Desmond Tutu

Desmond Tutu
Author: Michael Battle
Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
Total Pages: 390
Release: 2021-03-16
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1646980085

The first biography of its kind about Desmond Tutu, this book introduces readers to Tutu's spiritual life and examines how it shaped his commitment to restorative justice and reconciliation. Desmond Tutu was a pivotal leader of the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa and remains a beloved and important emblem of peace and justice around the world. Even those who do not know the major events of Tutu’s life—receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984, serving as the first black archbishop of Cape Town and primate of Southern Africa from 1986–1996, and chairing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission from 1995–1998—recognize him as a charismatic political and religious leader who helped facilitate the liberation of oppressed peoples from the ravages of colonialism. But the inner landscape of Tutu’s spirituality, the mystical grounding that spurred his outward accomplishments, often goes unseen. Rather than recount his entire life story, this book explores Tutu’s spiritual life and contemplative practices—particularly Tutu’s understanding of Ubuntu theology, which emphasizes finding one’s identity in community—and traces the powerful role they played in subverting the theological and spiritual underpinnings of apartheid. Michael Battle’s personal relationship with Tutu grants readers an inside view of how Tutu’s spiritual agency cast a vision that both upheld the demands of justice and created space to synthesize the stark differences of a diverse society. Battle also suggests that North Americans have much to learn from Tutu’s leadership model as they confront religious and political polarization in their own context.

No Future Without Forgiveness

No Future Without Forgiveness
Author: Desmond Tutu
Publisher: Image
Total Pages: 306
Release: 2009-02-04
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0307566285

The establishment of South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission was a pioneering international event. Never had any country sought to move forward from despotism to democracy both by exposing the atrocities committed in the past and achieving reconciliation with its former oppressors. At the center of this unprecedented attempt at healing a nation has been Archbishop Desmond Tutu, whom President Nelson Mandela named as Chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. With the final report of the Commission just published, Archbishop Tutu offers his reflections on the profound wisdom he has gained by helping usher South Africa through this painful experience. In No Future Without Forgiveness, Tutu argues that true reconciliation cannot be achieved by denying the past. But nor is it easy to reconcile when a nation "looks the beast in the eye." Rather than repeat platitudes about forgiveness, he presents a bold spirituality that recognizes the horrors people can inflict upon one another, and yet retains a sense of idealism about reconciliation. With a clarity of pitch born out of decades of experience, Tutu shows readers how to move forward with honesty and compassion to build a newer and more humane world.

Desmond and the Very Mean Word

Desmond and the Very Mean Word
Author: Desmond Tutu
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Total Pages: 37
Release: 2013-11-12
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0763667978

Based on a true story from Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s childhood in South Africa, Desmond and the Very Mean Word reveals the power of words and the secret of forgiveness. Features an audio read-along read by Archbishop Desmond Tutu. When Desmond takes his new bicycle out for a ride through his neighborhood, his pride and joy turn to hurt and anger when a group of boys shout a very mean word at him. He first responds by shouting an insult, but soon discovers that fighting back with mean words doesn’t make him feel any better. With the help of kindly Father Trevor, Desmond comes to understand his conflicted feelings and see that all people deserve compassion, whether or not they say they are sorry. Brought to vivid life in A. G. Ford’s energetic illustrations, this heartfelt, relatable story conveys timeless wisdom about how to handle bullying and angry feelings, while seeing the good in everyone.

Rabble-Rouser For Peace

Rabble-Rouser For Peace
Author: John Allen
Publisher: Random House
Total Pages: 514
Release: 2012-04-24
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1448146410

Rabble-Rouser for Peace is the first book to tell the full story of how a boy from South Africa's poverty-stricken black townships became one of the world's best-known religious figures, a moral icon to those who work for peace and justice everywhere. Drawn from 30 years of the author's first-hand contact with Desmond Tutu, this is not only a vivid character study of a public figure with a unique capacity to communicate warmth, humour and compassion; it is also a rich account of his dynamic place in history. The story of Desmond Tutu's life tells a crucial part of South Africa's history and its movement from Apartheid towards peace, but it also follows the growth of one of the best loved and globally most recognised men of our time.

God's Politics

God's Politics
Author: Jim Wallis
Publisher: Zondervan
Total Pages: 414
Release: 2006-08-29
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0060834471

New York Times bestseller God's Politics struck a chord with Americans disenchanted with how the Right had co-opted all talk about integrating religious values into our politics, and with the Left, who were mute on the subject. Jim Wallis argues that America's separation of church and state does not require banishing moral and religious values from the public square. God's Politics offers a vision for how to convert spiritual values into real social change and has started a grassroots movement to hold our political leaders accountable by incorporating our deepest convictions about war, poverty, racism, abortion, capital punishment, and other moral issues into our nation's public life. Who can change the political wind? Only we can.

