Enduring Art, Active Faith
Enduring Art, Active Faith

Author: Robert G. Proudfoot

Publisher: FriesenPress

Published: 2019-02-14

Total Pages: 281

ISBN-13: 152552819X

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Enduring Art, Active Faith is a collection of short stories, essays, poetry, photographs, and depictions of artwork (prints, sculptures, and paintings) prepared by three generations of Robert Proudfoot’s family. A sense of reverence, celebration, and respect shines through Robert’s writing and that of the rest of his family. This book includes the work of several artistic but passionate individuals: Norma Proudfoot (mother), Alicia and Annora (daughters), and Valerie (wife) in collaboration with her friend, Donna Entz, a former West African missionary and celebrated Edmonton friendship bridge builder with Christians, Jews, and Muslims. Part I, African Safaris, highlights Robert and Valerie's poignant cross-cultural experiences while working for Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) as an agro-forester and a primary healthcare nurse, respectively, among Kanuri Africans in northeastern Nigeria from 1988 to 1991. The Guard short story harkens back to Lusaka, southern Africa during the early 1970s, when recently independent Zambia was coming of age as a vibrant, African-dominant society, while European colonialism and apartheid were fading from the scene. Part II, What If?, is a diverse collection of essays, short stories, and poetry that deal with serious, rather dark themes, including: sacrifices made by minorities to assimilate into mainstream Canadian culture; loss of family mixed farms; the need for Christians, Jews, and Muslims to collaborate; validity of war crimes; reconciliation between indigenous and settler Canadians; an awakening of a young husband to his wife's bipolar mental health; and a young woman's relations with boyfriends and God. Part III, On a Lighter Note, is a collection of prose and poetry about: humans encountering nature and the supernatural; young men learning to better relate with women and their elders; friendship built through a mutual interest in sports; musings about our relationship with God; and inter-generational fellowship. Part IV, Family Memories, reflects on Robert's extended family: Norma's ties to Prince Edward Island; the loss of Norma's brother Gordon in a northern Alberta plane crash; and Robert's bittersweet struggle with being a Mennonite pacifist despite his respect for his ancestors who were decorated war heroes in battles to protect Canada's sovereignty.

Enduring Art, Active Faith
Enduring Art, Active Faith

Author: Robert G. Proudfoot

Publisher: FriesenPress

Published: 2019-02

Total Pages: 281

ISBN-13: 1525528181

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Enduring Art, Active Faith is a collection of short stories, essays, poetry, photographs, and depictions of artwork (prints, sculptures, and paintings) prepared by three generations of Robert Proudfoot’s family. A sense of reverence, celebration, and respect shines through Robert’s writing and that of the rest of his family. This book includes the work of several artistic but passionate individuals: Norma Proudfoot (mother), Alicia and Annora (daughters), and Valerie (wife) in collaboration with her friend, Donna Entz, a former West African missionary and celebrated Edmonton friendship bridge builder with Christians, Jews, and Muslims. Part I, African Safaris, highlights Robert and Valerie's poignant cross-cultural experiences while working for Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) as an agro-forester and a primary healthcare nurse, respectively, among Kanuri Africans in northeastern Nigeria from 1988 to 1991. The Guard short story harkens back to Lusaka, southern Africa during the early 1970s, when recently independent Zambia was coming of age as a vibrant, African-dominant society, while European colonialism and apartheid were fading from the scene. Part II, What If?, is a diverse collection of essays, short stories, and poetry that deal with serious, rather dark themes, including: sacrifices made by minorities to assimilate into mainstream Canadian culture; loss of family mixed farms; the need for Christians, Jews, and Muslims to collaborate; validity of war crimes; reconciliation between indigenous and settler Canadians; an awakening of a young husband to his wife's bipolar mental health; and a young woman's relations with boyfriends and God. Part III, On a Lighter Note, is a collection of prose and poetry about: humans encountering nature and the supernatural; young men learning to better relate with women and their elders; friendship built through a mutual interest in sports; musings about our relationship with God; and inter-generational fellowship. Part IV, Family Memories, reflects on Robert's extended family: Norma's ties to Prince Edward Island; the loss of Norma's brother Gordon in a northern Alberta plane crash; and Robert's bittersweet struggle with being a Mennonite pacifist despite his respect for his ancestors who were decorated war heroes in battles to protect Canada's sovereignty.

