Divine Humility


Book Description

God is all-powerful. God is all-knowing. God is ever-present. But is God humble? Though the answer may seem obvious, humility is rarely identified as one of God?s attributes. Christianity has traditionally emphasized an array of divine attributes centering around omnipotence. In Divine Humility, Matthew Wilcoxen attempts to supplement traditional study of the godhead by focusing on God?s humility. Wilcoxen first examines how to refer properly to God?s being. Contending with those who say that human concepts cannot communicate God?s being at all, Wilcoxen articulates an account of theological concepts that holds together simultaneously both God?s objectivity?that he is "for us"?and God?s subjectivity?that he remains yet totally free. Wilcoxen argues that the concept best positioned to achieve this objective is humility, which, in the Christian tradition, has been considered the paragon of virtues and should thus fittingly be attributed to God?s character. Wilcoxen next explores divine humility through the work of three different theologians?Augustine, Karl Barth, and Katherine Sonderegger. Augustine, Wilcoxen argues, ascribes humility to God in a tantalizing way, but fails to explain further its doctrinal implications. Karl Barth articulates a more developed doctrine of divine humility by linking God?s divine being to his redemptive work. But Barth?s account ultimately suffers because it flatly equates humility with obedience and divides the divine will into the separate entities of the Father and the Son. It is the recent work of Katherine Sonderegger that best articulates an account of divine humility that carries forward Augustine?s mantle and overcomes the problems in Barth?s account. By connecting God?s humility to divine energy, Sonderegger shows how God can be near to creation without overwhelming it. Ultimately, Wilcoxen contends that humility?s importance as a divine attribute indicates that it should be fully considered in any Christian doctrine of God. Divine Humility serves as an important reminder to Christians that God, as powerful as He is, is also a God of great magnanimity and love.




Humility of Heart


Book Description

Cardinal Vaughn wrote these reflections over a century ago, and they are as pertinent today as when they were first assembled into a book. "There is no Saint however holy and innocent who may not truly consider himself the greatest sinner in the world. It is enough that he knows himself to be man to recognize that he is liable to commit all the evil of which man is capable." This thought alone will inspire us to humility and this book is a great aid to true humility, which is essential to salvation. St. Alphonsus writes: "a single bad book will be sufficient to cause the destruction of a monastery." Pope Pius XII wrote in 1947 at the beatification of Blessed Maria Goretti: "There rises to Our lips the cry of the Saviour: 'Woe to the world because of scandals!' (Matthew 18:7). Woe to those who consciously and deliberately spread corruption-in novels, newspapers, magazines, theaters, films, in a world of immodesty!" We at St. Pius X Press are calling for a crusade of good books. We want to restore 1,000 old Catholic books to the market. We ask for your assistance and prayers. This book is a photographic reprint of the original The original has been inspected and many imperfections in the existing copy have been corrected. At Saint Pius X Press our goal is to remain faithful to the original in both photographic reproductions and in textual reproductions that are reprinted. Photographic reproductions are given a page by page inspection, whereas textual reproductions are proofread to correct any errors in reproduction.




The Humility of God


Book Description

Religion throughout its history has been used to justify dominance and rightness, a narrative that sadly continues today. St. Francis of Assisi, however, fell in love with a Christ who cultivated humility and connection rather than power and division. This Christ of humility and poverty—depicted by Ilia Delio, OSF, in this Franciscan classic—invites us to contemplate a theology that can heal the separation within ourselves and our divided world today.




Your Will Be Done


Book Description

The relationship between the Father and the Son in the Trinity has been hotly debated since the earliest centuries of the church. The Church Fathers like Tertullian, Athanasius and Hilary of Poiters wrestled with it; church councils at Nicaea, Syrmium and Chalcedon legislated about it in attempts to define orthodoxy and heresy. What did they and the Bible say, and why does it matter today? The contemporary implications are wider than you might realise, touching on matters as diverse as the ordination of women, male-female relations, the certainty of salvation and the nature of power, individualism and virtue. This thorough book persistently takes you back to first principles, logically pursuing the outcome of each thesis. If the Son is subordinate to the Father, in what sense can he be equal? If the Godhead is unchanging, how can it accommodate the Incarnation? How are the concepts of monarchy and love incorporated into the Trinity? In discussing these questions and more, Mike Ovey engages with both contemporary debators and with the great minds of the past. Be prepared to be challenged and enlightened! Rev'd Michael Ovey, PhD, MTh, MA, BCL, BA is Principal of Oak Hill Theological College, London, where he teaches Doctrine, Apologetics & Liturgy. Before coming to Oak Hill, Mike was a civil service lawyer; he trained at Ridley Hall, Cambridge, serving his title at All Saints, Crowborough, before teaching for three years at Moore Theological College, Sydney. He joined Oak Hill in 1998 and since then has finished a PhD in the field of Trinitarian theology.




