Product Description

A secular view on faith, which shows all people, believers and nonbelievers, are beloved by God unconditionally .

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7900 in Books
• Published on: 2002-09-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 160 pages

From AudioFile
What is our place in the world in God's eyes? How can we blend service and spiritual worship with the harshness of the everyday world? How can we, imperfect and each broken in our own way, feel beloved by the Almighty? Nouwen ponders these topics in an open letter to a troubled friend. Methodically, the former instructor at both Harvard and Yale walks us through analogies and insights that bring us to a place of feeling beloved. His comments on his final years serving as pastor to the mentally disabled of L'Arche Daybreak community in Toronto serve as counterpoint to his theories. D.J.B. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Review
"A beautiful and sensitive book that reaches out to the believer." -- Church and Synagogue Library Association

"Anyone who is searching for the Spirit of God in the world today will benefit from reading it." -- Horizons

"For those unfamiliar with his work, this volume is a wonderful place to begin. Another significant achievement." -- Circuit Rider

"Gentle and searching. This Crossroad book is a spiritual primer for anyone seeking God." -- The Other Side

From the Publisher
Over 200,000 copies in print! When Nouwen was asked by a secular Jewish friend to explain his faith in simple language, he responded with his greatest legacy, Life of the Beloved, which shows that all people, believers and nonbelievers, are beloved by God unconditionally.

Customer Reviews

Living in the Secular World
Life of the Beloved is an apologia written by Henri Nouwen to his secular friends. This is an up-to-date version of other books that have appeared for many years, and it is very relevant to life in the twenty first century. Although, as Nouwen admits, this book will probably not convert secularists to people living in the Spirit, but it does give an excellent summary of Nouwen's other writings and a great overview of what in means to live in the Kingdom of God - to be one of God's beloved. It is an uplifting and reaffirming book.

Meeting my needs
This book not only met the needs of my spiritual journey but gave me much food for thought. It is very positive (which I really needed) and then sent a zinger at the end that is very thought provoking. As a minister myself, it helped me so much I will re-read it over and over again and recommend it to many others.

A gentle, watered-down Christianity
Nouwen offers a relativistic approach to faith: He believes that the Christian God is real, but does not want to persuade his secular friends that they need God. He admits in the epilogue that his book failed at communicating with his secular friend, to whom the book was written for; he preaches to the choir of believers. As a believer living in secular NYC, I was unconvinced by his warm & fuzzy message because he makes Christianity look as good as any other life affirming theory. To give you a taste, he says things like "When I know that I am chosen, I know that I have been seen as a special person."