The Theological Roots Of Christian Gratitude

This book asserts that gratitude for God's gift of creation grounds the insight of positive psychology that grateful persons act pro-socially. Kenneth Wilson posits that a sense of gratitude encourages sacrificial service and reveals all behavior to have at heart an essential moral quality.

This book asserts that gratitude for God's gift of creation grounds the insight of positive psychology that grateful persons act pro-socially. Kenneth Wilson posits that a sense of gratitude encourages sacrificial service and reveals all behavior to have at heart an essential moral quality.

The cultural story of gifts given and received.

This volume probes the nature of gratitude as a virtue and identifies its moral value in the Christian life in order to enhance pastoral effectiveness in ministering to those gripped by sins of desire. Such impulses are explored in terms of the seven deadly sins, which this inquiry regards as distorted desires for the good God provides. Utilizing a method of mutual critical correlation, this volume brings philosophical and psychological claims about gratitude into conversation with the Christian tradition. On the basis of an ontology of communion in which humans are inextricably situated in giving-and-receiving relationships with God, others, and the world, this inquiry defines gratitude as a social response involving asymmetrical, agapic reciprocity, whereby a recipient freely, joyfully, and fittingly salutes a giver for the gift received in order to establish, maintain, or restore a personal and peaceable relationship. Critiquing especially the reductions of gratitude by Aristotle and Jacques Derrida, this inquiry recommends gratitude as a virtue which, when embodied, practiced, and ritualized especially, though not exclusively, in the Eucharist, has potential to repel the destructive idolatries generated by the seven deadly sins and thus function as a crucial ingredient in human social flourishing. Familiarity with the virtue of gratitude as a vital ingredient in moral flourishing therefore equips pastors for greater ministerial effectiveness.

How to grow as thankful women of God. As women, we are often encouraged to "count our blessings". But truly biblical gratitude is much more than this. Mary K. Mohler unpacks Scripture to help us grow in gracious gratitude (thanking God for who he is) as well as natural gratitude (thanking him for his blessings) - and to identify and deal with some of the things that hinder us - to help us rediscover the joy of a thankful heart. This thoroughly Bible-centred unpacking of the reasons for gratitude builds on Mary K. Mohler's 25 years experience in mentoring seminary wives at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. Discussion questions at the end of each chapter make this book ideal for group use as well as for individuals.

John Barclay explores Pauline theology anew from the perspective of grace. Arguing that Paul's theology of grace is best approached in light of ancient notions of "gift," Barclay describes Paul's relationship to Judaism in a fresh way. Barclay focuses on divine gift-giving, which for Paul, he says, is focused and fulfilled in the gift of Christ. He both offers a new appraisal of Paul's theology of the Christ-event as gift as it comes to expression in Galatians and Romans and presents a nuanced and detailed consideration of the history of reception of Paul, including Augustine, Luther, Calvin, and Barth.

'What God does for us every day is a thousand times more than what the best of friends and neighbours do for us. 'The question is: are we thankful? That is what this book is about. It is all about learning gratitude and remembering to thank God for everything: the big things, the little things. God wants to be appreciated. I want this book to help show us how to be thankful.' This book is R.T. at his very best - popular theology and guidance for life in the style that has made him one of the most popular Christian writers in the UK today. As with Total Forgiveness, Thanking God explores and unpacks one of the simple but absolutely crucial aspects of the Christian life. R T examines the biblical teaching on gratitude and relates it to our everyday experience in a fashion both enlightening and challenging.

You are holding a collection of short stories that reveal how every aspect of life takes a particular dimension when considered from the perspective of faith in relationship with everyday experiences. From the darkness of human selfishness, the author manages to bring forth the light of God, inviting us to feel gratitude even under the most challenging situations. Rev. Andinach has transcended the dogma of religion to share with us the bittersweet experience of simply being a human being in a world constantly searching for divine guidance. ""Pablo Andinach is an internationally renowned scholar of the Old Testament and a fine theological educator with a Latin American voice. He now demonstrates in this volume his sensitivity to matters of deeply personal journeys of faith. Having heard believers share their lives in the spirit, he reveals in this wonderful work not only the faith of those who tell their stories, but also of the one who has compiled them."" --William B. Lawrence, Professor of American Church History, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University ""You hold in your hands a cornucopia. The Book of Gratitudes is a thanksgiving offering of faith stories from one of Latin America's most distinguished biblical scholars. For those tired of reading stale, intellectual wonder-bread, the verses, tales, and ruminations overflowing from this horn of plenty will feed your theological imagination."" --Edgardo A. Colon-Emeric, Assistant Professor of Christian Theology, Duke University Divinity School ""Andinach is an astute and provocative interpreter of the Scriptures. In The Book of Gratitudes, he conveys the wonder, mystery, and complexity of ancient stories and contemporary witnesses. In bringing to light the breadth of the biblical traditions, he reveals wisdom often hidden from our sight, and inspires us to see the world, and especially the marginalized, with a renewed vision."" --Kenneth H. Carter Jr., Resident Bishop, Florida Area, The United Methodist Church ""The Book of Gratitudes is a unique poetic meditation upon faith in God. Weaving together history, scripture, science, biography, and personal memoir, Andinach offers the reader a luminous sense of the divine in our midst. Indeed, his words of gratitude for the Bible can be applied to his own book: 'It is a blessing to have received it.'"" --Elaine A. Robinson, PhD, Professor of Methodist Studies and Christian Theology, Saint Paul School of Theology, Oklahoma City University Pablo R. Andinach is Professor of Ancient History and Biblical Studies in the Universidad Catolica Argentina. In 2004 and 2011 he was invited as Visiting Professor in Perkins School of Theology, Dallas, Texas. His publications in English include Being Church, An Ecclesiology for the Rest of Us (2014); and co-editor of La Violencia in the Hebrew Bible (2016). Most of his works, however, are published in Spanish. He is an ordained minister in the Methodist Church in Argentina.