The Enduring Authority of the Christian Scriptures
The Enduring Authority of the Christian Scriptures

Author: D. A. Carson

Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 1256

ISBN-13: 0802865763

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In this volume, thirty-seven first-rate evangelical scholars present a thorough study of biblical authority and a full range of issues connected to it. Recognizing that Scripture and its authority are now being both challenged and defended with renewed vigor, editor D.A. Carson assigned the topics that these select scholars address in the book. After an introduction by Carson to the many facets of the current discussion, the contributors present robust essays on relevant historical, biblical, theological, philosophical, epistemological, and comparative-religions topics. To conclude, Carson answers a number of frequently asked questions about the nature of Scripture, cross-referencing these FAQs to the preceding chapters. This comprehensive volume by a team of recognized experts will be the go-to reference on the nature and authority of the Bible for years to come. -- Amazon.

Art and Faith
Art and Faith

Author: Makoto Fujimura

Publisher: Yale University Press

Published: 2021-01-05

Total Pages: 184

ISBN-13: 0300255934

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From a world-renowned painter, an exploration of creativity’s quintessential—and often overlooked—role in the spiritual life “Makoto Fujimura’s art and writings have been a true inspiration to me. In this luminous book, he addresses the question of art and faith and their reconciliation with a quiet and moving eloquence.”—Martin Scorsese “[An] elegant treatise . . . Fujimura’s sensitive, evocative theology will appeal to believers interested in the role religion can play in the creation of art.”—Publishers Weekly Conceived over thirty years of painting and creating in his studio, this book is Makoto Fujimura’s broad and deep exploration of creativity and the spiritual aspects of “making.” What he does in the studio is theological work as much as it is aesthetic work. In between pouring precious, pulverized minerals onto handmade paper to create the prismatic, refractive surfaces of his art, he comes into the quiet space in the studio, in a discipline of awareness, waiting, prayer, and praise. Ranging from the Bible to T. S. Eliot, and from Mark Rothko to Japanese Kintsugi technique, he shows how unless we are making something, we cannot know the depth of God’s being and God’s grace permeating our lives. This poignant and beautiful book offers the perspective of, in Christian Wiman’s words, “an accidental theologian,” one who comes to spiritual questions always through the prism of art.

Laboratories of Faith
Laboratories of Faith

Author: John Warne Monroe

Publisher: Cornell University Press

Published: 2018-07-05

Total Pages: 308

ISBN-13: 0801461715

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At a fascinating moment in French intellectual history, an interest in matters occult was not equivalent to a rejection of scientific thought; participants in séances and magic rituals were seekers after experimental data as well as spiritual truth. A young astronomy student wrote of his quest: "I am not in the presence or under the influence of any evil spirit: I study Spiritism as I study mathematics." He did not see himself as an ecstatic visionary but rather as a sober observer. For him, the darkened room of occult practice was as much laboratory as church. In an evocative history of alternative religious practices in France in the second half of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries, John Warne Monroe tells the interconnected stories of three movements—Mesmerism, Spiritism, and Occultism. Adherents of these groups, Monroe reveals, attempted to "modernize" faith by providing empirical support for metaphysical concepts. Instead of trusting theological speculation about the nature of the soul, these believers attempted to gather tangible evidence through Mesmeric experiments, séances, and ceremonial magic. While few French people were active Mesmerists, Spiritists, or Occultists, large segments of the educated general public were familiar with these movements and often regarded them as fascinating expressions of the "modern condition," a notable contrast to the Catholicism and secular materialism that prevailed in their culture. Featuring eerie spirit photographs, amusing Daumier lithographs, and a posthumous autograph from Voltaire, as well as extensive documentary evidence, Laboratories of Faith gives readers a sense of what being in a séance or a secret-society ritual might actually have felt like and why these feelings attracted participants. While they never achieved the transformation of human consciousness for which they strove, these thinkers and believers nevertheless pioneered a way of "being religious" that has become an enduring part of the Western cultural vocabulary.

Culture Care
Culture Care

Author: Makoto Fujimura

Publisher: InterVarsity Press

Published: 2017-01-14

Total Pages: 165

ISBN-13: 0830891110

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We all have a responsibility to care for culture. Artist Makoto Fujimura issues a call to cultural stewardship, in which we feed our culture's soul with beauty, creativity, and generosity. This is a book for artists and all "creative catalysts" who understand how much the culture we all share affects human thriving today and shapes the generations to come.

