Love Of Learning And Desire For God

The postmodern turn in theology reminds us that religion is imaginative before it becomes prosaic or propositional. Theologians are now joining literary critics, novelists and poets in asking the question, "How Do Stories Save Us?" Claiming that the truth of religion, like the truth of its nearest analogue, art, is primordially a truth of manifestation, this book explores the question in constructive conversation with the hermeneutics of David Tracy. With Tracy's analogical imagination as a guide, Scott Holland takes the reader on an intellectual adventure through narrative theology, literary criticism, poetics, ritual studies and aesthetics in the composition of a theology of culture.

Enrich your spiritual practice with a deeper understanding of Hebrew blessing. A Hebrew blessing is a powerful thing—a short, deeply meditative exercise exploring the nature of God and the dynamic relationship between God, human consciousness and the unfolding universe. Written in clear, illuminating prose, this book will guide you through the opening words of a Hebrew blessing—six words which embody the depth of Jewish spirituality—revealing how the letters and words combine to promote joy and appreciation, wonder and thankfulness, amazement and praise. Each word becomes an invitation to discover the Presence of God flowing through even the smallest actions of our lives. Examine the deeper meaning behind: Barukh Ata Adonay Eloheynu Melekh Ha’Olam In the ancient language of the Jewish mystical tradition and the modern language of hasidism, creation theology and psychology, The Path of Blessing brings the words of the Hebrew invocation dramatically alive.

`Give me a word, Father', visitors to early desert monks asked. The responses of these pioneer ascetics were remembered and in the fourth century written down in Coptic, Syriac, Greek, and later Latin. Their Sayings were collected, in this case in the alphabetical order of the monks and nuns who uttered them, and read by generations of Christians as life-giving words that would help readers along the path to salvation.

"Besides Jesus, no one has kept me from despair, or taken me deeper into the mysteries of the gospel, than the apostle Paul." —John Piper No one has had a greater impact on the world for eternal good than the apostle Paul—except Jesus himself. For John Piper, this impact is very personal. He does not just admire and trust Paul. He loves him. Piper gives us thirty glimpses into why his heart and mind respond this way. Can a Christian-killer really endure 195 lashes from a heart of love? Can a mystic who thinks he was caught up into heaven be a model of lucid rationality? Can an ethnocentric Jew write the most beautiful call to reconciliation? Can a person who lives with the unceasing anguish of empathy be always rejoicing? Can a man's description of the horrors of human sin be exceeded by his delight in human splendor? Can a man with a backbone of steel be as tender as a nursing mother? If we know this man—if we see what Piper sees—we too will love him. Paul's testimony is a matter of life and death. Piper invites you into his relationship with Paul in the hope that you will know life, forever.