Faith in Exile : Seeking Hope in Times of Doubt

by Kelley, Joseph T.

• ISBN13: 9780809140886
• ISBN10: 0809140888
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-06-01
• Publisher: Paulist Pr

Summary

This beautifully written book points the way for all those who feel -- for whatever reason -- displaced from their church and exiled from their rightful relationship with God. Faith in Exile shows how a rich spiritual life is possible even without institutional religion. Using universal themes of place, diligence, and hope, the author addresses the yearnings of all seekers, encouraging them on their path to God. Warmly inviting, this new book -- -- helps seekers find a way back from exile to spirituality and to themselves. -- shows how spirituality happens in the here and now, the everyday. -- helps seekers find the displaced God who followed them into exile.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
Introduction	1	(4)
Part One: Place: Suffering the Sense of Religious Exile	5	(46)
Sacred Space	7	(14)
Sacred Times
Your Own Sacred Places and Times
Sacred Interiority
Pilgrimage: The Rhythm of the Spiritual Life
Choose to Start
Exile	21	(15)
Exile in the Bible
Personal Exile
Religious Exile
Spiritual Exile
The God of No Place
Exile and the Spiritual Life
Return	36	(15)
Negotiating Return from Exile
Return to Religion
Return to Spirituality
Return to God
The Many Ways of Return
The God of Return
Part Two: Diligence: Becoming a Spiritual Pilgrim	51	(52)
Loving Care for One's Self	55	(17)
Original Self-Exile
Self-Compromise
What Is the Self?
The Spiritual Life and the Return to Self
The Self and God
Loving Care for Others	72	(16)
Romance and the Spiritual Life
Friendship
Spiritual Friendship
Acquaintances
Sin and Diligence
Sacred Space and Human Need
Loving Care for the World	88	(15)
A Spirituality of Creation
A Spirituality of Work
Nature: Subject or Object?
Consumerism and Materialism
Hope for Creation
Part Three: Hope: Investing in the Future	103	(46)
Grace	107	(14)
Grace and the Spiritual Life
God and Grace
Grace and Sin
The Role of Religion
Conversion	121	(13)
Death and Dying
Resurrection
Intellectual Conversion
Moral Conversion
Spiritual Conversion
Conversion and Hope
Commitment	134	(15)
Commitment in Personal Relationships
Commitment to Causes and Communities
Commitment and Faith
Spirituality and Faith Commitment
Commitment and Hope
Postscript	149