Surprised By Beauty

The best music of the 20th century "developed our capacity for feeling, deepened our compassion, and furthered our quest for and understanding of what Aristotle called 'the perfect end of life' ". — from the Foreword by NPR music critic Ted Libbey The single greatest crisis of the 20th century was the loss of faith. Noise—and its acceptance as music—was the product of the resulting spiritual confusion and, in its turn, became the further cause of its spread. Likewise, the recovery of modern music, the theme to which this book is dedicated, stems from a spiritual recovery. This is made explicitly clear by the composers whose interviews with the author are collected in this book. Robert Reilly spells out the nature of the crisis and its solution in sections that serve as bookends to the chapters on individual composers. He does not contend that all of these composers underwent and recovered from the central crisis he describes, but they all lived and worked within its broader context, and soldiered on, writing beautiful music. For this, they suffered ridicule and neglect, and he believes their rehabilitation will change the reputation of modern music. It is the spirit of music that this book is most about, and in his efforts to discern it, Reilly has discovered many treasures. The purpose of this book is to share them, to entice you to listen—because beauty is contagious. English conductor John Eliot Gardiner writes that experiencing Bach's masterpieces "is a way of fully realizing the scale and scope of what it is to be human". The reader may be surprised by how many works of the 20th and 21st centuries of which this is also true.

"In sound itself, there is a readiness to be ordered by the spirit, and this is seen at its most sublime in music." Max Picard The single greatest crisis of the 20th century was the loss of faith. Noise and its acceptance as music was the product of the resulting spiritual confusion and, in its turn, became the further cause of its spread. Likewise, the recovery of modern music, the theme to which this book is dedicated, stems from a spiritual recovery. This is made explicitly clear by the composers to whom the author spoke with in the interviews collected in this book. Reilly spells out the nature of the crisis and its solution in sections that serve as bookends to the chapters on individual composers. He does not contend that all of these composers underwent and recovered from the central crisis he describes, but they all lived and worked within its broader context, and soldiered on, writing beautiful music. For this, they suffered ridicule and neglect, and he believes their rehabilitation will change the reputation of modern music. There are many such composers whom Reilly discusses in this work, along with mention of many new recordings that have released over the past decade. It is the spirit of music that this book is most about, and in his efforts to discern it, Reilly has discovered many treasures. The purpose of this book is to share them, to entice you to listen because beauty is contagious. English conductor John Eliot Gardiner writes that experiencing Bach's masterpieces "is a way of fully realizing the scale and scope of what it is to be human." The reader may be surprised by how many works of the 20th and 21st centuries of which this is also true. As a special bonus, buyers of this book will be given access to the online Naxos Music Library, and be able to listen to many of the music pieces Reilly discusses in this book. "Robert Reilly's vision of music is profoundly spiritual, expressive of what is best and most enriching in human life, and having the possibility of leading us to encounter God Himself." Stephen Hough, Pianist and Composer"

"Scholars have long noted the prevalence of praise of God in Luke-Acts. This monograph offers the first comprehensive analysis of this important feature of Luke's narrative. It focuses on twenty-six scenes in which praise occurs, studied in light of ancient Jewish and Greco-Roman discourse about praise of deity and in comparison with how praise appears in the narratives of Tobit and Joseph and Aseneth. The book argues that praise of God functions as a literary motif in all three narratives, serving to mark important moments in each plot, particularly in relation to the themes of healing, conversion, and revelation. In Luke-Acts specifically, the plot presents the long-expected visitation of God, which arrives in the person of Jesus, bringing glory to the people of Israel and revelation to the Gentiles. The motif of praise of God aligns closely with the plot's structure, communicating to the reader that varied (and often surprising) events in the story - such as healings in Luke and conversions in Acts - together comprise the plan of God. The praise motif thus demonstrates the author's efforts to combine disparate source material into carefully constructed historiography."--Publisher's website.

"Well written, often poignant and surprisingly relatable." - Kirkus Reviews "A hugely readable journey of cultural and spiritual discovery, sparkling with wit and wisdom." - Alister McGrath "Carolyn Weber's memoir reads like a fast-paced novel. I loved the humor, skillful use of language and her compelling account of her steps to finding God at Oxford. I was totally captivated from beginning to end." - Marilyn Meberg Surprised by Oxford is the memoir of a skeptical agnostic who comes to a dynamic personal faith in God during graduate studies in literature at Oxford University. Carolyn Weber arrives at Oxford a feminist from a loving but broken family, suspicious of men and intellectually hostile to all things religious. As she grapples with her God-shaped void alongside the friends, classmates, and professors she meets, she tackles big questions in search of Truth, love, and a life that matters. From issues of fatherhood, feminism, doubt, doctrine, and love, Weber explores the intricacies of coming to faith with an aching honesty and insight echoing that of the poets and writers she studied. Rich with illustration and literary references, Surprised by Oxford is at once gritty and lyrical; both humorous and spiritually perceptive. This savvy, credible account of Christian conversion and its after-effects follows the calendar year and events of the school year as it entertains, informs, and promises to engage even the most skeptical and unlikely reader. "Surprised by Oxford is a sprightly contribution to the genre of spiritual memoirs in the vein of C.S. Lewis's Surprised by Joy and Lauren F. Winner's Girl Meets God. Carolyn Weber is an unconventional thinker whose engagingly told faith journey will speak to folks who still believe that thoughtful people cannot be Christian." - Lyle W. Dorsett

In this thrilling sequel to Lottie and the Land of Dofstram, M A Haggerty weaves an intriguing tale of spells and battles, loyalty and betrayal. Lottie Montmerencie's life is never dull as she continues to find herself involved in one fantastic adventure after another, ably assisted by her friend Penny and her talking pets Allsorts and Scruffy.

