Strong and Weak

Strong and Weak
Author: Andy Crouch
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
Total Pages: 136
Release: 2022-11-22
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0830847103

Two common temptations lure us away from abundant living: withdrawing into safety and grasping for power. However, with the characteristic insight, memorable stories, and hopeful realism he is known for, Andy Crouch argues that true flourishing comes when strength and weakness are combined in every human life and community.

The Strong and the Weak

The Strong and the Weak
Author: Paul Tournier
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 252
Release: 2013-01-07
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1725232677

The notion that there are two kinds of human beings, the strong and the weak, is dispelled in this helpful and balanced study of psychic strength and spiritual strength. We are much more alike than we may think, says Paul Tournier, the renowned Swiss psychotherapist and student of the Bible. What is different is the external mask that hides identical inner weaknesses and fears. All of us are afraid of others, of God, of ourselves, of life, and of death. What distinguishes us from one another is the way we react to our common distress. In vivid case histories from his notebook, Dr. Tournier illustrates the importance of self understanding in the advancement of healing in Christian freedom. He turns to the Bible to show that the Christian message of sin and grace helps us to accept ourselves realistically in the confidence that God has already accepted us in Jesus Christ. It is through the power derived from Him that we are enabled to find hope and freedom from fear. This book, with its refreshing insights into the parts played by psychology and religion in human problems, opens up new perspectives for people seeking self knowledge and provides an invaluable resource for pastoral and other counselors.

The Weak and the Powerful

The Weak and the Powerful
Author: Jonathan C. Brown
Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Press
Total Pages: 312
Release: 2024-03-19
Genre: History
ISBN: 0822991268

Panama is a country whose geopolitical importance outweighs its size because of the volume of trade that passes the Central American isthmus through the canal. For nearly a century, the United States occupied and controlled the Panama Canal Zone and its shipping operations. In 1999, control was passed to Panama’s Canal Authority. This peaceful transfer was a result of the 1977 Torrijos-Carter Treaties. The Weak and the Powerful studies how a weak country negotiated the Cold War and how a strongman navigated between competing power blocs. Omar Torrijos took power in Panama through a 1968 coup d’état and ruled that country until his death in 1981. He committed his country to the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), which purported to stand for noninterference and against imperialism. Jonathan C. Brown looks at how Torrijos and the NAM were able to mobilize world opinion of the weak against the powerful to pressure the United States to live up to its democratic and international ideals regarding sovereignty of the canal. The author also demonstrates how world opinion was unable to address the problems of ideologically motivated warfare in neighboring Central American states.

The Opposite Life

The Opposite Life
Author: Alex Seeley
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2019-08-13
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0785216138

What if the path to a life of abundance and blessing isn't what we expected? What if the way forward begins with going backward? In our constant search for a life filled with blessing and abundance, we often follow our human instinct and then wonder why we come up short. But it doesn't have to be that way. Join pastor and author Alex Seeley as she teaches us that God always has a better idea -- we just have to move in a new direction. In?The Opposite Life, Seeley explains that the secret to living a powerful and abundant life lies in the upside-down kingdom of God. Each chapter of The Opposite Life explores the opposite-life principles that can start to shift our mindset for the better, diving deeper into the natural contradictions between: death and life fear and faith hate and love worry and worship impossible and possible Along the way, she offers encouraging and simple challenges to help us align our lives with God's subversive plan. As we learn to exchange our default instincts for the surprising teachings of Jesus -- our pioneer of the unlikely -- we discover a life of transformational power, abundance, and more blessing than we ever thought possible. Praise for The Opposite Life: "Our broken earth longs for just this type of unveiling. It is time for us to remember who we are and respond as sons and daughters of the Most High God. There is a desperate longing for His goodness in the face of overwhelming anger, pain, and confusion. The Opposite Life is a drink of living water in a dry and arid land." --Lisa Bevere, New York Times bestselling author of Without Rival and Girls with Swords

Strong Societies and Weak States

Strong Societies and Weak States
Author: Joel S. Migdal
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 322
Release: 1988-11-21
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9780691010731

Why do many Asian, African, and Latin American states have such difficulty in directing the behavior of their populations--in spite of the resources at their disposal? And why do a small number of other states succeed in such control? What effect do failing laws and social policies have on the state itself? In answering these questions, Joel Migdal takes a new look at the role of the state in the third world. Strong Societies and Weak States offers a fresh approach to the study of state-society relations and to the possibilities for economic and political reforms in the third world. In Asia, Africa, and Latin America, state institutions have established a permanent presence among the populations of even the most remote villages. A close look at the performance of these agencies, however, reveals that often they operate on principles radically different from those conceived by their founders and creators in the capital city. Migdal proposes an answer to this paradox: a model of state-society relations that highlights the state's struggle with other social organizations and a theory that explains the differing abilities of states to predominate in those struggles.

Weak Strongman

Weak Strongman
Author: Timothy Frye
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 304
Release: 2022-09-27
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0691246289

"Media and public discussion tends to understand Russian politics as a direct reflection of Vladimir Putin's seeming omnipotence or Russia's unique history and culture. Yet Russia is remarkably similar to other autocracies -- and recognizing this illuminates the inherent limits to Putin's power. Weak Strongman challenges the conventional wisdom about Putin's Russia, highlighting the difficult trade-offs that confront the Kremlin on issues ranging from election fraud and repression to propaganda and foreign policy. Drawing on three decades of his own on-the-ground experience and research as well as insights from a new generation of social scientists that have received little attention outside academia, Timothy Frye reveals how much we overlook about today's Russia when we focus solely on Putin or Russian exceptionalism. Frye brings a new understanding to a host of crucial questions: How popular is Putin? Is Russian propaganda effective? Why are relations with the West so fraught? Can Russian cyber warriors really swing foreign elections? In answering these and other questions, Frye offers a highly accessible reassessment of Russian politics that highlights the challenges of governing Russia and the nature of modern autocracy. Rich in personal anecdotes and cutting-edge social science, Weak Strongman offers the best evidence available about how Russia actually works"--

From Weakness to Strength

From Weakness to Strength
Author: Scott Sauls
Publisher: David C Cook
Total Pages: 178
Release: 2017-10-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0830772030

In this honest book, pastor and author Scott Sauls exposes the real struggles that Christian leaders and pastors regularly face. Sauls shares his own stories and those of other leaders from Scripture and throughout history to remind us that we are human, we are sinners, and we need Jesus to help us thrive as people and leaders. For Christian leaders—both inside and outside of the church—weaknesses that are left unchecked can lead to a downfall that is both public and painful. They want to lead with character and live like Jesus, but ambition, isolation, criticism, envy, anticlimax, opposition, restlessness, and insecurity can get in the way. From Weakness to Strength provides leaders with tools to draw near to Jesus and stay encouraged and hopeful, even (and especially) when sin and struggle get in the way.

The Strong and the Weak

The Strong and the Weak
Author: Mark Reasoner
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 300
Release: 1999-02-28
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9780521633345

This 1999 book situates Romans 14.1-15.13 in the context of first-century Roman thought, using the lenses of asceticism (especially vegetarianism), superstition and obligation. It also seeks to situate this section of Romans within the letter as a whole, and concludes by arguing that the section illustrates the theme, or primary topos, of the letter: that Paul, his gospel, and those who follow it are not shameful. Contributions to Romans research surface where this book examines the terms 'strong' and 'weak' in light of their use within Roman social discourse; identifies the Roman social value of obligation throughout the letter as a key element both within Paul's self-understanding and in his ethical teaching; raises previously unrecognized implications of the letter's occasional nature for how we read and use Romans; and traces the topos of not being ashamed through the letter and back to its roots in the LXX.

Weak Enough to Lead

Weak Enough to Lead
Author: James C. Howell
Publisher: Abingdon Press
Total Pages: 164
Release: 2017-10-17
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1501842641

The Bible’s version of leadership is pretty different from—and sometimes alien to—that of the business world. It is also dissimilar from our usual assumptions about what makes a great leader in the church, where we tend to focus on preaching ability, strategic hutzpah, and managerial savvy. But what if the Bible actually points toward a different set of characteristics necessary for leadership? What if our weakness is an essential qualification? Do we know our limitations, our inabilities? Do we see clearly our vulnerable, broken selves? Do we really believe that God’s strength is perfected in our weakness, and do we lead with that as a core belief? James Howell’s Weak Enough to Lead is not a list of “leadership principles” from the Bible. This book is an examination of stories about leaders from the Old Testament, where we discover not only them but ourselves. How does family dysfunction or depression or tragic bad luck or larger historical forces figure into the leadership equation? How do biblical characters prosper despite themselves or stumble even while being holy? Can we get inside the head, heart, and the actual administration of King David and reckon with his strength and foibles? How is strength in leadership almost always the downfall of the biblical leader? What kind of leader would Jesus, Esther, Moses, Jeremiah, or Paul be today? Howell explores the careers, struggles, joys, and devastations of various biblical leaders, believing that immersion in scripture’s stories is what modern Christian leaders need—not to succeed so much as to be God’s people in the world. He roots this unique exploration of leadership in a prayer of Jehoshaphat: “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you.”

And the Weak Suffer What They Must?

And the Weak Suffer What They Must?
Author: Yanis Varoufakis
Publisher: Bold Type Books
Total Pages: 365
Release: 2016-04-12
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1568585055

A #1 Sunday Times bestseller [UK] A titanic battle is being waged for Europe's integrity and soul, with the forces of reason and humanism losing out to growing irrationality, authoritarianism, and malice, promoting inequality and austerity. The whole world has a stake in a victory for rationality, liberty, democracy, and humanism. In January 2015, Yanis Varoufakis, an economics professor teaching in Austin, Texas, was elected to the Greek parliament with more votes than any other member of parliament. He was appointed finance minister and, in the whirlwind five months that followed, everything he had warned about-the perils of the euro's faulty design, the European Union's shortsighted austerity policies, financialized crony capitalism, American complicity and rising authoritarianism-was confirmed as the "troika" (the European Central Bank, International Monetary Fund, and European Commission) stonewalled his efforts to resolve Greece's economic crisis. Here, Varoufakis delivers a fresh look at the history of Europe's crisis and America's central role in it. He presents the ultimate case against austerity, proposing concrete policies for Europe that are necessary to address its crisis and avert contagion to America, China, and the rest of the world. With passionate, informative, and at times humorous prose, he warns that the implosion of an admittedly crisis-ridden and deeply irrational European monetary union should, and can, be avoided at all cost.