Description: |
Explores the premise that God wants to relate to each of us as a friend. As author William A. Barry, S.J., puts it, "God--out of the abundance of divine relational life, not any need for us--desires humans into existence for the sake of friendship." He explains that the idea traces back to the developing revelation of God contained in the Bible. A Friendship Like No Other is written in three parts. Part I includes an analysis of human friendship as the best analogy for what God wants with us, and prayerful exercises to help readers determine if the idea of friendship fits their relationship with God, or to motivate them to try such a way of relating to God. Part II provides thoughts on questions and issues that have to be confronted in reflecting on the notion that God wants our friendship. Part III takes up the questions of where we find God and how we distinguish the influence of God's Spirit on our experience from other influences. The book is grounded in Scripture, and draws on meditations and rules for discernment from the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. Barry offers a joyful, hopeful, life-changing approach to living in the freedom of a life shared with God. Paper, 5 x 7, 203 pages. (2008)
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