Seeing God: Twelve Reliable Signs of True Spirituality

by Gerald R. McDermott, Michael Kramer (Narrated by)

Overview

TV evangelist scandals. More varieties of Christianity than Baskin-Robbins has flavors. These are times of pluralism and disenchantment with organized religion. How do Christians today know which leaders and companions in faith to trust? For help, Gerald McDermott returns to the work of Jonathan Edwards, the eighteenth-century preacher and college president widely regarded as the greatest American theologian ever. Edwards wrestled expertly with similar questions arising from frontier revivalism. Now McDermott, not only a leading Edwards scholar but also a master teacher, makes Edward's insights accessible and practical for today's Christians. Seeing God offers a clarifying glimpse at the signs of genuine Christianity - yesterday, today and for the ages.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	2000003479757
Publisher:	christianaudio
Publication date:	08/15/2006
Edition description:	Unabridged

Table of Contents

	Preface
1	Spiritual Confusion	1
2	Feelings, Beliefs & the Affections	2
3	Unreliable Signs Involving Religious Experience	4
	Intense Religious Affections
	Many Religious Affections at the Same Time
	A Certain Sequence in the Affections
	Affections Not Produced by the Self
	Scriptures Come Miraculously to Mind
	Physical Manifestations of the Affections
4	Unreliable Signs Involving Religious Behavior	5
	Much or Eloquent Talk About God and Religion
	Frequent and Passionate Praise for God
	The Appearance of Love
	Zealous or Time-Consuming Devotion to Religious Activities
5	Unreliable Signs Involving Assurance of Salvation	6
	Being Convinced That One Is Saved
	Others' Being Convinced That Someone Is Saved
6	Let the Reader Beware	8
7	The First Reliable Sign: A Divine & Supernatural Source	8
8	The Second Reliable Sign: Attraction to God & His Ways for Their Own Sake	98
9	The Third Reliable Sign: Seeing the Beauty of Holiness	107
10	The Fourth Reliable Sign: A New Knowing	120
11	The Fifth Reliable Sign: Deep-Seated Conviction	132
12	The Sixth Reliable Sign: Humility	141
13	The Seventh Reliable Sign: A Change of Nature	157
14	The Eighth Reliable Sign: A Christlike Spirit	165
15	The Ninth Reliable Sign: Fear of God	176
16	The Tenth Reliable Sign: Balance	183
17	The Eleventh Reliable Sign: Hunger for God	195
18	The Twelfth Reliable Sign: Christian Practice (Surrender & Perseverance)	201
19	The Twelfth Reliable Sign: Christian Practice (Suffering & Obedience)	214
20	Are You Overwhelmed?	225
	Appendix: The Unreliable & Reliable Signs of Grace	232
	Study Guide	234
	Notes	244

Editorial Reviews

In the New Age, where the practice of spirituality takes on such a variety of forms, how is the Christian able to discern the signs of an authentic Christian spirituality? McDermott (religion, Roanoke Coll.) offers sound guidance for Christians seeking answers to this question. In the first half of the book, he demonstrates the ways that some religious behavior, like the frequent and passionate praise of God, is very often a sign of superficial spirituality. McDermott then turns to Jonathan Edwards's treatise on religious affections to mark out the signs of a reliable Christian spirituality, including seeing the beauty of holiness and hunger for God. In elegant prose, McDermott recovers through Edwards a sense of the transcendent that much contemporary spirituality lacks. Essential for seminary libraries, but important for public libraries as well.

Library Journal