In The Slumber of Christianity, Ted Dekker speaks to our slumber as Christians, going through life always waiting for the next occurrence, the “payday that never seems to arrive (Dekker 3).” Living comfortably and thoughtlessly, by going through the motions and having lost the desire and happiness that was once present in our childhood. Dekker states, we must remember the truth that “This life is powerless to satisfy our dreams of great happiness and pleasure. These dreams can be satisfied only in a mind-bending reality that awaits us in the next life (10).” We are made for another life and this one just doesn't do it for us. Dekker states that we should not minimize the pleasures that we have on this earth, but be knowledgable of the …show more content…
Things begin to spiral out of control and Dekker recalls how he couldn't find pleasure or happiness in anything. But when Dekker came face to face with the death of a loved one, he realized his sorrow was only the sorrow that comes from not recognizing what come after death. We, as Christians, have fallen asleep the this hope and we lose sight of what is too come. Dekker states, “Hope conjures notions of something less than concrete…But we have it wrong. Hope is far more than a flimsy notion. It's the engine of life” (66). We do everything right, we wear the right clothes, say the right things, nod our heads at the right times, but we have fallen into a state of slumber, and this is a dangerous place to be. Dekker asks questions like, “Are you desperately longing for heaven?" (74). Too often, people expect perfect bliss in their lives, only to be disappointed. Dekker makes the connection that we live to die and in living we are dying, but at the same time, I dying we live. It is our destiny to die and we do that through living. So we must set our sites towards heaven and towards the hope that is innately in all of us, a longing for a paradise, for …show more content…
I agree with what Ted Dekker is saying, we lose sight of heaven and how amazing it'll be. As Christians, we need to wake up and experience the joys of this earth, but also realize how great heaven will truly be. I don't feel like Dekker left anything out, he was thorough in his explanation of heaven and in his explanation of the slumber we fall into on earth. I agree that we must wake up from the slumber and know that this life will pass away in a blink of an eye, and that we don't have as much time on this earth as we think we do. I would definitely recommend this book to others, especially Christians. I would use this book to talk to other Christians about heaven. I would also apply the knowledge of heaven I gathered to put towards communicating with non-Christians. In communicating with Christians, this book would be a good tool to use to rekindle a passion for Christ in me and also in others. I wouldn't give this book to a non-Christian in the beginning, but once they have shown interest in Christianity, this would be a great book to recommend because it explains the harder things. It explains some Christians’ thought process, the hard questions concerning heaven, and the struggles, but also the amazing joy that comes when knowing Christ is in control of your life. This book is a great book and I really enjoyed it. I believe that Ted Dekker is thorough in his explanations and did a good job writing The Slumber of
There are many things in people's lives that define them; a major influence is religion. Against the backdrop of World War II, The Chosen, by Chaim Potok, shows the relationship of two religious Jewish boys, that grow up in very different Jewish sects. At a baseball game that represents a metaphorical war between the Hasidic and Orthodox Jewish culture an unlikely friendship is born. Reuven Malter, raised as a modern Orthodox Jew, accepts secular influences. The other protagonist, Danny Saunders, a son of a Hasidic rabbi, Reb Saunders, is raised as a traditional Hasidic Jew, bound by his father’s strict upbringing. Danny, by birthright, is chosen as his sect’s future rabbi to carry on his father’s dynasty, which causes internal struggle and
Dive into the absolutely captivating world of wonders and enchantment. David D. Hall and his book Worlds of Wonder, Days of Judgment pulls the reader into the shoes of a seventeenth-century New England Puritan. The practices of the society and the religious teachings were spread through various paraphernalia and Hall illustrated each and every topic beautifully. In this book, get ready for the immersion into the printed text, wonder-filled, and the ritualistic world of the Puritans in the seventeenth century. Along with these topics, a short explanation the Puritan religion and hard-hitting critics are is to follow.
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.
Aymar Jean Christian composed “The End of Post-Identity Television” to critique mainstream media (in the 2000s) for its’ failure to shed light on issues concerning race and gender identity despite their presence in everyday life. Christian uses his article to argue that identity is still important and the issues surrounding it should be discussed and portrayed like they are in reality. While Aaron Devor’s article “Gender Role Behaviors and Attitude” aims to bring awareness to the strong influence culture has on gender appropriation. He emphasizes that gender roles are not a natural occurrence but a phenomenon conceived and nurtured by society itself. In 2001, during the beginning of post-identity television, the movie “Legally Blonde” written
“The end of life is not to be happy, nor to achieve pleasure and avoid pain, but to do the will of God, come what may.”(Raushenbush)
I would very much so recommend this book. It is a great story about how everyone has a purpose to be here, and it makes you think of heaven as not just the streets of gold, but as a place where we will find out all the answers about our lives. It is a great concept. I would absolutely recommend The Five People You Meet in Heaven.
In the recent past a lot of books have been written with the religious perspective in mind and the purpose for that has been that the people have been drifting away from the faith and those who have the know how about the thing feel that is it part of their duty to bring the people back to their faith. So it is the process of making the people realize that there is something wrong with their way of life and although it has not been an easy task but many have been trying and most of them have had a history on the related field. One of the best books on the chosen topic may be that of Salvation by Earl D. Radmacher which was also helped on in the editing by the famous Charles R. Swindoll. The message in the book is simple and it is just like the drum on which the God has been beating hard enough for a very long time. They have just tried to repeat what has been said a million times already but in a very unique and a different manner. They seem efficient and they have a certain touch to their approach. They are not willing to let go while at the same time they know what their goal is and it is the way of writing, which would make the reader sit through it all and they would read the book till they finish it. So it is a religious as well as spiritual work but done in the modern day language and it is not a tale but a complete story of what we may have wanted to hear for a very long time. People should be more worried about the after life because that is the eternal life and we have to be worried about the things that would last forever. We should be doing things that will work for our salvation in the after life because there will be no worldly things to support us. We need to be on the move and we need to make sure that we are righ...
The book consists of three parts. The first part has five chapters of which focuses on explaining what the key questions are and why we find them difficult to answer. The second part has nine chapters explaining in detail what N.T. Wright considers Jesus’ public career and the approach he had in first century Palestine. The third part of the book, the last chapter, challenges readers to wrestle with the questions of Jesus’ life and ministry.
C.S. Lewis begins his book, “Mere Christianity”, by introducing the Law of Right and Wrong or the Laws of Nature. This, however, arises a question. What is the Law of Nature? The Law of Nature is the known difference between right and wrong. That is, mans distinction between what is right and what is wrong. “This law was called the Law of Nature because people thought that everyone knew it and did not need to be taught it”(18). Lewis relates the law to how we treat others. We treat others the way we want to be treated and if they treat us poorly in return we become agitated and annoyed with them. He states that we become a society of excuses when something goes wrong. He goes on to say that we want to behave in a certain way when in reality we do the opposite of what is right or what is wrong. We are humans and humans have primal instincts. We are all capable of using our instincts to do right or wrong. Lewis uses an example of a drowning man to prove this point. When one sees a man in trouble two desires or instincts kick into play, to save the man or ignore him because the situation at hand could endanger you. However, there in another impulse that says help the man. With this comes a conflict of instincts. Do you run and forget about it or do you jump in and help. Most people will help even if the situation is going to endanger their life. This is just one way of seeing moral law. The right in a situation will mostly always prevail over the wrong. “Men ought to be unselfish, ought to be fair. Not that men are selfish, nor that they like being unselfish, but they ought to be”(30). We are creatures of habit and logic. Lewis believes that the moral law is not taught to us rather known by us instinctively. He also believes that the law is real. The law is our behaviors in life via good or bad. Lewis states, “there is something above and beyond the ordinary facts of men’s behavior”(30). This opens Lewis to believe that the natural law is both alive and active in mans life today. Lewis goes on to say that the law must be something above mans behavior. He begins to relate this to the creation of the world.
Overall I value this book, and I am glad that I read it. I now know more about the Buddhist religion, and I want to change certain aspects of my life. I like how this religion is so forgiving and laid back. I really wish other things in my life were so forgiving. The idea of oneness with your self sounds very peaceful and understanding. I am going to try to have more oneness with myself. I can now see people from a different standpoint. We are all created equal, and we should all help each other.
Summary The Moment of Truth is a book by Wayne McDill. The book deals with the process of a sermon being delivered. McDill claims in his introduction, that a sermon is not an idea or a manuscript, but instead a sermon is the moment the message is being delivered.
The Story of Christianity is a book written by Justo Gonzalez; a native of Cuba. Gonzalez serves on the faculty of the Interdenominational Theological Center which is located in Atlanta Georgia. He attended Yale University, where he received his M.A. and Ph.D. in historical theology; in fact Dr. Gonzalez is the youngest person at Yale to be awarded a Ph.D. He is also one of the first generation Latino theologians and instead of growing up Catholic, comes from a protestant background. In addition to writing many other books, Gonzalez is also Cokesbury’s publishing chief narrator of the Christian Believer study video lessons course and the recipient of the Ecumenism Award from the Theological Consortium in Washington, which he received as a result of his ecumenical work of bringing together churches of different denominations
In Chapter 1 of Keith Ward’s, The Case for Religion, Ward discusses Wilfred Cantwell Smith’s concept of the term “Religion” and his definition of the term and critically responds to it. In one of Smith’s own books, The Meaning and End of Religion, he discusses both his interpretation of the term “religion” and his opinion that the term should no longer be used. Smith’s skepticism of the term, together with his attempt at defining it, creates a contradiction that Ward critically unpicks and responds to.
...our life will be centered on work. What is your desire in life? If we die to ourselves daily we are able to give up our fleshly desires for the desires of God. So many people don’t understand this concept and they feel it is a destitute walk of sacrifice and are unwilling to take it up. I can assure you that this walk may have the appearance of lack but it is anything but lack. God will meet you at whatever level you wish to reach. If you focus on him first, the rest will follow but if you are tied to the world the potential loss of worldly things will strike fear into your heart and you will fall. If you try to walk with one foot in the world and the other in the kingdom of God you will find yourself in a turmoil racked with questions and chaos. You can have all the good things in this world but you have to first be willing to give all things up to do so.
The conclusion of the book suggests practical ways Christians should participate in building the kingdom of God. Essentially, he points out the active nature of waiting. This includes bringing justice to the fallen world, recognizing the beauty in creation and working to reserve it, and spreading the gospel message of Christ. Christians can do those things because of hope, more specifically, the “hope for life before death” (p. 231).