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Signals of Transcendence: Listening to the Promptings of Life

There must be something more to life.

The modern world is a place of great distraction, and it can be difficult to make sense of our human existence. But at some point in our lives, we may experience particular moments that prompt us to search for something deeper. Sociologist Peter Berger described these hints and clues as “signals of transcendence” that awaken us to unseen realities.

Os Guinness tells stories of people who experienced signals of transcendence and followed them to find new meaning and purpose in life. Notable figures such as Leo Tolstoy and C. S. Lewis as well as lesser-known individuals experienced a variety of promptings that signaled to them that life could not continue as they had thought. Through unsatisfied longings or disillusionments that yet yielded glimpses of beauty or joy, these moments drew people toward epiphanies of transformation. And the same can be true for us, should we have the courage to follow the signals wherever they may lead.

Listen for the signals. And discover what more awaits those with ears to hear.

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Long Journey Home: A Guide to Your Search for the Meaning of Life

Long Journey Home: A Guide to Your Search for the Meaning of Life

WaterBrook
Have you woken up to the journey of life? Have you reached a point where you long for “something more”? Have the things you have striven to achieve turned out to be far less than enough? Do you desire to unriddle life’s mystery and pursueRead More
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Have you woken up to the journey of life? Have you reached a point where you long for “something more”? Have the things you have striven to achieve turned out to be far less than enough? Do you desire to unriddle life’s mystery and pursue a life rich with significance?
Long Journey Home is a seeker’s road map to the quest for meaning. Rich in stories and profoundly personal as well as practical, it explores the great philosophies of life and charts the road toward meaning taken by countless thoughtful seekers over the centuries. Written for those who care and those who are open, “it assumes no faith in the reader, only the recognition that the humanness of life as a journey is something we should all care about enough to seek to make sense of it and to make up our minds for ourselves.”

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Last Call for Liberty: How America’s Genius for Freedom Has Become Its Greatest Threat

Last Call for Liberty: How America’s Genius for Freedom Has Become Its Greatest Threat

InterVarsity Press
The hour is critical. The American republic is suffering its gravest crisis since the Civil War.Conflicts, hostility, and incivility now threaten to tear the country apart. Competing visions have led to a dangerous moment of cultural self-destruction. This is no longer politics as usual, butRead More
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It will be a tragedy of inestimable proportions for the American people if that great nation eats its own legendaryRead More
John Anderson, deputy prime minister of Australia 1999-2005

The hour is critical. The American republic is suffering its gravest crisis since the Civil War.Conflicts, hostility, and incivility now threaten to tear the country apart. Competing visions have led to a dangerous moment of cultural self-destruction. This is no longer politics as usual, but an era of political warfare where our enemies are not foreign adversaries, but our fellow citizens.

Yet the roots of the crisis are deeper than many realize. Os Guinness argues that we face a fundamental crisis of freedom, as America’s genius for freedom has become her Achilles’ heel. Our society’s conflicts are rooted in two rival views of freedom, one embodied in “1776” and the ideals of the American Revolution, and the other in “1789” and the ideals of the French Revolution. Once again America has become a house divided, and Americans must make up their minds as to which freedom to follow. Will the constitutional republic be restored or replaced?

This grand treatment of history, civics, and ethics in the Jewish and Christian traditions represents Guinness’s definitive exploration of the prospects for human freedom today. He calls for a national conversation on the nature of freedom, and poses key questions for concerned citizens to consider as we face a critical chapter in the American story. He offers readers a checklist by which they can assess the character and consequences of the freedoms they are choosing.

In the tradition of Alexis de Tocqueville, Guinness provides a visitor’s careful observation of the American experiment. Discover here a stirring vision for faithful citizenship and renewed responsibility, not only for the nation but also for the watching world.

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It will be a tragedy of inestimable proportions for the American people if that great nation eats its own legendary commitment to freedom from within. Equally, to lose the leadership of the world's most powerful champion of liberty would be truly dangerous for non-Americans everywhere in these increasingly unsettled times. Os Guinness has gifted us magnificently with the insights and understanding of a lifetime in this book, which really needs to be read—urgently—across the length and breadth of the world.
John Anderson, deputy prime minister of Australia 1999-2005
Os Guinness has stood as a beacon of eloquence and insight. In a host of important books, he has chronicled the struggle of those who resist the modern world's descent into carnival culture. Last Call for Liberty is his masterwork—an urgent guide that leads out of the maze America has wandered into. For those who seek to understand the best of freedom's vital gifts, Guinness is the master class leader.
Shelby Coffey III, vice chairman of the Newseum and former editor of the Los Angeles Times
A timely and important book from one of the most insightful observers of American society and politics. Guinness argues that America's future depends on learning the right lessons from America's past. Provocative without being incendiary. Sobering without being gloomy. Inspiring without being glib.
Peter Feaver, professor of political science at Duke University
God in the Dark: The Assurance of Faith beyond a Shadow of Doubt

God in the Dark: The Assurance of Faith beyond a Shadow of Doubt

Crossway
Do you have significant doubts about God? Are you afraid to doubt, much less admit to anyone that you aren't fully convinced of God's faithfulness? Are you so torn by your questions that life is losing its meaning? This forthright but compassionate book works toRead More
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A profound and excellent book for doubters and their friends who want to help.
James W. Sire, Author; campus lecturer for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship

Do you have significant doubts about God? Are you afraid to doubt, much less admit to anyone that you aren’t fully convinced of God’s faithfulness? Are you so torn by your questions that life is losing its meaning?

This forthright but compassionate book works to tear away the layers of misunderstanding about doubt to reveal not only its dangers but its great value. As author Os Guinness explains: “If ours is an examined faith, we should be unafraid to doubt… There is no believing without some doubting, and believing is all the stronger for understanding and resolving doubt.”

For those who are unsure of God’s trustworthiness–and for those who are in a dark place, wanting to know “Why?” or “How long, O Lord?”–God in the Dark is a must. It puts a human face on the problem of doubt and examines it thoroughly. In a way that will respond to your questions, settle your fears, and strengthen your faith.

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A profound and excellent book for doubters and their friends who want to help.
James W. Sire, Author; campus lecturer for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship
Clear, steady explanation of what doubt is and how it is to be dealt with. There is nothing like it in print.

Dallas Willard, Professor of Philosophy, University of Southern California