A New Kind of Christian, written by Brain McLaren, Book one of his astonishing trilogy, narrates an authentic and very personal interactions between two fictional characters. This book reflects the faith along with the doubting, leadership and spiritual discipline in the postmodern world. As the book opens, Dan is feeling spiritually remote. His wife, Carole is the only person with whom he can converse his problems. As a pastor, Dan doesn’t feel safe in having such dialogues with others, the feeling of loneliness and anger. Dan needs to figure out what to do. A pastor with doubts, confusion, and conflict. Pastor Dan Poole, a 14-year-old veteran of ministry is starting to ask questions about his faith or better yet as he would say that is faith was, “running out of gas.”(p 57) With a rapid fire of questions from his friend Neo, thinks he might have recognized the problem. Neo calls it “Immigration Problem.” He explains that there are different types of faith, “modern faith, the faith you developed in your home and this type of Immigration faith that us a new type of realm. A type of world that doesn’t fit the normal realities. As Dan writes in his journal as if he was writing to go, he ponders. “Lord, I have been thinking more about how my version of Christianity is modern. I wonder how its …show more content…
By going on more walks and dinners becoming closer with Dan’s family. But as Neo had left. Dan states that when he and Neo were required to converse from e-mail it changed their friendship in a shocking way: “as soon as he was so physically distant, we seemed to get closer.”(p 198). Dan used all his teachings and ‘Down to Earth’ lingo into action, and the results couldn’t have been any better, (Again, ‘real’ and again this feeling that the spark I sensed in you begun to glow in me. I can't tell you how good I feel about what I am becoming, thanks to you.” Dan writes in an email to
· Lewis, CS. Mere Christianity. New York: Doubleday, 1982. · McBride, David. The Story of the Church.
The theme of spirituality takes place in many novels that we have read this semester. Natives has used spiritual guidance as a means of connecting with their past and honoring their ancestors. To Natives, spirits have always played an important role in their culture and everyday lives. When Natives were forced to convert to Christianity and over time have their beliefs sucked out of them, the spiritual connection was broken as generations passed. One novel that particularly spoke to me on this subject was Monkey Beach, by Eden Robinson. The main character, Lisa, is struggling to fins herself after being blessed with the gift of being a shaman. In this novel, the author exploits how the European or western “white” culture has destroyed the native culture so immensely, that the younger generation cannot identify a spiritual connection without society calling them mentally unstable. Lisa suffers to accept the gift she has been given, and instead fights it by numbing herself with drugs and alcohol, which also being in another major theme of alcoholism in native culture, due to the suppression of the Native American race.
“Parker’s Back” is filled with biblical allusions as one man’s journey towards God and pleasing his wife ends unsuccessfully. Parker has always been a rebel; however, his wife is a devout, plain woman who has an indescribable control on him, possibly due to his subconscious wish to be saved. Parker wishes to leave her, but finds he never can do so. Not only is he unable to please his wife, but also he is unable to experience spiritual satisfaction, and in the brief moment at the end where he does have a connection to God, his wife rids him of it. Biblical allusions are spread throughout “Parker’s Back,” and they serve to emphasize O.E. Parker’s failure as a spiritual person.
This paper will be reviewing the book “Integrative Approaches to Psychology and Christianity: an introduction to worldview issues, philosophical foundations and models of integration, by David N. Entwistle. As the title states, this book discusses how to integrate psychology and theology. It also dives into to why it is so important to be able to integrate the two. Entwistle explains that just because the two are different does not mean they should be separated and that we have to use both our worldviews. “Weaving together perspectives from psychology and Christian theology can help us understand and appreciate humanity more fully than we could either perspective alone.” (p.3)
Garrett’s concise treatment of an array of relevant questions is reflected in chapter titles like “Faith and Belief”, “The Bible and Theology”, “Sacramental Faith”, “Spiritual Practice”, “The Kingdom of God”, “The End of Things”, and “Friends or Rivals: Living in a Multifaith World”. Each chapter is a vivid explanation on how our life should be based on love, nothing else but the love of Christ, it contrasts the modern day depiction of God bein...
Why would others seek out God, when they believe lies about the Faith? We need to be pointing the world to the truth of God. Alex McFarland points to a God that others will want to know more about. Without piling on a lot of Christianese, McFarland presents a compelling picture of the God we have fallen in love. The God that we love and wish to introduce others to. If you have questions about God, then this is a perfect place to start. If you are a believer and want answers to the questions of a post-Christian culture, then this a book you should add to your library. I truly enjoyed this book and I hope you will
Jenkins, Phillips. The Lost History of Christianity. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2008. Print. Phillips, Jonathan.
the power of faith are developed and can be used to show the problems in today’s culture.
The. 1987 Lopez, Kathryn Muller. Read Daniel: Negotiating The Classic Issues Of The Book. Review & Expositor 109.4 (2012): 521-530. ATLASerials, a Religion Collection.
In conclusion, studying and reviewing “The Lonely Man of Faith” and beginning to understand a minute amount of the inborn characteristics of human nature has brought me to a new understanding regarding human nature, regarding my marriage, regarding myself. It has been a tremendous learning experience.
Christianity has its challenges. It places demands on us that set us apart from the rest of our world. The bible calls us a peculiar people, who navigate the challenge of living IN the world, without being OF the world. When we say ‘no’ to temptations that are enjoyed by the masses, we are labeled as self-righteous snobs, religious weirdoes, or worse. But we persevere, and we press toward that invisible line the Apostle Paul drew in the sands of time…for the high calling in Christ Jesus.
Many people would say that to be born a Mexican is to be born a Catholic. This perpetuating stereotype has forced many Mexican families to raise their children as if no other religions options even existed. In the book Pocho by Jose Antonio Villarreal a young boy by the name of Richard Rubio finds himself being raised Catholic by a traditional Mexican family. Richard, struggling to find his place in the world, has his parents religious beliefs pressed down on him forcing him to conform to a religion he does not agree with. Throughout the course of the novel the Catholic religious beliefs imposed on Richard affected his personality in many ways. By the end of the book it is clear that not allowing others to find their own spiritual calling can have drastic effects on their ability to recognize who they are. Many of the spiritual problems Richard faces in book are common to a number of Mexican children. Through the use of my personal experiences in being in a situation similar to that of Richard's, I intend to support my claim that forced beliefs may have damaging effects on a person.
Paul Tillich. “What Faith Is”. The Human Experience: Who Am I?. 8th ed. Winthrop University: Rock Hill SC, 2012. 269-273. Print.
In the book Into The Wild, there is a man that had ventured off when he was about 22 years old. He had a pretty good life prior to him venturing off. His parents had fairly well off jobs; his father being an antenna specialist for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); and his mother worked as a secretary at Hughes Aircraft. After some time, his mother and father started their own business that was a home-based consulting company that ended up being very successful. His parents, and family friend (who gave him $24,000 to continue into law school) wanted him to pursue the opportunity to go into law school, which everyone had high hopes for him. He had the great grades in college, awesome work ethics, he had it all; but one day he just went off without notice, and went on an adventure to find enlightenment and self discovery. In Chris McCandless’s life, people would argue that his life was about discovery and enlightenment, or ignorance and loss because it does seem that he gives up everything good in his life on a foolish walk-about; but others see that life isn't just about materialistic items, it's more of peace at mind, freedom of doing what you want, not being governed by the rules, or laws around you, and that life is just more than what people give you, it's about being natural, freeing yourself from everything; and I believe that his life was about discovery and enlightenment, and I do think he had found that exact thing.
Gonzalez, Justo L. The Story of Christianity. 2nd ed. New York City, NY: HarperOne, 2010.