Faith beyond Belief

David Steindl-Rast, OSB, is a monk of Mount Saviour Monastery in Elmira, New York. He has written and lectured extensively and was one of the first Roman Catholics to be involved in Buddhist-Christian dialogue. He is the cofounder of gratefulness.org. Anselm Grün, OSB, is a monk of the Benedictine abbey of Münsterschwarzach, Germany, where he has been cellarer since 1977. He is the author of many books, lectures, and courses on themes of spiritual life.

• ContentsForeword   viiMartin E. MartyProloguePrelude ex silentio    xFirst Love, or:Childhood Sources of Solidarity   1A God beyond the Marketplace, or:Who Is God, Now That God Is “Dead”?   5Where Are You Alive? or:The Creative Meaning of Life   11Ego, Fear, and Nothingness, or:The Epic Discovery of Self   20What Self Do We Want to Radiate? or:Calling, Courage, and Fear   27Goodbye to Infantile Images of God, or:In Search of the Divine Mystery   36Capital Confusions, or:On the Temptation to Want to Possess the Truth   45“Dead Man Rising,” or:Jesus Christ and the Buddha   51Saint, Sinner, and Called Out, or:The Church(es) between Being and Seeming to Be   66In Dialogue with the Mystery, or:The “Our Father” and God’s Trustworthiness   70 Three and One? or:A Brief User’s Guide to the Trinity   74How Can I Live, Ultimately? or:On the Mortal and the Eternal   80Being Entirely My Self, or:Prayer as a Space of Freedom   87Sin and Evil, or:Why We Are Mired in Guilt   107The Doctrine of Seven Deadly Sins, or:The Beginnings of a Spiritual Psychology   118Suffering and Reconciliation, or:The Cross and the Structures of Sin   128Spiritual Growth, or:Learning to Accept Myself as I Really Am   137Roots and Growth, or:Linking Old and New   141The Incarnation, or:How Body, Soul, and Spirit Go Together   144Time for Gratitude, or:Why Every Moment Is a Gift   148Mysticism, Resistance, and Participation, or:What Is the Christian’s Focus?   159Speaking about Experiences, or:Does Faith Unite or Separate?   163ThanksPostlude ex gratia   166Notes   168

"The effect of reading this book is extraordinary. There's a sense of warmth and intimacy here that is often lacking in more systematic presentations of theology. It's like being invited to pull up a chair at the breakfast room table where two wise and gentle monks are having a conversation, pondering the deepest thoughts of their hearts. Their conversation draws on insights from the enduring religions of the world as well as from psychology, philosophy, and poetry. But it is all grounded in the real stuff of ordinary, human life. Brother David and Father Anselm delve deeply into places of the human heart that every reader knows well, and you might find yourself marvelling at how well they seem to know and embrace you. The words conversation and conversion share a common root-one conveys friendly intimacy and the other conveys dramatic power. This book conveys both."The Reverend Gary D. Jones, Rector of St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, Richmond, Virginia