Finding Happiness is one of those rare gems of a book that serenely guides you through the trials of modern day life. Father Jamison takes the reader hand in hand to genuine inner joy. "Are monks happy?" His reply, "They are not unhappy." That grabbed me straight away, along with his question about having a happy death! Having never thought about death being happy, on the rare occasions I think about death. I realised that to have a happy death, equates to having a happy and fulfilled life.
With his profound insights, and effective communication, this book remarkably mirrors humanities embedded condition. With such elegance, we're guided through many of the reasons that make us unhappy.
The author of this book, Sir Roy Strong, former Director of the National Portrait Gallery and the Victoria and Albert Museum, is also a broadcaster, and has written a number of bestselling books which include The Story of Britain, The Cult of Elizabeth and The Spirit of Britain.
This book attempts to narrate the complex history and development of the English parish church "...from the first buildings erected in Anglo-Saxon times to its uncertain future in the twenty-first century." That is to undertake quite a task and the author has made a jolly good job of it!
The book has been described as a "richly illustrated elegy, and a plea for the preservation of the country church." Indeed, Strong's book really is both at once ... Read More:
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I usually don't like books about how psychology as I find that they too often put people into boxes. Having said that I found this a book really good read and it helped me think more about the affect of my actions on my husband and how he responds to me and also what my hopes and expectations are and how to communicate them. A book can't ever cover everything but I found this insightful, constructive and applicable. A lesson in life and love that I won't forget.
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I have had some lengthy discussions with a Christian friend of mine about religions in general and, in particular, Christianity. A lot of our discussion was about Richard Dawkins' recent book, The God Delusion, which I had recently finished. I thought that he should read it and he agreed that he would on the condition that I read Velvet Elvis. So he lent me the book and I have now read it.
I was born to parents who didn't believe in any of the gods on offer in today's world. I went to a Church of England primary school and a Catholic secondary school and was allowed to come to my own conclusions about whether or not any gods exist. I found the evidence lacking and so without the experience of `meeting Jesus' which compels some people to transcend science, ... Read More:
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I have had some lengthy discussions with a Christian friend of mine about religions in general and, in particular, Christianity. A lot of our discussion was about Richard Dawkins' recent book, The God Delusion, which I had recently finished. I thought that he should read it and he agreed that he would on the condition that I read Velvet Elvis. So he lent me the book and I have now read it.
I was born to parents who didn't believe in any of the gods on offer in today's world. I went to a Church of England primary school and a Catholic secondary school and was allowed to come to my own conclusions about whether or not any gods exist. I found the evidence lacking and so without the experience of `meeting Jesus' which compels some people to transcend science, ... Read More:
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What a good book i thought!!
Christians know the Bible is the main true help guide.
But this book is a help for anyone wanting to make a bit of sense as to why we each are here on earth in a helpful way...its a book where you can read abit about everything..it is worth a read. I see alot of people have different views about this book but i suggest give it a read and see, you may find some encouragement or answers to some question you have in your mind.
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I read Bishop of Reading Stephen Cottrell's little book 'Do Nothing to Change Your Life' a while back, and for his latest book he has applied his laid back philosophy to the monster of the consumerist Christmas.
'Do Nothing - Christmas is Coming' is "an advent calendar with a difference", a series of reflections for each day of advent. Christmas is supposed to be a time of joy, but in reality often becomes a time when "all the conflicting demands and expectations that we experience every day in our dispersed and fragmented lives seem at their worst", as Cottrell says. What we need is to take a deep breath, and gain some perspective.
The reflections here address topics such as debt, in-laws, Christmas card lists, Santa, all in a low-key, humorous and accessible way. Cottrell ... Read More:
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I read Bishop of Reading Stephen Cottrell's little book 'Do Nothing to Change Your Life' a while back, and for his latest book he has applied his laid back philosophy to the monster of the consumerist Christmas.
'Do Nothing - Christmas is Coming' is "an advent calendar with a difference", a series of reflections for each day of advent. Christmas is supposed to be a time of joy, but in reality often becomes a time when "all the conflicting demands and expectations that we experience every day in our dispersed and fragmented lives seem at their worst", as Cottrell says. What we need is to take a deep breath, and gain some perspective.
The reflections here address topics such as debt, in-laws, Christmas card lists, Santa, all in a low-key, humorous and accessible way. Cottrell ... Read More:
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This is a book you should read, whether or not you have any religious beliefs. Yes, it's comical to think that the author would be having a 'conversation with God', and I was sceptical too, when I was first introduced to the book. However, even if you don't believe in a 'God' of any kind, or believe that Neale Donald Walsch has had a conversation with such a God, what the book says makes a lot of sense anyway.
And those of us who were brought up to believe in a vengeful God who judges and condems us, will find it a relief to realise that this simply isn't the case.
In many ways this book acts as a popular level summary of Wright's recent thinking, and that is both its strength and ultimately also its weakness. The book's big idea is that Jesus' bodily resurrection is not a one off event but rather the forerunner of the general resurrection, and that this is the key which makes sense of a great deal of new testament thinking, in the gospels and the letters and in Revelation. He contends that the loss of belief in the bodily resurrection being replaced by an idea of a non-corporeal heaven has resulted not only in a loss of appropriate hope for christians but also has wider consequences for theology and for how christians live their lives. These are important ideas, clearly expressed and forcefully argued. The book's weaknesses stem from Wright's rather dismissive ... Read More:
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