How does a Christian discern the will of God? While this question lies at the heart of the Christian moral life, religious communities struggle to articulate responses that balance simple faith and rational reflection. Some characterize discernment as simple obedience to the commandments in Scripture; others portray it as an exercise of human reason and conscience. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German theologian, pastor, and political conspirator who embodied a life of discernment amidst difficult circumstances in WWII Germany, offers a compelling theological account of how to seek and respond to God's will. By tracing Bonhoeffer's understanding of moral discernment throughout his writings, and especially in his Ethics, Joshua Kaiser demonstrates the importance of discernment for Bonhoeffer's vision of Christian ethics and explores how his view combines elements of simple faith and rational reflection. While the results of the study will be significant for those interested in Bonhoeffer, they will also be relevant to all who struggle along the path of Christian discipleship.
How does a Christian discern the will of God? While this question lies at the heart of the Christian moral life, religious communities struggle to articulate responses that balance simple faith and rational reflection. Some characterize discernment as simple obedience to the commandments in Scripture; others portray it as an exercise of human reason and conscience. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German theologian, pastor, and political conspirator who embodied a life of discernment amidst difficult circumstances in WWII Germany, offers a compelling theological account of how to seek and respond to God's will. By tracing Bonhoeffer's understanding of moral discernment throughout his writings, and especially in his Ethics, Joshua Kaiser demonstrates the importance of discernment for Bonhoeffer's vision of Christian ethics and explores how his view combines elements of simple faith and rational reflection. While the results of the study will be significant for those interested in Bonhoeffer, they will also be relevant to all who struggle along the path of Christian discipleship.
“The discourse of our common life inclines towards despair. In my field of journalism, where we presume to write the first draft of history, we summon our deepest critical capacities for investigating what is inadequate, corrupt, catastrophic, and failing. The ‘news’ is defined as the extraordinary events of the day, but it is most often translated as the extraordinarily terrible events of the day. And in an immersive 24/7 news cycle, we internalize the deluge of bad news as the norm—the real truth of who we are and what we’re up against as a species. But my work has shown me that spiritual geniuses of the everyday are everywhere. They are in the margins and do not have publicists. They are below the radar, which is broken.” Peabody Award-winning broadcaster and National Humanities Medalist Krista Tippett has interviewed the most extraordinary voices examining the great questions of meaning for our time. The heart of her work on her national public radio program and podcast, On Being, has been to shine a light on people whose insights kindle in us a sense of wonder and courage. Scientists in a variety of fields; theologians from an array of faiths; poets, activists, and many others have all opened themselves up to Tippett's compassionate yet searching conversation. In Becoming Wise, Tippett distills the insights she has gleaned from this luminous conversation in its many dimensions into a coherent narrative journey, over time and from mind to mind. The book is a master class in living, curated by Tippett and accompanied by a delightfully ecumenical dream team of teaching faculty. The open questions and challenges of our time are intimate and civilizational all at once, Tippett says – definitions of when life begins and when death happens, of the meaning of community and family and identity, of our relationships to technology and through technology. The wisdom we seek emerges through the raw materials of the everyday. And the enduring question of what it means to be human has now become inextricable from the question of who we are to each other. This book offers a grounded and fiercely hopeful vision of humanity for this century – of personal growth but also renewed public life and human spiritual evolution. It insists on the possibility of a common life for this century marked by resilience and redemption, with beauty as a core moral value and civility and love as muscular practice. Krista Tippett's great gift, in her work and in Becoming Wise, is to avoid reductive simplifications but still find the golden threads that weave people and ideas together into a shimmering braid. One powerful common denominator of the lessons imparted to Tippett is the gift of presence, of the exhilaration of engagement with life for its own sake, not as a means to an end. But presence does not mean passivity or acceptance of the status quo. Indeed Tippett and her teachers are people whose work meets, and often drives, powerful forces of change alive in the world today. In the end, perhaps the greatest blessing conveyed by the lessons of spiritual genius Tippett harvests in Becoming Wise is the strength to meet the world where it really is, and then to make it better.