An African Prayer Book

An African Prayer Book
Author: Desmond Tutu
Publisher: Image
Total Pages: 162
Release: 2009-03-25
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0307550842

The great Archbishop of Capetown, South Africa, shares with us the simple but profound secrets of his extraordinary spiritual strength by unveiling his very own book of prayer. Prayer, our conversation with God, needs no set formulas or flowery phrases. It often needs no words at all. But for most believers, the words of others can be a wonderful aid to devotion, especially when these words come front faithful fellow pilgrims. The African Prayer Book is just such an aid, for in this collection all the spiritual riches of the vast and varied continent of Africa are bravely set forth. Here we may delight in Solomon's splendid encounter with the Queen of Sheba, overhear the simple prayer of a penniless Bushman, and glory in the sensuous sonorities of the mysterious liturgies of the Egyptian Copts. Here are Jesus' own encounters with Africa, which provided him refuge at the beginning of his life (from the murderous King Herod) and aid at its end (in the person of Simon of Cyrene, who helped Jesus carry his cross). Here are the prayers of some of the greatest among the mothers and fathers of the Church -- Monica, Augustine, Clement of Alexandria, Cyprian of Carthag -- as well as the prayers from the African diasporas of North America and the Caribbean. From thunderous multi-invocation litanies to quiet meditations, here are prayers that every heart can speak with strength and confidence. Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who is for millions the very soul of Africa, is our guide on this unique spiritual journey. His introduction is destined to become a classic, his characteristic energy and optimism light our way, and the words of his favorite prayers (many composed by the Archbishop himself) will stay with us forever.

Made for Goodness

Made for Goodness
Author: Desmond Tutu
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 230
Release: 2010-02-20
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0061981435

"We are made for goodness. We are made for love. We are made for friendliness. We are made for togetherness."—Desmond Tutu In this personal and inspirational book, the late beloved Nobel Prize-winner and humanitarian shares the secret of joy and hope in the face of life’s difficulties. Archbishop Desmond Tutu witnessed some of the world’s darkest moments, for decades fighting the racist government policy of apartheid and since then being an ambassador of peace amidst political, diplomatic, and natural disasters. Yet people find him and his work joyful and hopeful. In Made for Goodness, Tutu shares his source of strength and optimism. Written with his daughter, Mpho, who is also an ordained Anglican minister, Tutu argues that God has made us for goodness, and when we simply start walking in the direction of this calling, God is there to meet us, encourage us, embrace us. God has made the world as a grand theater for us to work out this call to goodness; it is up to us to live up to this calling, but God is there to help us every step of the way. So, tackling our worst problems takes on new meaning and is bostered with hope and the expectation that that is exactly where God will show up. Father and daughter offer an inspiring message of hope that will transform readers into activists for change and blessing.

The Book of Forgiving

The Book of Forgiving
Author: Desmond Tutu
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 147
Release: 2014-03-18
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 0062203584

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize winner, Chair of The Elders, and Chair of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, along with his daughter, the Reverend Mpho Tutu, offer a manual on the art of forgiveness—helping us to realize that we are all capable of healing and transformation. Tutu's role as the Chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission taught him much about forgiveness. If you asked anyone what they thought was going to happen to South Africa after apartheid, almost universally it was predicted that the country would be devastated by a comprehensive bloodbath. Yet, instead of revenge and retribution, this new nation chose to tread the difficult path of confession, forgiveness, and reconciliation. Each of us has a deep need to forgive and to be forgiven. After much reflection on the process of forgiveness, Tutu has seen that there are four important steps to healing: Admitting the wrong and acknowledging the harm; Telling one's story and witnessing the anguish; Asking for forgiveness and granting forgiveness; and renewing or releasing the relationship. Forgiveness is hard work. Sometimes it even feels like an impossible task. But it is only through walking this fourfold path that Tutu says we can free ourselves of the endless and unyielding cycle of pain and retribution. The Book of Forgiving is both a touchstone and a tool, offering Tutu's wise advice and showing the way to experience forgiveness. Ultimately, forgiving is the only means we have to heal ourselves and our aching world.

Let There Be Light

Let There Be Light
Author: Archbishop Desmond Tutu
Publisher: Zonderkidz
Total Pages: 33
Release: 2014-01-07
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 0310733979

Let There Be Light combines the extraordinary talents of Nancy Tillman, the New York Times bestselling author of On the Night You Were Born, and Nobel Peace Prize Winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu in this retelling of the biblical story of creation. The pairing of Archbishop Tutu’s lyrical text from The Children of God Storybook Bible and Tillman’s wondrous illustrations bring the pages of this book to life for readers young and old.

Children of God Storybook Bible

Children of God Storybook Bible
Author: Archbishop Desmond Tutu
Publisher: Zonderkidz
Total Pages: 130
Release: 2010-08-21
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 0310578337

Creating the first truly global Bible for children of all nationalities, Desmond Tutu retells more than fifty of his most beloved Bible stories in Children of God Storybook Bible. Many of the finest artists from around the world—such as Jago, E.B. Lewis, Javaka Steptoe, and Xiao Xin—have illustrated these favorite Bible stories from Desmond Tutu, connecting Scripture with the multitude of ethnicities across the globe. The Children of God Storybook Bible: Is perfect for readers ages 4 to 8 Shows how God works through history, ending each biblical story with a short prayer, personalizing the message for each reader’s own life Features Archbishop Desmond Tutu retelling 50 of his most beloved Bible stories Is perfect for thoughtful gifting at birthdays, Christmas, baptisms, or anytime. Through the stunning illustrations and Tutu’s delightful words, readers will experience the Bible stories as if they were there, with Adam and Eve in the garden, with Noah on the ark, with Abraham in the desert, and with Jesus on the mountaintop.