Longing for God

Christians, as a second-century anonymous epistle notes, "pass their days on earth, but are citizens of heaven." In this companion volume to God with Us: Critical Issues in Christian Life and Faith, Fr John Breck continues his exploration of the ethical and moral dilemmas facing believers who live in the flesh but not for the flesh.

His reflections, among others, include: Are the Stories of Jesus' Birth True?; Why Read the Church Fathers?; Maggie, Terri, and the Problem of Life-Support; Hurricanes and Hummingbirds; Poker, R.I.P.; The Gift of Silence; Prayer in the Spirit; What They Didn't Teach Me in Seminary; Church Billboard Slogans.

Throughout the book, a "holy eros," a longing for God, intersects the mundane and transfigures the ordinary, directing our gaze toward the Love we long to know beyond all else. Fr John refracts common perceptions--media messages, politically charged issues, and even religious suppositions-- through a lens that takes account of the crucified and risen Lord.

About the Author: Eminent Orthodox ethicist and pastor, the Very Rev John Breck is Professor of Biblical Interpretation and Ethics at St Sergius Theological Institute, Paris, and was formerly Professor of New Testament and Ethics at St Vladimir's Seminary. With his wife, Lyn, he directs the St Silouan Retreat Center near Charleston, S.C.