God of Surprises

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It is a book for all versions of Christianity ,and although written by a Jesuit Priest , it does not infringe into other Branches of Christian Belief. Faulty understanding of these two important events in Christ’s life contribute to producing a distorted image of God and deter us from our spiritual journey. Written for ‘bewildered, confused and disillusioned Christians’ as a guide for the inner spiritual journey in which we are all engaged, God of Surprises has much to say to those who have a love/hate relationship with the Church to which they belong or once belonged. Hughes' premise, that `Our treasure lies in our inner life', may cause eye-rolling suspicion of New Ageism to some readers.

At the end of the chapter, he presents some biblical texts which could be useful for imaginative contemplation. Even if you take God out of it, as I did, it provides amazing insight and structure into how to know yourself better, to stop trying to take all your worries and deal with them yourself, and ultimately giving you tools to be able the understand how to live a more fulfilling life. Slight failures are such that the contents page is not indexed and there are frequent references to 'such-and-such on page 00' which should have been edited as there are no page numbers. En conséquence, toutes les commandes passées en ligne entre le 26 et le 31 janvier seront retardées.Chapter Five shows how the journey is not only made with our minds and with the religious part of ourselves, but involves our whole being and affects every aspect of it, our relations to other people, our attitude to health, wealth, reputation, power, and our reactions to the economic, social and political structures in which we live. This is problematic for me, because I am also a scientist and more inclined to accept things according to the evidence supporting them than on a premise of faith. This book took apart what I thought I knew, challenged my apathy, correctly anticipated most of my doubts and areas of weakness, and gave me a new way to explore my faith. This identification is done by the means of examining the quality and fruit of those felt desires, categorising them as either creative or destructive, and consolatory or desolatory.

It feels like an enormous handbrake turn for the book to take as it should be concluding and as a result it doesn't really feel finished. It's a great book for people who dismiss spirituality out of hand because of prominent religious extremists and lumping most of the world in with them. We may fight against finding him there because it means we are not our own since everything we are or have comes from God and has to be given back to him. I was particularly taken with a simple yet profound definition of sin - the refusal to let God be God in my life. It is a pity that Hughes never mentions the great value of asking others for help and companionship in one's spiritual journey.

Also has many helpful practical suggestions on how to take ideas about prayer and make them applicable. The author presents von Hügel’s analysis of the three main stages of human development-infancy, adolescence and adulthood-describing the predominant needs and activities which characterize each stage. Although not recommended by the author I did read straight through it without doing the exercises at the end of each chapter.

What is so special about this book is the refreshing yet gentle way Hughes approaches the reader and the respect he has for the individual paths each person takes towards the great mystery of who God is. The purpose of this book is to suggest ways of finding the treasure in what we may consider an unlikely field--ourselves. When we approach Him we experience peace, tranquility and joy, but when we move away from Him the opposite feelings envelope us. Hughes openly challenges many of the most commonly-observed pillars of organized religion but productively offers solutions for churches progressing with the times to serve modern humanity. Gerard Hughes covers a lot of ground in a deceptively short-looking book, so there’s plenty to get you thinking, and it will be worth going back to and rereading.

In the Seventh Chapter, the author gives some exercises that will help us recognize the action of God in our lives and give him praise, thanks and glory for it. The exercises given at the end of each chapter helps to interiorize and work on the insights gained. The author, a Jesuit, clearly and effectively expounds the basic methodology of the Spiritual Excercises of St. Through many practical suggestions for heightened prayer, including Ignatian exercises and Jungian exploration, God of Surprises guides readers along the inner journey which reveals to us a God we may not have expected to find. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice.