Putting God Second

Author : Donniel Hartman
Publisher : Beacon Press
ISBN 13 : 0807063347
Total Pages : 194 pages
Book Rating : 4.47/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Putting God Second written by Donniel Hartman and published by Beacon Press. This book was released on 2017-02-14 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why have the monotheistic religions failed to produce societies that live up to their ethical ideals? A prominent rabbi answers this question by looking at his own faith and offering a way for religion to heal itself. In Putting God Second, Rabbi Donniel Hartman tackles one of modern life’s most urgent and vexing questions: Why are the great monotheistic faiths—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—chronically unable to fulfill their own self-professed goal of creating individuals infused with moral sensitivity and societies governed by the highest ethical standards? To answer this question, Hartman takes a sober look at the moral peaks and valleys of his own tradition, Judaism, and diagnoses it with clarity, creativity, and erudition. He rejects both the sweeping denouncements of those who view religion as an inherent impediment to moral progress and the apologetics of fundamentalists who proclaim religion’s moral perfection against all evidence to the contrary. Hartman identifies the primary source of religion’s moral failure in what he terms its “autoimmune disease,” or the way religions so often undermine their own deepest values. While God obligates the good and calls us into its service, Hartman argues, God simultaneously and inadvertently makes us morally blind. The nature of this self-defeating condition is that the human religious desire to live in relationship with God often distracts religious believers from their traditions’ core moral truths. The answer Hartman offers is this: put God second. In order to fulfill religion’s true vision for humanity—an uncompromising focus on the ethical treatment of others—religious believers must hold their traditions accountable to the highest independent moral standards. Decency toward one’s neighbor must always take precedence over acts of religious devotion, and ethical piety must trump ritual piety. For as long as devotion to God comes first, responsibility to other people will trail far, far behind. In this book, Judaism serves as a template for how the challenge might be addressed by those of other faiths, whose sacred scriptures similarly evoke both the sublime heights of human aspiration and the depths of narcissistic moral blindness. In Putting God Second, Rabbi Hartman offers a lucid analysis of religion’s flaws, as well as a compelling resource, and vision, for its repair.

Author : Dave Sterrett
Publisher : Thomas Nelson
ISBN 13 : 1400203740
Total Pages : 272 pages
Book Rating : 4.41/5 ( download)

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Download or read book I Am Second written by Dave Sterrett and published by Thomas Nelson. This book was released on 2013-10-08 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Countless stories. One incredible ending. A major league baseball player. a Tennessee pastor. A reality TV star. a single mom. A multi-platinum rocker. What do these people have in common? They’ve all hit bottom. And none of them stayed there. Famous or unfamiliar, these are the stories of real people who reached the end of their strength, the end of their control, and found the most surprising truths. It taught them not to rely on self or substance but to lean on the only completely reliable source of love, hope, and freedom: the God who created them. Shocking in their honesty, inspiring in their courage, these testimonies are critical reminders that no one is too far from God to find him. Join these and thousands more who have discovered the lifechanging power in putting God first and proclaiming, “I am Second.”

Author : Brittany Ann
Publisher : Brittany Ann
ISBN 13 : 151921748X
Total Pages : 64 pages
Book Rating : 4.86/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Putting God First written by Brittany Ann and published by Brittany Ann. This book was released on 2015-12-07 with total page 64 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Do you ever feel stressed, worn out, exhausted or overwhelmed? Like no matter how hard you work, how late you stay up or how much you plan and multitask, there simply is never enough time to fit it all in? Has quiet time with the Lord become a distant memory? And while you know you should change that, at the end of another long day, all you really want to do is fall into bed and sleep? Or perhaps you know you have enough time in your day, but you struggle to use it wisely. Whether it's watching television, shopping, connecting on social media or spending time on your latest hobby, your days always seem to escape into thin air. And before you know it, it's been weeks and you haven't opened your Bible at all. You want to spend time with the Lord. You know it's important. And yet, you constantly find yourself distracted. Thankfully, there is hope. In Putting God First: How to Make God the #1 Priority in Every of Your Life, you will learn: * Why God deserves to be your #1 priority * What putting God first does and does not mean * Common distractions and obstacles to a God-first life * TONS of real, practical tips for making God the #1 priority in every area of your life--from your marriage, your parenting, your friendships, your finances and everything in between! Don't spend another day simply surviving. Don't settle for good enough. Take hold of the amazing life God has in store for you. This book will show you how. Grab yours today!

Author : Robert Sutherland
Publisher : Trafford Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1412018471
Total Pages : 247 pages
Book Rating : 4.70/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Putting God on Trial written by Robert Sutherland and published by Trafford Publishing. This book was released on 2004 with total page 247 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many scholars find the legal metaphor of an Oath of Innocence inappropriate, though for different reasons. Some liberal scholars opt for an aesthetic, not a moral, resolution of the question of evil in the world. They find a sublime beauty in God's review of the animal and physical worlds, Behemoth and Leviathan. But that is all they find. They find no suggestions of moral purpose in God's creation and control of evil. Indeed, they feel none could be forthcoming. God is beyond good and evil so no moral resolution is possible. Since no moral resolution is possible, a legal mataphor such as a lawsuit dramatizing the moral question is inappropriate. They interpret Job to understand that position. And they interpret him to retract the lawsuit in its entirety. This author feels such liberal scholars miss a moral resolution for five reasons. (a) First, they fail to give adequate weight to Satan's first speech in heaven setting out the moral solution. (b) Second, they misinterpret Job's struggle with God to be a request for a restoration of his former position, rather than a request to know the reason behind evil in the world. (c) Third, they fail to appreciate the moral restrictions under which God has to operate. God cannot reveal any moral answers directly without defeating his very purpose in the creation and control of evil. As a result, they miss the suggestions of moral purpose in God's two speeches and the inferences God would have Job draw. (d) Fourth, they fail to fully appreciate the legal dynamics of the enforcement mechanism of Job's Oath of Innocence. In particular, they fail to appreciate the distinction between causal responsibility and moral blameworthiness. Thus, they do not understand God's comments concerning vindication and condemnation in his first speech to Job. And they do not understand Job's hesitation to proceed beyond his own vindication to a condemnation of God in Job's first speech to God. Ultimately, they fail to see Job's adjournment and continuation of his Oath of Innocence implied by the allusion to the story of Abraham and Sodom and Gomorrah in Job's final speech. (e) Finally, they fail to give full expression to God's ultimate judgement on Job. Job and only Job spoke rightly about God. In the face of such a judgement, there is no room to deny the ultimate propriety of the moral and legal question as a way of framing man's encounter with God. Some conservative scholars opt for a moral resolution of the question of evil in the world, but their resolution is equally unsatisfying. They interpret Job's so-called excessive words and his Oath of Innocence to be sins of presumption. Thus they would have Job retract his lawsuit in its entirety and repent morally for either his so-called excessive words, his raising of the lawsuit or both. This author feels such conservative scholars miss a satisfactory moral resolution for three reasons. (a) First, they fail to understand the depth of Satan's challenge to God. It is not merely that Job will curse God. It is that God is wrong in his judgement on Job's goodness. God missed sin in Job's life. Such scholars think their moral resolution is possible, because although Job sins, Job does not actually curse God. Their resolution actually makes Satan right in his challenge of God so that God should step down from his throne and destroy mankind. (b) Second, they fail to give proper weight to Job's blamelessness and integrity. The raising of the Oath of Innocence is an expression of that blamelessness and integrity. It is what God expects of Job, though he cannot tell him that directly. (c) Finally, they fail to give full expression of God's ultimate judgement on Job. Job and only Job spoke rightly about God. In the face of such a judgement, there is no room to attribute sin or wrongdoing to Job for either his so-called excessive words or for his Oath of Innocence. My personal interpretation charts a new middle course between these two-fold horrors

Author : Tony Evans
Publisher : Moody Publishers
ISBN 13 : 9780802480330
Total Pages : 328 pages
Book Rating : 4.30/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Returning to Your First Love written by Tony Evans and published by Moody Publishers. This book was released on 2008-09-01 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Do you want to be challenged to deepen your understanding of the characteristics and requirements of Almighty God? The Understanding God Series contains the bulk of Pastor Tony Evans' compelling and hard-hitting resources on the essentials about God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, Spiritual Warfare, and prophecy. Now available in paperback, readers will not want to be without a single book in the series by this popular and powerful speaker and author.Addiction, immorality, broken relationships - we all suffer spiritual setbacks. In Returning to Your First Love, readers will learn how to return to God and keep working out the most important relationship in our lives.

Author : Jeffrey K. Salkin
Publisher : Jewish Lights Publishing
ISBN 13 : 9781879045590
Total Pages : 228 pages
Book Rating : 4.91/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Putting God on the Guest List written by Jeffrey K. Salkin and published by Jewish Lights Publishing. This book was released on 1996 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How to Reclaim the Spiritual meaning of your child's Bar or Bat Mitzvah; foreword by Sandy Eisenberg Sasso; new intro. by William H. Lebeau.

