Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Simpler Living, Compassionate Life: A Christian Perspective is a rich collection of voices that bring clarity to the confusion between our society's ideal of the material "good life" with the "abundant life, " modeled after the person of Jesus, the things he taught, and the way he lived. It invites us to re-examine and rearrange our lives, to sweep away the "clutter" that keeps us from contact with the world, with God, with our own souls. It provides further images of the abundant life and suggests ways of moving toward it personally and culturally. It shares practical suggestions that cover topics such as personal consumer choices and service projects to reinvigorating community life and traditional celebrations.
Whether reading through it alone or using the insightful study guide with a group, Simpler Living, Compassionate Life invites you into the dialogue.
Table of Contents
Introduction to The sacred journey / Frederick Buechner -- The good life and the abundant life / Michael Schut -- Excerpt from The overworked American / Juliet Schor -- The spirituality of everyday life / Cecile Andrews -- Entering the emptiness / Gerald May -- Contemplation and ministry / Henri Nouwen -- Spending money as if life really mattered / Evy McDonald -- Money / William Stringfellow -- The big economy, the great economy / Michael Schut -- Christian faith and the degradation of creation / John B. Cobb, Jr. -- How much is enough? / Alan Durning -- Word and flesh / Wendell Berry -- The pleasures of eating / Wendell Berry -- The great hunter-gatherer continuum / James T. Mulligan -- Christian existence in a world of limits / John B. Cobb, Jr. -- Structural changes / Cecile Andrews -- The lifestyle of Christian faithfulness / William Gibson -- Introduction to the politics of simplicity / Jerome Segal -- Epilogue from The simple life / David Shi -- Simplicity among the saints / Richard J. Foster -- Some notes from Belshaz'zar's feast / Timothy Weiskel -- Creation's care and keeping / Calvin DeWitt -- The discipline of simplicity / Richard J. Foster -- Worldview as inheritance / Michael Schut -- Traditional Western view of reality / Duane Elgin -- Healing ourselves and the earth / Shantilal Bhagat -- Sacred cosmology and the ecological crisis / Philip Sherrard -- Building community / Cecile Andrews -- Winter solstice at the Moab slough / Terry Tempest Williams -- Seeing the sacred in the ordinary / James T. Mulligan -- Extending our circle of compassion / Michael Schut.