Penitence and Gratitude
589479
It is difficult to not feel shame at any niggling complaint I might experience having read this book.  I could not put it down.  For me, the focus was less on the horrors that occurred and more on the Strength from above that moved this woman, her family and countless others, forward.  I will certainly be reading more of Corrie Ten Boom's publications.
1085276
This is a wonderful book. I enjoyed every bit.  This book has really helped me achieve a higher level of gratitude for friends and family
3458695
I have heard Ann Voskamp speak.  this book helps us all focus on our blessings and to maintain a thankful attitude.  As a Christ follower I can really relate to her teachings.  They have been a big encouragement to me.  I also have this as an e-book and read it chapters at a time. This is a beautiful gift idea.
3341342
Since the Second Vatican Council, a wave of optimism concerning the salvation of everyone has swept the Catholic Church.  Martin reminds me that this sort of optimism is not the same thing as the Christian virtue of hope.  In the Bible, from Genesis right through to the book of Revelation, including in the New Testament, God's blessings and promise to be the savior of humankind is matched by reminders that God is also a God of justice.  Salvation is offered freely to all, but it is possible to turn one's back on the one offering.  There is an unneeded undertow of negative animus in regard to the optimists in Martin's book, but it is a very salutary reminder that we need to read the biblical and conciliar records carefully.  What Martin points to, in my opinion, is the development of a soteriology that gives us meaningful images of salvation and the price one pays when one rejects God's offer.
2296614
This is a great example of God's grace, and how redemption can lead to so many blessings.  It is a great reminder of what God can do for those who love him, and follow him.  Congratulations, Shon and Anne!
3364016
As I have written elsewhere, Bishop Chrysostomos is one of the most significant Orthodox scholars to appear in America in recent years. This view was shared by the famous Russian Orthodox theologian Father Georges Florovsky, who characterized the Bishop's writings as important contributions to the body of Orthodox literature. The book Repentance, a third volume in the series Orthodox Patristic Psychology, confirms these positive evaluations. The essays on repentance contained in this book, written by the author and one other Orthodox thinker, are accompanied by Greek Patristic texts on the subject. A masterful translator, Bishop Chrysostomos excellently renders these texts in clear and understandable English.
Constantine, Cavarnos,
President, Institute for Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies
908980
This book is an exposition of Matthew 5:1-12, commonly referred to as the Beatitudes of Christ. The key problem in the reading of the nine beatitudes is that many have turned it into a modern platform for legalism and morality. In nine chapters, Glenn shows readers how Jesus comes to earth not to install more rules, laws, and regulations, but to crucify morality and to set us free. To be 'poor in spirit' means recognizing that by ourselves we are broken and empty, messed up and utterly poor in ourselves. We need poverty of spirit to help us recognize that we are helplessly desperate as children of God, for our Father in heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, not because they are downcast or upset, but because of the promise of comfort. Blessed are the meek because the worldly and the powerful foes of this world are only temporary. Eventually, God gives all things to the meek, his people. Those who hunger and thirst after righteousness will be filled, for to hunger is better than to have.  True satisfaction is only from the Lord and in the Lord. Blessed are the merciful because we recognize first of all that we are all recipients of mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart because a simple focus on God alone is the only way to let God manifest his presence in us. It helps us to be honest and true. It is not religious steps but graciousness from God. Blessed are the peacemakers for peace is not obtained by war and violence, but through peacemaking and love. Only the person of peace can be ambassadors of peace. On persecution, Jesus reminds us that when we are being persecuted, it is not about us. It is about Jesus.

Four guiding questions enable readers to read better. First, questions for the head help readers to check for key concepts. Second, the 'heart' question searches the inner part of our hearts. Third, there are questions to help us connect with Church and minister through the Church ministry. Four, the "city" question enables readers to look beyond their comfort zones to reach out to others. Glenn has taken the beatitudes and warn readers against turning these into laws or their laundry list of do's and don'ts. Calling it a "new moralism," Glenn has preferred to focus on the later part of each beatitude, choosing to remind readers that the beatitudes are all centered and refers to Christ as a person. It is not about doing things in the name of rules, but behaving like Christ in the name of Jesus. It is not about instilling some kind of a moral code, but restoring the lost essence of what it means to be a disciple of Christ. Most importantly, Jesus personifies, exemplifies, and lives out the entire beatitudes. They are beautiful, and the keeping of these beatitudes will be richly beneficial, not because we have to, but because we want to.

Rating: 4 stars of 5.

conrade
This book is provided to me free by Shepherd Press and CrossFocusedReviews without any obligation for a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.
1844936
Book Review: The Young Man of Character
BY MATTHEW ARTHUR  MAY 6, 2016
As soon as I started Chapter One, I was hooked. There are a small number of books I actually enjoy reading, and this is one of them because it basically explains how to be virtuous in a way that benefits us spiritually and secularly. It says on the front cover, A guide to fortifying and rebuilding the natural foundation of manhood. I would think a good translation would be, A guide on how to be awesome, as this is essentially what this book is. It encourages all things men should be doing, mentalities that men should be adopting, and ruthlessly destroys any forms of pathetic excuses men commonly use in their lives that is detrimental in not only their spiritual growth, but also their worldly growth.

The Young Man of Character is separated into three chapters, the third filling practically half of the book. The structure is very tight in making a short read of only 175 pages with a medium-sized font.

There are so many awesome messages in each chapter in this book. Below are my favourite quotes from each chapter and why they spoke to me. However, Im sure there are other passages that will connect with other men based on their personal experiences.

Chapter One: There are those who do not study and push forward because they are humble, content, and modest. Not so fast! Cowardliness is not a virtue and laziness is not humility.

I loved this passage because I have met men where you can feel this mentality radiating off of them. And also because I have friends who have been influenced (or at least tried to be) by others with this lie. No. Achieving is harder and much more beneficial to ones character than doing nothing for the sake of false humility and modesty.

Chapter Two: a beautiful teaching of Our Lord Jesus Christ is that one is allowed to accumulate wealth in one hand only on condition that it is used for noble works of mercy. We do not have to be communists, we do not have to deny the legitimacy of private property to realize that the huge wealth that is often seen in this world could not have been accumulated by the efforts of a lone individual; that the extreme efforts of a multitude must have gone into it, and therefore it must be used for the common good.

Even though I am not wealthy, I found this to be a good reminder of a proper, balanced perspective for those who are infected with non-Catholic views of capitalism (such as myself) and those who may be infected with views of communism/socialism (hopefully not many readers!).

Chapter Three: As this chapter entails half of the book, I shall quote various passages from this section.

There is a part: consider that even the greatest of men had to struggle with so many difficulties, little faults, and even illnesses.

And then it goes on to mention some of the funniest faults/difficulties I have ever heard of people suffering from!

Wallenstein ... the great military commander  he found it unbearable to listen to a rooster crowing.
Cardinal Richelieu  the famous French statesmen, was terrified of squirrels.
Pierre Bayle  a French Protestant philosopher, could not bear the sound of dripping water.
And even though there are more, below is my personal favourite!

Scaliger  a French Protestant scholar, started trembling in his whole body when he saw milk.
I mean, he may have had a bad experience with rotten milk in his childhood but its still funny!

Back onto a more serious note, my overall favourite quote from the book has to be:

There was a student who was consistently late ... he was never on time, ever  When he grew up, he was not of much use anywhere because he was always late. It is to be feared that he will miss heaven also. Not by much, of course, only by five minutes.

In conclusion, I really think any young men above the age of 16 should read this. In fact, maybe not just young men  maybe men in general! Its simply brilliant.
1681026
No one could possibly claim that the Beatitudes (see Matthew 5:1-12) are overlooked or underappreciated. They have been the subject of countless books and sermon series. But this is not to say that the Beatitudes have been widely understood and properly taught. As often as not they have suffered from moralization, reduced to the level of the fortune cookie and with all the spiritual power of a fortune cookie.

In Crucifying Morality, R.W. Glenn takes a new look at the Beatitudes saying, Maybe you "were taught that the Beatitudes were the highest form of morality that anyone could live by, and you know now how impossible they are. Or maybe you experienced the flannelgraph version of the Beatitudes." If that is the case, "maybe it is time to get unfamiliar. Maybe you need to read these verses with fresh eyes for the first time. Whatever your exposure to the Beatitudes has been, you probably think of them as less powerful and captivating and helpful than they are. Take a step back to see how breathtakingly radical their real message is."

The fact is that

the flannelgraph and the saccharine tone of those reductionist Sunday school lessons can't get the job done. Jesus' teaching is too radical to be stuck on felt. He uses counterintuitive gospel logic to show us that life in the kingdom of God is completely contrary to what we expect. In fact, we could not have predicted it. Kingdom blessing looks like the opposite of everything we value. So don't moralize the Beatitudes, sterilizing the gospel as though it is primarily or even only a rule book for nicer living. You cannot put the mind-altering, world-shattering nature of the Beatitudes into neat categories. Jesus won't let you.

Glenn wants the reader to contemplate this: "It is no accident that the Beatitudes contain no imperatives whatsoever. Because we are wired for performance and have an insatiable hunger to turn Christianity into a system of dos and don'ts to earn a spot at the table of grace, we feel almost irresistibly inclined to turn them into commandments. Instead, they are the qualities that begin to characterize sinners who encounter God's grace in the gospel." We need to be careful not to read the Beatitudes as a series of commandments because when we do that we empty them of their true power.

After all, "the Beatitudes are a profile of the Christian. They are a description of people who would never dream of turning the characteristics God has given them by grace into a list of moral commands because they know that Jesus has crucified even their best attempts at self-centered, self-propelled morality on the cross." The Beatitudes are not a list of dos and don'ts that get you into God's kingdom, but a list of declarations of what a child of the kingdom looks like. Where too many people reduce Christianity into a system of achievement in which you do certain things in order to gain life, the Beatitudes instead show Jesus saying, "I have done this, so you can live."

With all of that in place, Glenn proceeds through the Beatitudes pausing to explain and apply each one. He shows that perfect conformity to the Beatitudes is absolutely essential to our salvation and then points to Jesus Christ as the one who has perfectly kept them on our behalf. In fact, Jesus is the Beatitudes. And now, through the work of Jesus Christ, they are character traits that mark the person who has encountered the gospel of God's amazing grace.

Crucifying Morality is an antidote to performance-based religion, a temptation that is always near to each one of us. It is an antidote to a grave misunderstanding of the Beatitudes that eviscerates them, reducing them to an impossible to-do list. It is a powerful call to live out of the joy and freedom of the gospel.
1703631
I loved this so much, that I may do it every other month!  I loved sending notes of gratitude to those who have been, or are, blessings in my life.  They were so blessed by the notes, as well.  It really increased my gratitude to the Lord for all He has given me and all He has done.
746709
I I am very informed by the depth of Amos Smith's spiritual search and reckoning.  It has been and continues to be very good spiritual direction for me.  Within the healing that we seek with one another and our persuasions I find a persistent recurrence of our mutual enrichment.  That is the mutual equation and unity of the feminine and masculine within our human/ divine interrelationship with Holy Wisdom - Holy Spirit and one another.

In a nutshell, after my real life experience of meeting my other half (as gift of Holy Wisdom) and being "vested" with her feminine, I began to live my life newly begotten in soul / spirit otherness.  That being said, otherness demanded a sequence of 6 years of struggle and surrender to Holy One.  I was schooled in "L"ove by the Holy Spirit and I truly believeI discovered truth to Jesus statement to "Love one another as I have loved you".  I feel there is a paradigm experience of inclusiveness of women and men not only equals but recognized in full unity.  I find that I have become fully human with her and Holy Wisdom who dwells within her.  I believe we do not become fully human without fully accepting and engendering our opposite.

Our human / divine unity is the link, the missing piece, that mainline religion for the most part ignores.  Dualism of masculine and feminine is perpetuated by the Vatican and clericalism in the church I was raised within.  It is time that we step forward and fully acknowledge all human beings in unity with no one being held in second class status.  Jesus gave us the gift of being both human and divine and surprisingly during Catholic mass when preparing the bread and wine the priest or deacon pours a little water into the wine and recites these or similar words; "By the mystery of this water and wine may we come to share in your divinity as you once came to share in our humanity".  For me this is an invocation to the Holy Spirit.  The Holy one who already dwells within each of our personal centers. All we have to do is to recognize and begin to celebrate that we already share in that divinity.

Our call today is not to become warriors against the system but to become contemplatives in action, to reform our Eucharistic Community to recognize what it truly means to be the Mystical Body of Christ. This is an all inclusive face of Jesus within which we may recognize fully the Person of Holy Wisdom. (see Ch 8 of Proverbs.)
3161211
Makes me want to increase my friendship with the Savior, repent, and forgive always.  Thank you for sharing your story.
3377948
It's okay to admit tat you desire fulfillment in numerous ways. Keeping in mind it's preparation for what God has in store is the great challenge which requires sober judgment.
1200945
As what I consider a neo-charismatic, I appreciate clear thinking and precise theology.  Most of what I see in the literature is non-thinking.  I want to be part of the fourth wave in pentacostalism and the text leads me closer to that goal.  While I may not agree with a few of his high church views on the sacraments, I understand where that comes from.  I agree on his views concerning how we as Christians need to engage with our current world.
4552734
I appreciate an author who honors his past, yet is wiling to assess his experience with a gripping honesty.  Jonathan's humility provides a clear expression of a person who loves Jesus but has had quite an adventure figuring out His bride, the church.  The writing is helpful, not sarcastic or bent on hurting people who may have hurt him.  There is a pastoral, encouraging tone.  It will cause you to look into your heart, to see if you have let tradition block your soul from being satisfied by Jesus.
1984551
Enjoyed the variety of ways to achieve real humility.  Thought provoking and very much needed in the world as a whole, and particularly needed in my life.  If the great sin of our generation is pride as stated by Ezra T. Benson, this book could be the cure.  I realized that there must be a great deal of light found in "the depths" of humility
3549720
The Beatitudes are perhaps the most memorable section of Jesus' most famous sermon -- the Sermon on the Mount. But understanding what the Beatitudes are is not as easy as memorizing these short, poignant declarations. Is Jesus calling us to obey the Beatitudes -- to live the life described as blessed? Or is this description of unparalleled righteousness meant to bring us to the end of ourselves? Another way of looking at the problem is asking whether the Beatitudes are intended to guide us into a do-able ethic, or if they are meant to stop us from any pursuit of self-righteousness?

If you are looking for your Bible so you can review the Beatitudes anew, R.W. Glenn would be happy. He is the author of a new book which explores these very questions. "Crucifying Morality: The Gospel of the Beatitudes" (Shepherd Press, 2013) is a provocative look at the Beatitudes in a new light. And what Glenn gives us in this book is a gospel-centered, grace-filled romp through this most familiar portion of Scripture.

Glenn's book is a devotional exploration of each of the eight Beatitudes. He finds the gospel on full display behind and through each of them. Ultimately, he concludes that Jesus ultimately embodies the Beatitudes - and since we are united by faith to Jesus, we are blessed through his perfect obedience.

Glenn writes with an eye for grace over and against moralism but doesn't speak down to the unenlightened. He aims to inspire and instill hope rather than merely complain about how others are interpreting the Beatitudes. His writing is lucid and clear, even if the truths he drives home are often convicting. But Glenn brings us to Jesus over and over again, and for that he is to be thanked.

Glenn's writing style and focus on Christ shine through in this brief quote:

"If you come to Christ's table having already stuffed yourself with your own righteousness, you will starve yourself and never know the satisfaction of the gospel. But if you come to this table with an appetite for Christ's righteousness, it is yours. Bring your appetite and feast at the table of the comprehensively perfect righteousness of Christ, and you will be satisfied. (Kindle Location 1007)"

This book is suited well for small groups and Sunday School classes, and includes a variety of application questions at the end of each chapter. Plus, it is not an overly long book and leaves much that can be fleshed out in group discussion. I encourage you to pick up a copy of this book and spend some time working out the gospel implications of the Beatitudes for yourself.