Spiritual Exercises for a Secular Age

Spiritual Exercises for a Secular Age
Author: Ryan G. Duns, SJ
Publisher: University of Notre Dame Pess
Total Pages: 477
Release: 2020-09-30
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0268108153

In A Secular Age, Charles Taylor, faced with contemporary challenges to belief, issues a call for “new and unprecedented itineraries” that might be capable of leading seekers to encounter God. In Spiritual Exercises for a Secular Age, Ryan G. Duns demonstrates that William Desmond’s philosophy has the resources to offer a compelling response to Taylor. To show how, Duns makes use of the work of Pierre Hadot. In Hadot’s view, the point of philosophy is “not to inform but to form”—that is, not to provide abstract answers to abstruse questions but rather to form the human being such that she can approach reality as such in a new way. Drawing on Hadot, Duns frames Desmond’s metaphysical thought as a form of spiritual exercise. So framed, Duns argues, Desmond’s metaphysics attunes its readers to perceive disclosure of the divine in the everyday. Approached in this way, studying Desmond’s metaphysics can transform how readers behold reality itself by attuning them to discern the presence of God, who can be sought, and disclosed through, all things in the world. Spiritual Exercises for a Secular Age offers a readable and engaging introduction to the thought of Charles Taylor and William Desmond, and demonstrates how practicing metaphysics can be understood as a form of spiritual exercise that renews in its practitioners an attentiveness to God in all things. As a unique contribution at the crossroads of theology and philosophy, it will appeal to readers in continental philosophy, theology, and religious studies broadly.

Ignatian Spirituality in a Secular Age

Ignatian Spirituality in a Secular Age
Author: George Schner
Publisher: Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press
Total Pages: 137
Release: 2006-01-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0889206201

While the textual focus of this collection of essays is the Spiritual Exercise of Ignatius of Loyola, the essays are much more than textual analyses; they deal with the tradition and institutions associated with Ignatian spirituality, with historical and philosophical perspectives on Ignatian spirituality, with the contemporary search for spiritual life. In addition, the question of the relationship of the contemporary believer to past events is addressed, as well as the question of the relationship between spirituality and ministry. The strong and effective combination of historical and contemporary concerns, as well as of textual and spiritual concerns, results in a volume of importance to students of religious history and of spirituality. The analysis of the Exercises and the discussion of spiritual direction will also be of great value to ministers and pastors—and to all those pursuing "spiritual life in a secular age."

Putting on the Heart of Christ

Putting on the Heart of Christ
Author: Gerald M. Fagin
Publisher: Loyola Press
Total Pages: 251
Release: 2011-05-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0829432973

Putting on the Heart of Christ by Gerald M. Fagin, SJ, offers a fresh look at the Spiritual Exercises through the lens of virtue ethics. In doing so, the book encourages us to become the kind of person whose very life is in tune with the heart of Christ. Fr. Fagin covers 15 virtues throughout the book, including gratitude, reverence, and forgiveness. Each is explained within the context of the Spiritual Exercises and the life of St. Ignatius, as well as within the context of Scripture. Ultimately, Fr. Fagin uses virtue ethics along with the Spiritual Exercises to help us think beyond. What has God called me and to think quite specifically in terms of Who has God called me to be.

Jesuit Higher Education in a Secular Age

Jesuit Higher Education in a Secular Age
Author: Daniel S. Hendrickson
Publisher: Georgetown University Press
Total Pages: 206
Release: 2022
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1647122333

In Jesuit Higher Education in a Secular Age, Creighton University President Daniel S. Hendrickson, SJ, explores three pedagogies of fullness-study, solidarity, and grace-to show how Jesuit education can foster greater self-awareness, a stronger sense of global solidarity, and an aptitude for inspiration, awe, and gratitude among their students.

Reimagining Zen in a Secular Age

Reimagining Zen in a Secular Age
Author: André van der Braak
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2020-08-03
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9004435085

In Reimagining Zen in a Secular Age André van der Braak uses Charles Taylor’s A Secular Age to describe the encounter between Japanese Zen Buddhism and Western modernity. He proposes how Dōgen’s thought offers resources for a reimagining of Zen.

A Secular Age

A Secular Age
Author: Charles Taylor
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 889
Release: 2018-09-17
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0674986911

The place of religion in society has changed profoundly in the last few centuries, particularly in the West. In what will be a defining book for our time, Taylor takes up the question of what these changes mean, and what, precisely, happens when a society becomes one in which faith is only one human possibility among others.

A Religion of One's Own

A Religion of One's Own
Author: Thomas Moore
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 308
Release: 2014-01-09
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0698148592

The New York Times bestselling author and trusted spiritual adviser offers a follow-up to his classic Care of the Soul. Something essential is missing from modern life. Many who’ve turned away from religious institutions—and others who have lived wholly without religion—hunger for more than what contemporary secular life has to offer but are reluctant to follow organized religion’s strict and often inflexible path to spirituality. In A Religion of One’s Own, bestselling author and former monk Thomas Moore explores the myriad possibilities of creating a personal spiritual style, either inside or outside formal religion. Two decades ago, Moore’s Care of the Soul touched a chord with millions of readers yearning to integrate spirituality into their everyday lives. In A Religion of One’s Own, Moore expands on the topics he first explored shortly after leaving the monastery. He recounts the benefits of contemplative living that he learned during his twelve years as a monk but also the more original and imaginative spirituality that he later developed and embraced in his secular life. Here, he shares stories of others who are creating their own path: a former football player now on a spiritual quest with the Pueblo Indians, a friend who makes a meditative practice of floral arrangements, and a well-known classical pianist whose audiences sometimes describe having a mystical experience while listening to her performances. Moore weaves their experiences with the wisdom of philosophers, writers, and artists who have rejected materialism and infused their secular lives with transcendence. At a time when so many feel disillusioned with or detached from organized religion yet long for a way to move beyond an exclusively materialistic, rational lifestyle, A Religion of One’s Own points the way to creating an amplified inner life and a world of greater purpose, meaning, and reflection.

Studying Christian Spirituality

Studying Christian Spirituality
Author: David B. Perrin
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 366
Release: 2024-04-23
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1003861644

Studying Christian Spirituality proposes a framework to discover how spirituality can be understood beyond the conventional boundaries that religions have established. Its nine chapters discuss a wide variety of issues and questions, which include: definitions of spirituality; the impact of models of God; human-spiritual development; the importance of context; historical criticism; anthropology; interpretation of texts and art; and examples of spiritual practice. David B. Perrin clearly explains the traditional relationships between Christian spirituality and theology and history. He also proposes greater connections with the human sciences, such as philosophy, psychology, phenomenology, and sociology, and reshapes the classical approaches to Christian spirituality, its texts, practices, and experience. This interdisciplinary volume is an essential reference for scholars and students at all levels who desire to develop a deeper understanding of Christian spirituality’s research methods, and its relevance to the world today.

Hope in a Secular Age

Hope in a Secular Age
Author: David Newheiser
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 189
Release: 2019-12-19
Genre: History
ISBN: 1108498663

Uses premodern theology and postmodern theory to show the endurance of religious and political commitments through the practice of hope.