n e w c h u r c h l i f e : j u ly / au g u s t 2 0 1 3
SPIRITUAL PSYCHOTHERAPY IN A NUTSHELL
In addition to the glimpses into previously unknown depths of human
psychology we find in the Writings, there are also basic practical rules for
considering our spiritual state, including this one:
“If man only believed, as is really true, that all good is from the Lord and
all evil from hell, he would neither make the good in him a matter of merit nor
would evil be imputed to him; for he would then look to the Lord in all the
good he thinks and does, and all the evil that flows in would be cast down to
hell from which it comes.
“But because man does not believe that anything flows into him either
from heaven or from hell, and therefore supposes that all things that he thinks
and wills are in himself and therefore from himself, he appropriates the evil
to himself, and the good that flows in he defiles with merit.” (Heaven and Hell
302)
(WEO)
SEVEN MEN, SEVEN ROLE MODELS
A new book, 7 Men – and the Secrets of Their Greatness, by Eric Metaxas – offers
the stories of seven positive role models for young men in this increasingly
secular and chaotic world.
Metaxas presents these men who experienced trials and challenges that
might have overwhelmed others but persevered and triumphed because of
their faith in God and surrendering their lives to a higher purpose.
He asks what is God’s concept of manhood, and suggests that these seven
men are among many who set the standard:
George Washington: He was the ultimate servant-leader who resisted
the temptation and the pressure to become the king of America, or President
for life. He voluntarily gave up power for the good of the country – and so
affected the future of the country and the world in positive ways. He was a
man of deep faith, and as Metaxas puts it: “He gave up a sure thing to do the
right thing.”
William Wilberforce: He passed on the chance to be Prime Minister
of England to lead the unpopular fight to end slavery and the slave trade –
years before America’s Civil War. His life changed as a young man when he
converted to Christianity and devoted his life to his faith. He saw that “at its
core, every battle worth fighting is a spiritual battle.” And, “He did what he did
for Africans he would never meet, and for God.”
Eric Liddell: He was immortalized in the 1982 Oscar-winning movie,
Chariots of Fire, as the fabled Scottish runner who gave up his chance for a
gold medal in the 1924 Olympics because he would not run on Sunday. It was
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