Enduring Ministry
Enduring Ministry

Author: Samuel D. Rahberg

Publisher: Liturgical Press

Published: 2017-01-15

Total Pages: 144

ISBN-13: 0814647367

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For many Christian leaders, the experience of ministry includes enough conflict and disappointment to soon wear off the patina of one's initial enthusiasm. And yet relief and renewal seems too often out of reach. What happens in this season of ministry is more than a matter of whether or not a Christian leader can persist. It is, in fact, possible for a person to engage the call to maturity at the juncture of discipleship and leadership. Enduring Ministry is designed for those who seek this more durable way forward, one that is infused with grace and inspired by good mission. In Enduring Ministry, Samuel Rahberg draws on insights from the monastic tradition, the ministry of spiritual direction, and the practice of Christian leadership to support and empower women and men for continued ministries in the church, helping them turn from merely enduring to lasting, effective, and vibrant Christian leadership.

Beyond the Return of Religion: Art and the Postsecular
Beyond the Return of Religion: Art and the Postsecular

Author: Lieke Wijnia

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2019-08-26

Total Pages: 95

ISBN-13: 9004411747

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Beyond the Return of Religion: Art and the Postsecular explores the conceptual potential of the postsecular for investigations of (late) modern art and religion. Indicating a public co-existence and merging of religion and the secular, the postsecular is approached as an alternative to the return of religion narrative. Rather than framing artistic concerns with religion as a recurrence after temporary absence, Lieke Wijnia shows how the postsecular allows for seeing the interaction between art and religion as an enduring, albeit transforming relationship of mutual nature. Whereas secularization theories are intrinsically connected to modernity, the postsecular requires a pluralized perspective, covering the processes of secularization, diversification, and spiritualization. The postsecular reinforces the interconnectedness of these processes, which are, in turn, embodied in the concept’s interdisciplinary nature. While this book predominantly focuses on visual art and its institutional context of the museum, the postsecular has interdisciplinary relevance for broader artistic and academic disciplines.

The Joy of the Gospel
The Joy of the Gospel

Author: Pope Francis

Publisher: Image

Published: 2014-10-07

Total Pages: 164

ISBN-13: 0553419544

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The perfect gift! A specially priced, beautifully designed hardcover edition of The Joy of the Gospel with a foreword by Robert Barron and an afterword by James Martin, SJ. “The joy of the gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus… In this Exhortation I wish to encourage the Christian faithful to embark upon a new chapter of evangelization marked by this joy, while pointing out new paths for the Church’s journey in years to come.” – Pope Francis This special edition of Pope Francis's popular message of hope explores themes that are important for believers in the 21st century. Examining the many obstacles to faith and what can be done to overcome those hurdles, he emphasizes the importance of service to God and all his creation. Advocating for “the homeless, the addicted, refugees, indigenous peoples, the elderly who are increasingly isolated and abandoned,” the Holy Father shows us how to respond to poverty and current economic challenges that affect us locally and globally. Ultimately, Pope Francis demonstrates how to develop a more personal relationship with Jesus Christ, “to recognize the traces of God’s Spirit in events great and small.” Profound in its insight, yet warm and accessible in its tone, The Joy of the Gospel is a call to action to live a life motivated by divine love and, in turn, to experience heaven on earth. Includes a foreword by Robert Barron, author of Catholicism: A Journey to the Heart of the Faith and James Martin, SJ, author of Jesus: A Pilgrimage

Dominion
Dominion

Author: Tom Holland

Publisher: Basic Books

Published: 2019-10-29

Total Pages: 624

ISBN-13: 0465093523

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A "marvelous" (Economist) account of how the Christian Revolution forged the Western imagination. Crucifixion, the Romans believed, was the worst fate imaginable, a punishment reserved for slaves. How astonishing it was, then, that people should have come to believe that one particular victim of crucifixion-an obscure provincial by the name of Jesus-was to be worshipped as a god. Dominion explores the implications of this shocking conviction as they have reverberated throughout history. Today, the West remains utterly saturated by Christian assumptions. As Tom Holland demonstrates, our morals and ethics are not universal but are instead the fruits of a very distinctive civilization. Concepts such as secularism, liberalism, science, and homosexuality are deeply rooted in a Christian seedbed. From Babylon to the Beatles, Saint Michael to #MeToo, Dominion tells the story of how Christianity transformed the modern world.