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Inner Christianity

Author: Richard Smoley

Publisher: Shambhala Publications

Published: 2002-10-08

Total Pages: 305

ISBN-13: 1570628106

An eye-opening introduction to the complex world of esoteric Christianity—perfect for the general reader This guide to mystical and esoteric Christianity speaks from a nonsectarian point of view, unearthing insights from the whole of the Christian tradition, orthodox and heretical, famous and obscure. The esoteric tradition has traditionally searched for meanings that would yield a deeper inner knowledge of the divine. While traditional Christianity draws a timeline from Adam's Fall to the Day of Judgment, the esoteric often sees time as folding in on itself, bringing every point to the here and now. While the Church fought bitterly over dogma, the esoteric borrowed freely from other traditions—Kabbalah, astrology, and alchemy—in their search for metaphors of inner truth. Rather than basing his book around exponents of esoteric doctrine, scholar Richard Smoley concentrates on the questions that are of interest to every searching Christian. How can one attain direct spiritual experience? What does "the Fall" really tell us about coming to terms with the world we live in? Can we find salvation in everyday life? How can we ascend, spiritually, through the various levels of existence? What was Christ's true message to humankind? From the Gospel of Thomas to A Course in Miracles, from the Jesus Prayer to alchemy and Tarot, from Origen to Dante to Jung, Richard Smoley sheds the light of an alternative Christianity on these issues and more.

Inner Christianity

Author: Richard Smoley

Publisher: Shambhala Publications

Published: 2002-10-08

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13: 083482440X

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Inner Christianity is the first introduction to mystical and esoteric Christianity for the general reader. It speaks from a nonsectarian point of view, unearthing insights from the whole of the Christian tradition, orthodox and heretical, famous and obscure. The esoteric tradition has traditionally searched for meanings that would yield a deeper inner knowledge of the divine. While traditional Christianity draws a timeline from Adam's Fall to the Day of Judgment, the esoteric often sees time as folding in on itself, bringing every point to the here and now. While the Church fought bitterly over dogma, the esoteric borrowed freely from other traditions—Kabbalah, astrology, and alchemy—in their search for metaphors of inner truth. Rather than basing his book around exponents of esoteric doctrine, scholar Richard Smoley concentrates on the questions that are of interest to every searching Christian. How can one attain direct spiritual experience? What does "the Fall" really tell us about coming to terms with the world we live in? Can we find salvation in everyday life? How can we ascend, spiritually, through the various levels of existence? What was Christ's true message to humankind? From the Gospel of Thomas to A Course in Miracles, from the Jesus Prayer to alchemy and Tarot, from Origen to Dante to Jung, Richard Smoley sheds the light of an alternative Christianity on these issues and more.

Inner River

Author: Kyriacos C. Markides

Publisher: Image

Published: 2012-03-06

Total Pages: 338

ISBN-13: 0307885879

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“With his engaging blend of travelogue, conversations with a wise and charismatic spiritual father, and musings on the big questions of life and death, Professor Markides takes us as companions on his journey of discovery. The insights that he communicates with such enthusiasm are timely ones: here at last is a writer who challenges the seeker after mystical understanding and Eastern spirituality to discover Christianity.” —Dr. Elizabeth Theokritoff, independent scholar and co-editor of The Cambridge Companion to Orthodox Christian Theology In Inner River, Kyriacos Markides—scholar, researcher, author, and pilgrim—takes us on a thrilling quest into the heart of Christian spirituality and mankind’s desire for a transcendent experience of God. From Maine’s rugged shores to a Cypriot monastery to Greece’s remote Mt. Athos and, ultimately, to an Egyptian desert, Markides encounters a diverse cast of characters that allows him to explore the worlds of the natural and the supernatural, of religion and spirit, and of the seen and the unseen. Inner River will appeal to a wide range of readers, from Christians seeking insights into their religion and its various expressions to scholars interested in learning more about the mystical way of life and wisdom that have been preserved in the heart of Orthodox spirituality. Perhaps most important, however, is the bridge it offers contemporary readers to a Christian life that is balanced between the worldly and the spiritual.

Second Simplicity

Author: Bruno Barnhart

Publisher: Paulist Press

Published: 1999

Total Pages: 292

ISBN-13: 9780809138326

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"Bruno Barnhart's new book uncovers the contours of a Christian wisdom and explores the ways that a Christian faith often bound by rule, structure, and order can open itself to the unitive vision at its root." "This book proposes an opening of consciousness beyond thought, of theological vision beyond rational knowledge, and of Christianity beyond the perimeter of church. Bruno Barnhart invites us to move into a fuller experience of Christianity, an experience of wisdom that brings all created reality into unity with God. Therein lies the "second simplicity.""--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening

Author: Cynthia Bourgeault

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 193

ISBN-13: 1561012629

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Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening is a complete guidebook for all who wish to know the practice of Centering Prayer.

Michelangelo's Inner Anatomies

Author: Christian K. Kleinbub

Publisher: Penn State University Press

Published: 2020

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780271083780

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The liver and desire -- The heart under siege -- The love of the heart -- Faith in the heart -- The brain, judgment, and movement.

