The Grand Inquisitor is a puzzling story found in The Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoevsky. It describes an additional return of Christ during the Spanish Inquisition-Christ performs miracles and then gets subsequently arrested and thrown into prison. In prison, he is approached by a man (The Inquisitor) and he lays out several indictments against Christ. […]
Yuval Harari wrote a New York Times piece that succinctly communicated a cautionary tale to the world regarding today’s artificial intelligence (AI) revolution. Harari makes a convincing argument that language is the bedrock of human civilization. For example, large and lasting followings have risen from religious texts, political manifestos, and other written texts. The problem […]
Crying in H Mart is a poignant, honest, and raw account of a young Korean-American woman (named Michelle Zauner) and how she coped with the death of her mother. Zauner describes the trials and tribulations of her grief journey as she seamlessly and thoughtfully ties together themes of helplessness, anger, shame, regret, and hope. One […]
Grief is cruel and it does not discriminate. For One More Day by Mitch Albom is a visceral account of a broken man whose life spiraled out of control after his mother died. Albom’s internationally renowned reputation is evident in this book as he threads together how painful and isolating it can be to lose […]
Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a problem across our society today. It is one thing to be shocked as you look at the CSA prevalence data, but it is another thing to shed light on the lived experience of CSA survivors. Warrior is Glori Meldrum’s memoir—in this book she details her harrowing, yet remarkable story […]
Demons can manifest themselves in the form of ideas. Ideas can be gripping, tempting, and even utopia in nature--which is why there’s no surprises when people latch themselves and even sacrifice their lives for the sake of a collective vision or ideology. In Demons by Dostoyevsky, he outlines how the dark side of ideas can […]
One of the things that has struck me is the great danger of lying to yourself. I saw this play out in visceral detail from the Gulag Archipelago Volume 1, written by the Russian Nobel Laureate, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. During his life in the Soviet Union, approximately one in three people were government informers, and the […]
Hope you are all finding grace during these difficult times… To see a more regular stream of resources see our GraceFinder Resourcing Network Facebook page and scroll through the various helps you will see there. Here is our E-News for Fall 2021. https://mailchi.mp/6e3b193c1038/gracefinder-fall-e-news-2021?e=06dbe3c826 To finding grace in all of life… Always, Bryan
GraceFinder Continues to Seek to Develop Young Leaders Who Are Found in Grace and Finding Grace for Life... With this article below in mind, please pray for wisdom as we navigate these uncertain times. We continue to develop young leaders using Zoom in book clubs, providing resources, one one one, and whatever means necessary while […]
Fear and Anxiety...such a challenge especially during a time like this... A pastor friend John Ferguson, sent me this link on various books and articles to read on anxiety, trust, and fear. I'm going through some of the readings myself and hope they encourage us all. https://cdn.shopify.com/…/Read_Slow_Collection_adobe_acroba… Gracefinder