Shortly after being saved, I was sitting on my porch enjoying the day. Suddenly I felt an overwhelming feeling, a special closeness with the God of Creation. I tried to analyze this feeling and thought it must be a second work of grace I had heard about. I called this experience “divine unity.” As I spoke with mature believers, I discovered they too had experienced this feeling; it was called peace. I had experienced times of peace, but not this kind of peace. This peace was supernatural. I was later to learn this was Shalom, or “supernatural peace.” If there were no heaven, this peace would be reward enough, in and of itself. It is my prayer that the readers of this book will come to faith, believe in God, and experience this divine peace.

Good Press presents to you a meticulously edited G. K. Chesterton collection. This ebook has been designed and formatted to the highest digital standards and adjusted for readability on all devices. Content: The Father Brown Books: The Innocence of Father Brown The Wisdom of Father Brown The Incredulity of Father Brown The Secret of Father Brown The Scandal of Father Brown The Donnington Affair The Mask of Midas Novels: The Napoleon of Notting Hill The Man who was Thursday The Ball and the Cross Manalive The Flying Inn The Return of Don Quixote Short Stories: The Club of Queer Trades The Man Who Knew Too Much The Trees of Pride Tales of the Long Bow The Poet and the Lunatics Four Faultless Felons The Paradoxes of Mr. Pond The White Pillars Murder The Sword of Wood Poetry: Greybeards At Play The Wild Knight and Other Poems Wine, Water, and Song Poems, 1916 The Ballad of St. Barbara and Other Verses The Ballad of the White Horse Gloria in Profundis Ubi Ecclesia Rotarians Plays: Magic – A Fantastic Comedy The Turkey and the Turk Literary Criticism: A Defence of Penny Dreadfuls Appreciations and Criticisms of the Works of Charles Dickens The Victorian Age in Literature Charles Dickens - Critical Study Hilaire Belloc Robert Louis Stevenson Historical Works: A Short History of England The Barbarism of Berlin Letters to an Old Garibaldian The Crimes of England The New Jerusalem Theological Works: Heretics Orthodoxy The Everlasting Man The Catholic Church and Conversion Eugenics and other Evils Essays: The Defendant Varied Types All Things Considered Tremendous Trifles What's Wrong with the World Miscellany of Men Divorce versus Democracy The Superstition of Divorce The Uses of Diversity Fancies Versus Fads The Outline of Sanity The Thing Come to Think All is Grist As I was Saying Autobiography by G. K. Chesterton G. K. Chesterton – A Critical Study by Julius West

Jesus knew the Bible better than anyone, yet he claimed that he had to hear his Father's voice in order to fulfill God's purposes for his life. His enemies, the religious elite, had supreme confidence in their knowledge of Scripture, yet Jesus said that none of them had ever heard the voice of the Father. When Jack Deere turned seventeen, he did not know God or a single verse of Scripture. Then, one night a friend quoted John 10:28 to him, and he believed in Jesus. At twenty-seven, he became a professor of Old Testament Exegesis and Semitic Languages at Dallas Theological Seminary where he taught his students to avoid the trap of believing that God still spoke outside the pages of the Bible. He believed it was all real--just as the authors of the Old and New Testaments had said it happened--but it no longer happened today. People who believed God had spoken to them personally were emotionally unstable or too lazy to read the Bible. After a trusted friend shared he believed God still spoke today, Jack began a thorough study of every instance of God speaking supernaturally to someone in the New Testament. He saw how they didn't just hear the voice of God; they were dependent on the voice of God to fulfill the highest purpose for their lives. Jack became convinced that we should expect God to speak outside the Scriptures, but he didn't have a clue how to hear his voice. This is the story of how Jack Deere learned to hear the voice of God and, in doing so, became a friend of Jesus. Now a modern classic, Jack wrote Surprised by the Voice of God over twenty-five years ago. Based on that first book, Why I Am Still Surprised by the Voice of God has been entirely rewritten and includes additional thoughts and insights from a lifetime of hearing God speak. Deere guides you through the Bible to discover the variety of creative, deeply personal ways God still communicates with us today. You'll learn how God speaks with people apart from the Bible, though never in contradiction to it. Deere first describes the ways God revealed his thoughts to the men and women of the Bible, and then shares why God continues to speak to us today using the same methods. He provides counsel and guidance for knowing how to accurately hear God speak through prophecies, dreams, visions, and other forms of divine communication. With candor, sensitivity, and a profound understanding of Scripture, Deere identifies our hindrances to hearing the voice of God and calls us to a more intimate relationship with God. Filled with fascinating stories and personal accounts, Why I Am Still Surprised by the Voice of God is for all who want to walk in friendship with God.