Idol Lies

Read the Amazon reviews and you'll discover why women are saying: "This is the study to do in your small group!" Women are being delivered from Anxiety Overeating Anger and more...

Read the Amazon reviews and you'll discover why women are saying: "This is the study to do in your small group!" Women are being delivered from Anxiety Overeating Anger and more...

wide criticism both from Western and Eastern scholars.

Liberation theology has, since its beginnings over forty years ago, placed the poor at the heart of theology and revealed the ideologies underlying both society and church. Meanwhile, over this period, the progressive church appears to have stagnated and the poor of Latin America have turned increasingly to neo-Pentecostalism. 'The Poor in Liberation Theology' questions whether the effect of liberation theology is to provide a pathway to God or really to construct idols out of the poor. Combining the conceptual language of the philosophers Jean-Luc Marion and Emmanuel Levinas with the methodology of the liberation theologian Clodovis Boff, the volume outlines how liberation theology can work to ensure the poor do not become an ideological construct but remain icons of God. Drawing on a wealth of material from Latin American and Europe, the book demonstrates the continuing validity and importance of liberation theology and its further potential when engaged with contemporary philosophy.

Ignatian spirituality is a way to pray, an approach to making decisions, a point of view about God, and a practical guide to everyday life. An Ignatian Book of Days is an invitation to help attune ourselves to the Ignatian conviction that we can find God in all things, that our personal experience can provide authentic knowledge of God, and that we can clearly see, feel, and experience God’s presence through an Ignatian lens in our daily lives. Accessible, inviting, richly rewarding, and filled with insights and reflections from favorite Ignatian leaders, including James Martin, SJ, Pedro Arrupe, SJ, Margaret Silf, and of course, St. Ignatius, An Ignatian Book of Days sees God as actively involved in the world and intimately involved with us in every moment and place.

Are you stumbling through Life? Have you lost your direction? Do you have a clear path for your life and a way to achieve your goals? Many people struggle when it comes to their life’s journey. They often make bad decisions with the best intentions only to feel hopeless and helpless in their path when things didn’t go as planned. Dolly Parton, a famous award-winning country singer, said, “If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one.” You can’t rely on your family, friends, or colleagues to change your direction. The focus of creating your path is your responsibility. Where do you start? How do you pave another path when it’s God’s path you must travel? With numerous distractions prevalent in our lives, the challenge to create a path without God in control and seek the advancement of self becomes enticing. We are taught as children to focus on becoming the best we can be and at all costs. The saying, “I think I can” becomes, “I know I can,” and as a result, we become entrapped in achieving our success without God’s direction. What do you do when your path does not lead to success? What happens when you start creating a path that isn’t God-centered and driven? Is there only one path? Self the Hidden Idol by Willie R. Smith, a full-time missionary, examines how we deceive ourselves into thinking we can do all things possible without God in our lives, and self-idolization erupts deep within. The effect is devastating in our lives resulting in despair, depression, and hopelessness. The desired outcome for readers is to become aware of their hidden idol, they maintain within, and address it head-on with no excuses. Smith discusses the many facets of self-awareness of the idol within and how we became self-centered. A reader will learn to recognize their hidden idol, and how to live a selfless life of victory through Christ Jesus, even when the path chosen seems to lead to nowhere. A directionless path is a destructive path. There is victory ahead in your path when you address the idol within and allow God to lead the way. Start your journey to victory today; form your path in the direction He designed for you. Self the Hidden Idol will guide you on your journey. Be victorious!