Author : Cristina Baker
Publisher : Thomas Nelson
ISBN 13 : 0785253637
Total Pages : 206 pages
Book Rating : 4.31/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Hope in 60 Seconds written by Cristina Baker and published by Thomas Nelson. This book was released on 2022-05-31 with total page 206 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Now more than ever, we all face trying situations. The hope we need and hunger for is not a strategy or state of mind, but faith in Jesus. He stands secure for us in the face of every trial, from loss to sickness to injustice. Through 20 short prayers, 10 personal stories of miraculous transformations, and Biblical teachings, Hope in 60 Seconds will help you take the first steps towards a journey of security in the hope of Jesus. “At twenty-one I was as far from hopeful as anyone could get. Maybe as far as you are now.” These are the words of Cristina Baker as she considered her traumatic life: from childhood abuse to troubled teen years, to a descent into substance abuse, she resonates with a lost world who understands first-hand how easy it is to lose hope. Then, just as she was about to go to jail for drug possession, the Hero of Hope, Jesus Christ, came into her life and set her on a completely new path. If you are weary and doubting, Cristina understands. Hope in 60 Seconds will help you to: Be encouraged and empowered by someone who has been in a similar place of discouragement and discovered Christ’s authority and love, Learn how Jesus establishes hope and begin to experience it first-hand in the darkest of circumstances, Grow in your ability to connect with Jesus and find the hope you have longed for all of your life, and Prove that a connection with Jesus is the ultimate source of hope. The message of Cristina’s life is Jesus, the hope we need and hunger for—a hope that will stand secure in the face of brokenness, loss, sickness, abuse, a brain tumor diagnosis, injustice, and death. In Hope in 60 Seconds, she shares the steps of her journey to encounter, receive, and walk in the hope of Jesus, and offers readers powerful wisdom for how they can take the same journey for themselves.

Author : Angelo Townsend
Publisher : Xlibris Corporation
ISBN 13 : 1477102396
Total Pages : 49 pages
Book Rating : 4.98/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Put God First written by Angelo Townsend and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2013-08-13 with total page 49 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Put God First coloring book is a tool for children to learn and share faith in a fun and colorful way. Parents too will enjoy the images and how they will capture childrens attention. Each page has a word and definition describing each image. The coloring book also has two fun activities that children can participate in to enhance learning and reading.

Author : Jerry Smith
Publisher : Tate Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1607998203
Total Pages : 112 pages
Book Rating : 4.04/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Does God Give Us More Than We Can Bear? written by Jerry Smith and published by Tate Publishing. This book was released on 2009-11 with total page 112 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The child of a raped housekeeper who was deaf, mute, and poor, Jerry Smith had trouble before he even started. Does God Give Us More Than We Can Bear? takes readers through disappointments and failures as Jerry does his best to battle overwhelming odds with a deck seemingly stacked against him. Did God give Jerry more than he could bear? As an aging Jerry ponders this very question, he is diagnosed with an untreatable and terminal lung disease. With nowhere left to turn and a deadline with fate, God then reveals his plan for Jerry's life. Now, cured of his previously incurable disease but still suffering the damage caused, Jerry has been given new direction and shares with readers his struggles, stories, and wisdom. In these recollections, he reveals hope, a light for the darkest days, years, and even decades. Jerry's story is the perfect example of how God will use anything for good, even when it seems most unlikely. He now lives to share his story, the hope he has, and how the lessons he learned can change lives.

Author : Neale Donald Walsch
Publisher : Hampton Roads Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1612831168
Total Pages : 250 pages
Book Rating : 4.69/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Conversations with God for Teens written by Neale Donald Walsch and published by Hampton Roads Publishing. This book was released on 2012-10-01 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Suppose you could ask God any question and get an answer. What would it be? Young people all over the world have been asking those questions. So Neale Donald Walsch, author of the internationally bestselling Conversations with God series had another conversation. Conversations with God for Teens is a simple, clear, straight-to-the-point dialogue that answers teens questions about God, money, sex, love, and more. Conversations with God for Teens reads like a rap session at a church youth group, where teenagers discuss everything they ever wanted to know about life but were too afraid to ask God. Walsch acts as the verbal conduit, showing teenagers how easy it is to converse with the divine. When Claudia, age 16, from Perth, Australia, asks, "Why can't I just have sex with everybody? What's the big deal?", the answer God offers her is: "Nothing you do will ever be okay with everybody. 'Everybody' is a large word. The real question is can you have sex and have it be okay with you?" There's no doubt that the casual question-and-answer format will help make God feel welcoming and accessible to teens. Conversations with God for Teens is the perfect gift purchase for parents, grandparents, and anyone else who wants to provide accessible spiritual content for the teen(s) in their lives.