Humility


Book Description

“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” —1 Peter 5:5 A battle rages within every one of us every day. It’s the clash between our sense of stubborn self-sufficiency and God’s call to recognize that we’re really nothing without Him. It’s pride versus humility. And it’s a fight we can’t win without looking repeatedly to Christ and the cross. C. J. Mahaney raises a battle cry to daily, diligently, and deliberately weaken our greatest enemy (pride) and cultivate our greatest friend (humility). His thorough examination clarifies misconceptions, revealing the truth about why God detests pride and turns His active attention to the humble. Because pride is never passive, defeating it demands an intentional attack. The blessing that follows is God’s abundant favor. “This is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit.” —Isaiah 66:2, ESV God clearly states that He is drawn to the humble. He’s also clear that He opposes the proud. These two, humility and pride, cannot coexist. Where one is fostered, the other is defeated. Which will you pursue? When you acknowledge the deception of pride and intentionally humble yourself, you become free to savor abundant mercies and unlikely graces. You will find a new life is yours—a life God richly favors. A God-glorifying life you don’t want to miss.




Rich Wounds


Book Description

Profound reflections on the cross that help you to meditate on and marvel at the sacrificial love of Jesus. This book can be used as a devotional, especially during Lent and Easter. These profound reflections on the cross from David Mathis, author of The Christmas We Didn’t Expect, will help you to meditate on and marvel at Jesus’ life, sacrificial death, and spectacular resurrection-enabling you to treasure anew who Jesus is and what he has done. Many of us are so familiar with the Easter story that it becomes easy to miss subtle details and difficult to really enjoy its meaning. This book will help you to pause and marvel at Jesus, whose now-glorified wounds are a sign of his unfailing love and the decisive victory that he has won: “He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5) This book can be used as a devotional. The chapters on Holy Week make it especially helpful during the Lent season and at Easter.




Humility


Book Description

In twelve brief but powerful chapters, Murray underscores the Christian's need for humility-as opposed to pride-in daily life.




Humility


Book Description




Humility, Pride, and Christian Virtue Theory


Book Description

Humility, Pride, and Christian Virtue Theory proposes an account of humility that relies on the most radical Christian sayings about humility, especially those found in Augustine and the early monastic tradition. It argues that this was the view of humility that put Christian moral thought into decisive conflict with the best Greco-Roman moral thought. This radical Christian account of humility has been forgotten amidst contemporary efforts to clarify and retrieve the virtue of humility for secular life. Kent Dunnington shows how humility was repurposed during the early-modern era-particularly in the thought of Hobbes, Hume, and Kant-to better serve the economic and social needs of the emerging modern state. This repurposed humility insisted on a role for proper pride alongside humility, as a necessary constituent of self-esteem and a necessary motive of consistent moral action over time. Contemporary philosophical accounts of humility continue this emphasis on proper pride as a counterbalance to humility. By contrast, radical Christian humility proscribes pride altogether. Dunnington demonstrates how such a radical view need not give rise to vices of humility such as servility and pusillanimity, nor need such a view fall prey to feminist critiques of humility. But the view of humility set forth makes little sense abstracted from a specific set of doctrinal commitments peculiar to Christianity. This study argues that this is a strength rather than a weakness of the account since it displays how Christianity matters for the shape of the moral life.




Humility and Absolute Surrender


Book Description

For over a century countless readers have found in Andrew Murray a trustworthy guide to the deeper Christian life. As a pastor, evangelist, educator, and writer driven by concern for the spiritual guidance of new converts--and for revival in long-time believers--Murray penned some of the most enduring devotional classics of Christian literature. Though he ministered in a deeply-divided nation, his vision seemed blind to race, class, or political persuasion. And from a remote corner of South Africa, his preaching, teaching, and writing would eventually fuel spiritual awakening with a worldwide impact. This edition pairs Humility and Absolute Surrender in one volume. Together these classics reflect Murray's longing for a closer walk with Christ, and call us to a life of holiness and virtue, empowered not by our own strength but by the indwelling Holy Spirit.