W. E. B. Du Bois is an improbable candidate for a project in religion. His skepticism of and, even, hostility toward religion is readily established and canonically accepted. Indeed, he spent his career rejecting normative religious commitments to institutions and supernatural beliefs. In this book, Jonathon Kahn offers a fresh and controversial reading of Du Bois that seeks to overturn this view. Kahn contends that the standard treatment of Du Bois turns a deaf ear to his writings. For if we're open to their religious timbre, those writings-from his epoch-making The Souls of Black Folk to his unstudied series of parables that depict the lynching of an African American Christ-reveal a virtual obsession with religion. Du Bois's moral, literary, and political imagination is inhabited by religious rhetoric, concepts and stories. Divine Discontent recovers and introduces readers to the remarkably complex and varied religious world in Du Bois's writings. It's a world of sermons, of religious virtues such as sacrifice and piety, of jeremiads that fight for a black American nation within the larger nation. Unlike other African American religious voices at the time, however, Du Bois's religious orientation is distinctly heterodox--it exists outside the bounds of institutional Christianity. Kahn shows how Du Bois self-consciously marshals religious rhetoric, concepts, typologies, narratives, virtues, and moods in order to challenge traditional Christian worldview in which events function to confirm a divine order. Du Bois's antimetaphysical religious voice, he argues, places him firmly in the American tradition of pragmatic religious naturalism typified by William James. This innovative reading of Du Bois should appeal to scholars of American religion, intellectual history, African American Studies, and philosophy of religion.

Judith Mariner's life is a portrait of non-conformity and unique experiences. She wasn't like the other girls in the '40s. She reveled in the outdoors and played with the boys. She discovered yoga and vegetarianism long before they became fads. She faced abuse of every kind and a feeling of "not enoughness" with everything she attempted. In high school, she taught herself to play tennis and became the state champion—twice. Through tenacity and conviction, she followed her artistic passions from the streets of Venice, Italy, to the barrios of Tucson, Arizona. She didn't care where she lived or how she made money, as long as she could paint and provide for her children. No matter what obstacles she faced, she found a way to survive and thrive, never losing the fire in her belly.

Thomas Merton continues to speak with a prophetic voice. The 2015 centenary of his birth provides an opportunity to reconsider both the international reputation and the relevance in today's world of a man who still intrigues, perplexes and challenges - as a Trappist monk, as a writer, as a contemplative, as a social critic, and (in the context of world faiths) as an ecumenist. Merton's extensive writings (many of which were not available until the late 1980s and 1990s) provide the basis of an examination of the various aspects of his story, permitting Merton to speak for himself whenever possible, but enabling also an analysis of his abiding fascination and the discontents - human and divine - that dominated so much of his life. In the light of all that he has to say, we are encouraged to look again at our preconceived ideas about the natural world, the prevailing culture, abuses of power, questions of war and peace, institutions and the freedom of the individual, contemplation and action - and the search for God.

Popular Bible teacher and author Youssef introduces readers to biblical characters who demonstrate the redemptive power of the journey of contentment. These men and women followed their restlessness back to the God who, in his grace, invites all to enter his rest.

What is the one aspect of this broken world that, when you see it, touch it, get near it, you just can’t stand? Very likely, that firestorm of frustration reflects your holy discontent, a reality so troubling that you are thrust off the couch and into the game. It’s during these defining times when your eyes open to the needs surrounding you and your heart hungers to respond that you hear God say, “I feel the same way about this problem. Now, let’s go solve it together!”Bill Hybels invites you to consider the dramatic impact your life will have when you allow your holy discontent to fuel instead of frustrate you. Using examples from the Bible, his own life, and the experiences of others, Hybels shows how you can find and feed your personal area of holy discontent, fight for it when things get risky, and follow it when it takes a mid-course turn. As you live from the energy of your holy discontent, you’ll fulfill your role in setting what is wrong in this world right!

Is it possible to be content when life is painful and disappointing? The Art of Divine Contentment considers the implications of the Apostle Paul's claim that he had learned to be content in any situation (Phil 4:11). Our discontent is sinful when we murmur against God and accuse Him of injustice or cruelty. But by frequently beholding God's sovereignty, love, and grace, we can learn to be more content in all circumstances. Thomas Watson (1620-1686) was an English Puritan preacher and author. Watson originally published The Art of Divine Contentment around 1660. The source text for this edition is from an 1829 printing by L. B. Seeley and Sons in London. This book is a complete sentence-by-sentence modern update of Watson’s original text. Updates include: New descriptive chapter and section headings. Modern English sentence structure. Modern English vocabulary. Added paragraph breaks for topic transitions. English Standard Version (ESV) scripture references. Full scripture quotations and annotations in footnotes. Active table of contents.