reading

Telling Truth to Kings

History abounds with examples of brave individuals who courageously told the truth, often challenging authority in the process. The Spring 2013 Trinity Forum Reading, “Telling Truth to Kings,” ably illustrates the high cost of truth-telling through the story of a humble priest who challenges imperial Spain’s treatment of “new world” peoples.

German dissident Reinhold Schneider wrote the story in the 1930s to speak out against the totalitarianism of the Nazi regime, and “Telling Truth to Kings” prompts readers to consider how power, justice, and courage impact truth-telling today.

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The Revenge of Failure

The Revenge of Failure

Henry Fairlie, Mary Gordon, and Alexander Theroux
The Culture of Envy and Rage
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The Culture of Envy and Rage

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How Much Land Does A Man Need?

How Much Land Does A Man Need?

Leo Tolstoy
What is the meaning of money? What is success? How should we pursue happiness? How much is enough? Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910), the Russian writer and social reformer, famous for writing the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina. Born to a noble, landed family, hisRead More
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What is the meaning of money? What is success? How should we pursue happiness? How much is enough?

Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910), the Russian writer and social reformer, famous for writing the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina. Born to a noble, landed family, his early years were marked by a dissolute life and a violent reaction to the horrors of the Crimean War. In 1862 he married and settled down, producing thirteen children and a burst of literary successes. But after writing Anna Karenina he experienced a profound spiritual crisis and renounced his literary ambitions, believing them to be incompatible with his deepest convictions. His numerous later works were on religious and moral subjects.

How Much Land Does a Man Need?, written in 1886, and translated from the Russian by Louise and Aylmer Maude, is from this later period.
It is an enduring story that reveals the sometimes insidious and sometimes overt destructiveness of greed and challenges us to question our own self-awareness.

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Celestial Rail-Road

Celestial Rail-Road

Nathaniel Hawthorne
With a Foreword by Senior Fellow Os Guinness, this story addresses the question of the truth-claims of religious faith in the face of the pressures of the modern world. Since the Enlightenment many religious leaders have attempted to “improve on” God or to make GodRead More
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With a Foreword by Senior Fellow Os Guinness, this story addresses the question of the truth-claims of religious faith in the face of the pressures of the modern world. Since the Enlightenment many religious leaders have attempted to “improve on” God or to make God “relevant” to the times.

Dr. Guinness makes a passionate case for truth. Hawthorne’s story, he argues, raises questions about the authority and public dimensions of faith that are vital not just for Christians, but for all the citizens of the United States and the West at large. This selection is sure to provoke thought and discussion.

Study guide included.

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