As world travel is growing exponentially, “alternative” travel has grown apace: from ecotourism, gap years, short-term mission trips, cultural travel-study tours, and foreign language study, to college-level study abroad, “voluntourism”, and international service-learning. This book is intended to help the new generation of ethical and educational travelers make the most of their international experience, and show them how to broaden their cultural horizons while also making a contribution to their host community.This book guides independent and purposeful learners considering destinations off the “beaten path” on connecting with a wider world. Whether traveling on their own, or as part of a group arranged by an educational institution, humanitarian organization, or congregation, this book will enable them to make their international encounter rewarding, authentic, enriching, and learning-oriented. This book draws on the author’s extensive travel and many years of guiding college students’ global learning. Richard Slimbach offers a comprehensive framework for pre-field preparation that includes, but goes beyond, discussions of packing lists and assorted “do’s and don’ts” to consider the ultimate purposes and practical learning strategies needed to enter deeply into a host culture. It also features an in-depth look at the post-sojourn process, helping the reader integrate the experiences and insights from the field into her or his studies and personal life. This book constitutes a vital road map for anyone intent on having their whole being—body, mind, and heart—stretched through the intercultural experience. Becoming World Wise offers an integrated approach to cross-cultural learning aimed at transforming our consciousness while also contributing to the flourishing of the communities that host us. While primarily intended for foreign study and service situations, the ideas are just as relevant to intercultural learning within domestic settings. In a “globalized” world, diverse cultures intermingle near and far, at home and abroad.
Discover the essential thinking tools you’ve been missing with The Great Mental Models series by Shane Parrish, New York Times bestselling author and the mind behind the acclaimed Farnam Street blog and “The Knowledge Project” podcast. This first book in the series is your guide to learning the crucial thinking tools nobody ever taught you. Time and time again, great thinkers such as Charlie Munger and Warren Buffett have credited their success to mental models–representations of how something works that can scale onto other fields. Mastering a small number of mental models enables you to rapidly grasp new information, identify patterns others miss, and avoid the common mistakes that hold people back. The Great Mental Models: Volume 1, General Thinking Concepts shows you how making a few tiny changes in the way you think can deliver big results. Drawing on examples from history, business, art, and science, this book details nine of the most versatile, all-purpose mental models you can use right away to improve your decision making and productivity. This book will teach you how to: Avoid blind spots when looking at problems. Find non-obvious solutions. Anticipate and achieve desired outcomes. Play to your strengths, avoid your weaknesses, … and more. The Great Mental Models series demystifies once elusive concepts and illuminates rich knowledge that traditional education overlooks. This series is the most comprehensive and accessible guide on using mental models to better understand our world, solve problems, and gain an advantage.
Sociologists, therapists, and psychiatrists have spent entire careers investigating the ins and outs of health, success, and happiness, but their findings are inaccessible to ordinary people, hidden in obscure journals seen only by other experts. Now David Niven, the international bestselling author of the Simple Secrets series, has collected the most current and significant data from more than a thousand of the best scientific studies on three of the most important aspects of our daily lives. Niven has boiled these findings down to sound, succinct advice for each day of the year, presenting 365 essential ways to find and maintain health, wealth, and wisdom. Each entry is accompanied by a true story showing the results in action. Whether you want to enhance your body, your bank account, your IQ, or all three, this bestselling series offers 365 essential ways to let science help you.
This is a book for those seeking to see life from a perspective that will enable them to do the right things--for themselves, for loved ones, and for society. When making life decisions we are too often overwhelmed by choices and feel there is no way to choose among them, or we may struggle to see the consequences of our choices. "Wisdom" is a term used to describe the human capacity to make beneficial decisions and treat others ethically, especially in complex and complicated situations. Although there is no one simple formula for being wise, this book will help you to find ways to think, judge, and act more wisely. You will learn skills to better understand other people, conduct a constructive life, pass fair judgments, make choices, resolve conflicts, behave appropriately, and deal with the hardships that life throws at you.
Quest for Eternal Sunshine chronicles the triumphant, true story of Mendek Rubin, a brilliant inventor who overcame both the trauma of the Holocaust and decades of unrelenting depression to live a life of deep peace and boundless joy. Born into a Hassidic Jewish family in Poland in 1924, Mendek grew up surrounded by extreme anti-Semitism. Armed with an ingenious mind, he survived three horrific years in Nazi slave-labor concentration camps while virtually his entire family was murdered in Auschwitz. After arriving in America in 1946—despite having no money or professional skills—his inventions helped revolutionize both the jewelry and packaged-salad industries. Remarkably, Mendek also applied his ingenuity to his own psyche, developing innovative ways to heal his heart and end his emotional suffering. After Mendek died in 2012, his daughter, Myra Goodman, found an unfinished manuscript in which he’d revealed the intimate details of his healing journey. Quest for Eternal Sunshine—the extraordinary result of a posthumous father-daughter collaboration—tells Mendek’s whole story and is filled with eye-opening revelations, effective self-healing techniques, and profound wisdom that have the power to transform the way we live our lives. An inspirational biography of a Holocaust survivor overcoming depression and PTSD. An essential new addition to Jewish Holocaust history.
This Handbook offers an overview of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's (1906-1945) biography and intellectual context; his contributions to all areas of doctrinal theology, ethics and public life; the significance of his thought for some contemporary issues and debates; and an evaluation of some existing resources for studying Bonhoeffer.