Christianity and Mental Health

Author: Kam-Shing Yip

Publisher: Nova Science Publishers

Published: 2015-12

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781634836319

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Spirituality, Christianity and mental health have long been a concern in our society. This concern is increasingly pressing in recent decades as mental problems soar because of tension, anxiety, failure and frustration in our societies. In terms of Christian belief, spirituality is interpreted as the encounter with The Almighty God and the total recognition and surrender to the salvation of Jesus Christ. Thus, mental health, in terms of Christianity, should consist of two major different types. The first type is secular mental health. The second type should be a sacred and spiritual model of mental health. This book focuses on a combination of secular discussions as well as a biblical interpretation of Christianity and mental health, hardship and resilience, rejoice and sadness, freedom and inner conflict, sins and spiritual transcendence. Chapter one starts with a comprehensive review on the concept of secular mental health. The writer describes an initial conceptualization of sacred mental health within Christian belief and biblical articulation. Chapter Two is a full articulation of secular and Christian concepts of suffering described in the Book of Job. Chapter Three is a refined comparison among secular concepts about positive psychology and happiness, existential articulation on the meaning of life, as well as the full articulation of rejoice from imitation of Christ humility in Book of Philippians written by Paul in Holy Bible. Chapter Four is a comprehensive discussion on secular and sacred conflicts in Christians as well as freedom from a connection with the Holy Spirit and immersion with Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection.

Putting on the Mind of Christ

Author: Jim Marion

Publisher: Hampton Roads Publishing

Published: 2011-11-01

Total Pages: 361

ISBN-13: 1612831869

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“Jim Marion’s book returns us to the central challenge Christianity ought to be handing us. Indeed, how do we put on the mind of Christ? How do we see through his eyes? How do we feel through his heart? How do we learn to respond to the world with that same wholeness and healing love? That’s what Christian orthodoxy really is all about. It’s not about right belief; it’s about right practice.” —Cynthia Bourgeault, author of The Wisdom Jesus What does it mean to follow the path of Christ today? Putting on the Mind of Christ is the first book to offer an integral understanding of the Christian spiritual path--one that examines the basic stages of spiritual development described by the great saints and sages, along with the psychological stages of development used by modern psychology. American mystic Jim Marion draws upon his own rich spiritual experience and deep understanding of scriptural models, to show readers how to emulate the developmental stages of the Christ: how to put on the mind of Christ to achieve spiritual illumination and communion with the Christ. He examines the seven levels of consciousness of the human personality mapped by the work of Jean Piaget, Carol Milligan, and Lawrence Kohlberg, and leads readers to the consciousness that Jesus called the Kingdom of Heaven--the highest level of spiritual development. Marion shows how inner spiritual growth has always been the true essence of Christian practice and shares his own spiritual experiences within a "Christ-focused" framework. Pioneering, transcendent, and grounded, Putting on the Mind of Christ will permanently alter the landscape of 21st-century Christianity.

A Theology of Love

Author: Richard Smoley

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2019-11-05

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13: 1620559269

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A spirituality based on love, not fear • Shares key, inspiring teachings from A Course in Miracles as well as Hinduism, Buddhism, Gnosticism, and the Sefer Yetzirah, the oldest known Kabbalistic text • Cites philosophical wisdom from Kant, Blake, Jung, and Gurdjieff, alongside cognitive science, to reveal how the world is not difficult and flawed, but our fear-based mind-sets lead us to see it that way • Offers a path to help you regenerate from the “fallen” state and experience God as infinite love and light In the West, theology has almost always meant Christian theology--a hodgepodge of beliefs that are hard to make sense of. Why, for example, should an all-loving, merciful God have gotten mad at the human race because someone ate a piece of fruit six thousand years ago? And why would he send part of himself down to earth to be tortured to death? These beliefs, stated baldly, are nonsensical. Millions of people are realizing this and losing their faith. The time has come to reenvision Christian theology without contradictory teachings laced with fear. It is time for a theology of love and miracles. Richard Smoley reframes Christian theology using logical, consistent, and easy-to-understand teachings of unconditional love and forgiveness. He draws inspiration not only from the Bible, but also from Hinduism, Buddhism, Gnosticism, and from esoteric and mystical teachings, such as A Course in Miracles and the Sefer Yetzirah, the oldest known Kabbalistic text. He explains how the “fallen” state of the human condition, not one of sin but of oblivion, leads us to experience the world as flawed and problematic--not wholly evil, but not wholly good. Citing philosophical wisdom from Kant, Blake, Jung, and Gurdjieff, alongside cognitive science, Smoley reveals how it is not the world that is flawed, but the way we see the world. Sharing key teachings from A Course in Miracles, he shows that our fear-based mind-sets--often filled with anxiety, suffering, and shame--lead us to feel separated from God when, in fact, we are all extensions of a God of infinite love and light. Offering a path to help you regenerate from the “fallen” state and see the real spiritual world and loving God that lies behind it, the author provides ways for each of us to craft our own self-consistent theology. He also lays out a vision for the future of spirituality, a path for present-day religion to transform into something higher and more universal.

Core Christianity

Author: Michael Horton

Publisher: Zondervan

Published: 2016-04-05

Total Pages: 193

ISBN-13: 0310525071

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What beliefs are core to the Christian faith? This book is here to help you understand the reason for your hope as a Christian so that you can see it with fresh sight and invite others into the conversation. A lot of Christians take their story—the narratives that give rise to their beliefs—for granted. They pray, go to church, perhaps even read their Bible. But they might be stuck if a stranger asked them to explain what they believe and why they believe it. Author, pastor, and theologian Mike Horton unpacks the essential and basic beliefs that all Christians share in a way that is easy to understand and applicable to our lives today. And in a way that will make you excited to be a Christian! Core Christianity covers topics like: Jesus as both fully God and fully man. The doctrine of the Trinity. The goodness of God despite a broken world. The ways God speaks. The meaning of salvation. What is the Christian calling? Includes discussion questions for individual or group use. This introduction to the basic doctrines of Christianity is perfect for those who are new to the faith, as well as those who have an interest in deepening their understanding of what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ.