Becoming A Seeker Chapter Summary

About a year ago, I began to find genuine interest in spiritual knowledge and learning, and its value and many applications outside of formal education and studies. I began researching philosophers and reading their works regarding spiritualism, new ways of thinking and perceiving things, as well as how our lives as human work in conjunction with the universe around us. I find this kind of thinking, and discovering some of the infinite wealth of knowledge around me, to be both personal and liberating.

Furthermore, Sunday was constrained by an obsession to tell others how he had finally found inner peace and a more purposeful life. At first through lectures and then in sermons, he related how Jesus Christ gave him a new life of meaning, peace, and hope. This same gospel, he said, would similarly transform others. The evidence is overwhelmingly that it did.

The book is divided into seven parts. The book focuses spiritual growth and it is a manual for building a Spirit-filled life in a world where perfection can only be found in God’s loving vision. Ortberg helps us gauge your spiritual health and measure the gap between where you are now and where God intends you to be. As the author emphasizes on

In the first five chapters of Dr. Neil T. Andersons book “Victory Over the Darkness” the reader starts to see the author pointing them toward identity verification. Dr. Anderson tries to get people to understand who they truly our in Christ. Neil brings the person to the place where they will need to look at themselves, and answer the question, who are you? Then Dr. Anderson begins to help that person see the truth about their identity he is able to help that person understand who they are in Christ. Neil is now able to lead the person into a way that will allow that person to see that they can and do have a meaningful life because of the fact they are a child of God, and God has a purpose for all His children. Dr. Anderson says “The only identity equation that works in God’s kingdom is you plus Christ equals wholeness and meaning.” Dr. Anderson also quotes the scripture “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” (Rom. 8:16) to help the reader see the need to focus on the Word of God. Dr. Neil Anderson, the author of the book “Victory over the Darkness” has all his teachings, and diagrams centered in the Word of God. As he carries the reader through his book it is evident that for the victory to be won the person must be a Christian, and be ready to repent and open up to God Almighty in truth. Dr. Anderson says “The truth (Christ and His Word) should set us free and enable us to conform to the image of God.”

After his first graduation, Edwards went on to continue his studies in theology and prepare for a life in ministry. Equally as successful with Edwards’s educational climb was his anointment in his pastoral call. Though he often questioned the sovereignty doctrine of God from an early age, his search for meaning and truth came about during his personal testimony of conversion when, at the age of seventeen he read 1 Timothy 1:17. It was then when he finally connected with the one and only true God that his life changed for the duration. It was this pivotal moment that marked his conversion and led to what would become the fervent, heart-felt preaching style that characterized his sermons and brought conviction to the hearts of the parishioners who heard him.

Henri J. M. Nouwen’s book, Reaching Out: The Three Movements of the Spiritual Life, examines three aspects of spiritual movement in which he unveils how humanity relates to self, others, and God to achieve true spirituality. The first movement revealed is the movement from loneliness to solitude, second is the movement from hostility to hospitality, and finally, is the movement from illusion to prayer.

Item learned for Christian Faith, trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understandings in all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your path

Another, aspect, spirituality is not as much a prearranged system, it is a quest and a prolongation of one’s development.

"People say that what we're all seeking is a meaning for life. I don't think that's what we're really seeking. I think that what we're seeking is an experience of being alive...." Joseph Campbell made this comment on the search for meaning common to every man's life. His statement implies that what we seem bent on finding is that higher spark for which we would all be willing to live or die; we look for some key equation through which we might tie all of the experiences of our life and feel the satisfaction of action toward a goal, rather than the emptiness which sometimes consumes the activities of our existence. He states, however, that we will never find some great

During the course of the LDB481-17: Faith and Life Issues, Ms. Sams did not understand of the concept of vocation, before enrolling in the course. Nor, she has never heard the concept of vocation during at that time her twenty-two years on Earth. As she considers herself, a free spirit and a humanist regarding religion, Ms. Sams continues to note that she does not follow a particular religion. However, she keeps an open mind to how an individual’s religion has transformed his or her life. As a free spirit, by primarily having an open mind to the religious faith of Christianity, Ms. Sams assures that the spirit of God lives within each individual; regardless if he or she believes or does not believe in the spirit of God.

The conclusion of the book mentions the importance of spiritual guidance, and the importance of prayer. Prayer is not only to be done is solitude, but

At work our manager decided to do something fun for the office to raise office morale. She got individual photos of us and stuck them on magazine pages. My photo was put on a 4 year old boy hanging from monkey bars for a Target advertisement. This magnified how I had felt most of my life. That people considered me to be the immature one. Therefore, when having to choose a discipline from Adele Ahlberg Calhoun’s book Spiritual Disciplines Handbook, the one that resonated with me the most was discernment as the desire is “to delight in and recognise the voice and will of God”.

In a world, ruled by the elite, one can only ponder the existence of a creator. With the many different religions that are in the world today, how do we know what one to believe in? Is it the environmental influences that drive us into one direction, or is it the creator himself that guides us into the right direction? In the story Miss Lonelyhearts by Nathanael West, the reader sees many different themes that lean towards Jesus Christ. The deeper meaning of Miss Lonelyhearts can be described through a man’s attempt to overcome the temptations of the flesh and live by the spirt.

Everyone has a certain way that they believe a Christian should live, but how does one sort through all the beliefs being thrown at them from different denominations and sections of the church to find how to be the real Christian? According to the New Oxford American Dictionary, Christianity is defined as “the religion based on the person and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, or its beliefs and practices; Christian quality or character.“ With the several different denominations across the world, it doesn’t seem anyone really agrees on how to really be of “Christian quality or character.” The truth of the matter is, it doesn’t matter what denomination someone is in. Being apart of a certain denomination doesn’t determine whether you are a real

I will explore a few of unique approaches as outlined in the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius Loyola. I will describe my experience of integrating some of the concepts of spiritual direction into my practice.