by New York Times bestselling author Kelsey Timmerman takes you on a journey to meet people who will inspire you to live a purpose-filled, generous life and make the greatest impact you can through your career, time, consumer dollars, and donations. Starting in his hometown of Muncie, Indiana, and then traveling all over the world (Myanmar, Kenya, India, Nepal, and more), Kelsey explores not only different ways of giving—as a worker, consumer, volunteer, giver, local and global citizen—but also the benefits and effectiveness of these methods. He spends time with monks, students, a refugee, a Marine, a former Hollywood executive, Peace Corps Volunteers, and seasoned aid workers to explore how they give, as well as with the people on the receiving end of their giving. Along the way he struggles to be a more informed giver as he becomes a "voluntourist,” starts his own local non-profit, and searches for a balance between rationality and passion in how he gives. This book will help you: Reveal the amazing opportunities you have to make an impact using your own gifts—and it doesn't have to be money Understand the sociology, philosophy, anthropology, and neuroscience of giving See how giving can make you more connected and happier Examine types of giving, including microlending, volunteering, donating, ethical consumption, mission trips, voluntourism, child sponsorship, etc. Dive into a nuanced view of effectiveness of international aid and its intersection with development, politics, and culture Where Am I Giving? is a fast-paced narrative combining compelling stories collected over 15 years of travel to 90+ countries, mixed with practical advice on how to make giving a part of our everyday lives.

Starting with the premise that the work of art is a gift and not a commodity, this revolutionary book ranges across anthropology, literature, economics, and psychology to show how the 'commerce of the creative spirit' functions in the lives of artists and in culture as a whole.

Pregnancy and childbirth are not to be feared; they are divinely appointed processes that can be joyful, spiritual, and bring families closer to God. The Gift of Giving Life: Rediscovering the Divine Nature of Pregnancy and Birth offers something that no other pregnancy book has before-a spiritual look at pregnancy and birth by and for LDS women and other women of faith. Through moving stories women in the scriptures, women from early Latter-day Saint history, and dozens of modern mothers, The Gift of Giving Life assures readers that God cares deeply about the entire procreative process. The Gift of Giving Life does not advocate for any one type of birth or approach to prenatal care, rather it intends to unify our families and communities in regard to the sacredness of birth. We also aim to provide you with resources, information, and inspiration that you may not have had access to all in one place before. Topics covered include: constant nourishment, meditation, fear, pain, healing from loss, the physical and spiritual ties between the Atonement and childbirth, the role of the Relief Society in postpartum recovery and more. Birthing women, birth attendants, childbirth educators, and interested readers of all faiths are invited to rediscover within these pages the divinity and gift of giving life.

This major study breaks new ground, going beyond the issue most discussed in charismatic circles (the working of the Holy Spirit) to tackle questions relating to the person of the Holy Spirit and his relationships to the Father and the Son, as well as his relationship to people. Smail's theological horizons are impressively broad, embracing historical orthodoxy and including the Roman and Eastern Orthodox traditions, as well as contemporary theology. He combines full theological literacy with personal insight into renewal, thus illuminating a contemporary experience of the Holy Spirit with the sovereignty of God in salvation. In The Giving Gift he offers a positive understanding of Christian tradition in its relation to Scripture and a new approach to prayer as a gift that God makes by his Spirit. He also provides an attempt to understand the work of the Spirit in the church throughout the ages and in different traditions, emphasising in particular the role and contribution of the Eastern Orthodox churches. Thomas A. Smail served as Rector of Sanderstead, South London. Previous to that he was Vice-Principal of St John's College, Nottingham and a Director of the Fountain Trust. He is the author of Reflected Glory and The Forgotten Father.