Our Reason for Being


Book Description

Ecclesiastes is a persuasive speech with a rhetoric so unique that it can be easily misunderstood. It speaks powerfully to believers as well as nonbelievers because it addresses the question of the meaning of life in the most satisfying way. The heart of this book is an expositional commentary that interprets Ecclesiastes as authoritative Scripture. It seeks to recover the rhetoric of the speech in terms of its comprehensive message on the meaning of life as well as its compelling force to get the message across. Preceding the expositional commentary is an introduction to Ecclesiastes that presents a new approach to outlining and reading Ecclesiastes as a coherent speech. It also presents an overview of the "forest"--the overall rhetorical flow of the speech from beginning to end. This is to prevent one from getting lost when immersed in the "trees" of the expositional commentary. Following the expositional commentary are two topical studies to give Ecclesiastes the breadth and depth of coverage it deserves. The first is an interdisciplinary exposition on the meaning of life. The second is an interpretive essay to defend exegetically the interpretation of Ecclesiastes as a coherent speech.




Passion and Reason


Book Description

Passion and Reason describes how readers can interpret what lies behind their own emotions and those of their families, friends, and co-workers, and provides useful ideas about how to manage our emotions more effectively.




Our Reason for Hope


Book Description

The meaning of history is about the purpose and goal of history. According to the Old Testament this involves redeeming humanity and transforming civilization toward an eternal hope of a world in which every longing is fulfilled and every fear is no more. When the Old Testament is understood on its terms, it reveals a marvelous vision of that hope. To capture this vision as well as present credible reason for the hope, this book interweaves into one coherent exposition five strands of Old Testament studies usually separated into different books: theology, ethics, mission, history, apologetics.




Why I Write


Book Description

George Orwell set out ‘to make political writing into an art’, and to a wide extent this aim shaped the future of English literature – his descriptions of authoritarian regimes helped to form a new vocabulary that is fundamental to understanding totalitarianism. While 1984 and Animal Farm are amongst the most popular classic novels in the English language, this new series of Orwell’s essays seeks to bring a wider selection of his writing on politics and literature to a new readership. In Why I Write, the first in the Orwell’s Essays series, Orwell describes his journey to becoming a writer, and his movement from writing poems to short stories to the essays, fiction and non-fiction we remember him for. He also discusses what he sees as the ‘four great motives for writing’ – ‘sheer egoism’, ‘aesthetic enthusiasm’, ‘historical impulse’ and ‘political purpose’ – and considers the importance of keeping these in balance. Why I Write is a unique opportunity to look into Orwell’s mind, and it grants the reader an entirely different vantage point from which to consider the rest of the great writer’s oeuvre. 'A writer who can – and must – be rediscovered with every age.' — Irish Times




Reason in a Dark Time


Book Description

From the 1992 Rio Earth Summit to the 2009 Copenhagen Climate Conference there was a concerted international effort to stop climate change. Yet greenhouse gas emissions increased, atmospheric concentrations grew, and global warming became an observable fact of life. In this book, philosopher Dale Jamieson explains what climate change is, why we have failed to stop it, and why it still matters what we do. Centered in philosophy, the volume also treats the scientific, historical, economic, and political dimensions of climate change. Our failure to prevent or even to respond significantly to climate change, Jamieson argues, reflects the impoverishment of our systems of practical reason, the paralysis of our politics, and the limits of our cognitive and affective capacities. The climate change that is underway is remaking the world in such a way that familiar comforts, places, and ways of life will disappear in years or decades rather than centuries. Climate change also threatens our sense of meaning, since it is difficult to believe that our individual actions matter. The challenges that climate change presents go beyond the resources of common sense morality -- it can be hard to view such everyday acts as driving and flying as presenting moral problems. Yet there is much that we can do to slow climate change, to adapt to it and restore a sense of agency while living meaningful lives in a changing world.







Our Reason to Hope


Book Description

In a carefully crafted evangelistic sermon, five questions of ultimate concern are introduced to illustrate how a conversation about spirituality can lead to an invitation to ask Christ to abide in your life.




Find Your Why


Book Description

Start With Why has led millions of readers to rethink everything they do – in their personal lives, their careers and their organizations. Now Find Your Why picks up where Start With Why left off. It shows you how to apply Simon Sinek’s powerful insights so that you can find more inspiration at work -- and in turn inspire those around you. I believe fulfillment is a right and not a privilege. We are all entitled to wake up in the morning inspired to go to work, feel safe when we’re there and return home fulfilled at the end of the day. Achieving that fulfillment starts with understanding exactly WHY we do what we do. As Start With Why has spread around the world, countless readers have asked me the same question: How can I apply Start With Why to my career, team, company or nonprofit? Along with two of my colleagues, Peter Docker and David Mead, I created this hands-on, step-by-step guide to help you find your WHY. With detailed exercises, illustrations, and action steps for every stage of the process, Find Your Why can help you address many important concerns, including: * What if my WHY sounds just like my competitor’s? * Can I have more than one WHY? * If my work doesn’t match my WHY, what should I do? * What if my team can’t agree on our WHY? Whether you've just started your first job, are leading a team, or are CEO of your own company, the exercises in this book will help guide you on a path to long-term success and fulfillment, for both you and your colleagues. Thank you for joining us as we work together to build a world in which more people start with WHY. Inspire on! -- Simon




Why We're Catholic


Book Description

"How can you believe all this stuff? This is the number-one question Catholics get asked and, sometimes, we ask ourselves. Why do we believe that God exists, that he became a man and came to save us, that what looks like a wafer of bread is actually his body? Why do we believe that he inspired a holy book and founded an infallible Church to teach us the one true way to live? Ever since he became Catholic, Trent Horn has spent a lot of time answering these questions, trying to explain to friends, family, and total strangers the reasons for his Catholic faith. Some didn't believe in God, or even in the existence of truth. Others said they were spiritual but didn't think you needed religion to be happy. Some were Christians who thought Catholic doctrines over-complicated the pure gospel. And some were fellow Catholics who had a hard time understanding everything they professed to believe on Sunday. Why We're Catholic assembles the clearest, friendliest, most helpful answers that Trent learned to give to all these people and more. Beginning with how we can know reality and ending with our hope of eternal life, it s the perfect way to help skeptics and seekers (or Catholics who want to firm up their faith) understand the evidence that bolsters our belief and brings us joy" --




Reasons for Our Hope


Book Description

In the light of the threats posed to Christianity by militant Islam, intolerant secularism, and widespread misinformation (The Da Vinci Code, the Jesus Seminar, etc.), the necessity of informed and articulate defense of the Christian faith today can hardly be contested. Reasons for Our Hope offers a sophisticated yet accessible guide to "destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and . . . taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5). The book's 31 chapters are divided into four sections: • Apologetics Methodologies and Systems - with chapters on worldviews, the tension between faith and reason, etc. • Apologetics in Scripture and in History - a look at apologetics in the Old and New Testaments, early church, middle ages, the Reformation, Enlightenment, and today. • Apologetic Problems - issues such as the value of philosophy, dealing with skepticism, the problem of evil, miracles, the Resurrection, etc. • How to Use Apologetics in Engaging the World - how to engage the Cultist, Secularist, Postmodernist, Muslim, and Eastern Mystic.