Kent Dunnington - Böcker

Humility, Pride, and Christian Virtue Theory proposes an account of humility that relies on the most radical Christian sayings about humility, especially those found in Augustine and the early monastic tradition. It argues that this was the view of humility that put Christian moral thought into decisive conflict with the best Greco-Roman moral thought. This radical Christian account of humility has been forgotten amidst contemporary efforts to clarify and retrieve the virtue of humility for secular life. Kent Dunnington shows how humility was repurposed during the early-modern era-particularly in the thought of Hobbes, Hume, and Kant-to better serve the economic and social needs of the emerging modern state. This repurposed humility insisted on a role for proper pride alongside humility, as a necessary constituent of self-esteem and a necessary motive of consistent moral action over time. Contemporary philosophical accounts of humility continue this emphasis on proper pride as a counterbalance to humility. By contrast, radical Christian humility proscribes pride altogether. Dunnington demonstrates how such a radical view need not give rise to vices of humility such as servility and pusillanimity, nor need such a view fall prey to feminist critiques of humility. But the view of humility set forth makes little sense abstracted from a specific set of doctrinal commitments peculiar to Christianity. This study argues that this is a strength rather than a weakness of the account since it displays how Christianity matters for the shape of the moral life.

Why Our Understanding of Gratitude Must Be Reclaimed by Christian TheologyIs gratitude the path to a good life filled with happiness? Modern culture says yes. But what does Scripture say?Gratitude to God invites us to move beyond pop psychology and reclaim a robustly biblical understanding of thanksgiving, one that transforms how we experience life, suffering, and God's generosity. This book will help you● reclaim a biblical theology of gratitude rooted in Christian tradition;● overcome the vices that block gratitude, including resentment, pride, self-loathing, apathy, and distraction;● grow in spiritual formation through practical methods for cultivating gratitude to God, even in seasons of suffering and lament; and● experience life--trials and all--as gift and favor from a generous God.The positive psychology movement promotes gratitude as one of the keys to a good life--a posture that resonates with Christians seeking to live faithfully. But does our modern view of gratitude align with the experience, practice, and goals of gratitude described in Scripture?Kent Dunnington argues that our understanding of gratitude must be reclaimed by Christian theology if we are to experience our lives as evidence of God's generosity. Recognizing that gratitude to God often feels less natural than gratitude to others, he invites readers to walk with him on his journey to cultivate gratitude, even in seasons of suffering and lament. Along the way, Dunnington traces how cultural understandings of gratitude have shifted and examines the vices that block it.With a foreword by Rebecca Konyndyk DeYoung, this book offers a robust theological and philosophical perspective on gratitude to God--showing why biblical thanksgiving is at the very heart of spiritual growth and formation.