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Books > Religion & Spirituality > Aspects of religions (non-Christian) > Religious life & practice
In a world that's difficult to make sense of, and a season that's
so often overtaken by consumerism, here you'll find heart-stirring
illustrations and thought-provoking meditations designed to show
you the raw, powerfully sacred story of Christmas in a new light.
Has the joy of the holiday season become painfully dissonant with
the hard edges of life? Do you feel weary from the way Christmas
has become a polished, predictable brand? You aren't alone. For too
many of us, Christmas has lost its wonder. What if we stopped
treating the Christmas story as something that happened a long time
ago and started believing that it's a story that's still happening
today? From celebrated artist and storyteller Scott Erickson comes
Honest Advent, 25 days of illustrations and meditations that will
help you rekindle the wonder of this season. Honest Advent creates
a space for you to encounter the Incarnate Christ in unexpected
places: like a pregnancy announcement in an era of political unrest
and empirical bloodshed, the morning sickness of a Middle Eastern
teenager, and the shocking biology of birth that goes far beyond
the sanitized brand of Christmas as we know it today. Within the
pages of Honest Advent, Erickson teaches us the valuable lessons
he's learned about: Finding hope and light in the darkest winters
What it means to embrace the unexpected How God uses everyday
vulnerability to help us understand ourselves, and our faith,
better Through powerful benedictions, prayers, and questions for
honest reflection, you'll discover how the wonder of God-with-Us is
still happening today: in your unexpected change of plans, your
unaccomplished dreams, your overcrowded lodging, and your humble
stories of new beginnings. Praise for Honest Advent: "Scott
Erickson's beautifully crafted book helped me see God-with-Us with
fresh eyes. Honest Advent is no shallow seasonal gift book; it's an
invitation to explore the divine flourishes of everyday human
vulnerabilities. A transformative read, regardless of the time of
year." --Jonathan Merritt, author of Learning to Speak God from
Scratch "Beautiful. Evocative. A wake-up call to the mystery of
life." --John Mark Comer, author of The Ruthless Elimination of
Hurry
In what ways do Buddhists recognize, define, and sort waste from
non-waste? What happens to Buddhist-related waste? How do new
practices of Buddhist consumption result in new forms of waste and
consequently new ways of dealing with waste? This book explores
these questions in a close examination of a religion that is often
portrayed as anti-materialist and non-economic. It provides insight
into the complexity of Buddhist consumption, conceptions of waste,
and waste care. Examples include scripture that has been torn and
cannot be read, or an amulet that has disintegrated, as well as
garbage left behind on a pilgrimage, or the offerings of food and
prayer scarves that create ecological contamination. Chapters cover
mass-production and over-consumption, the wastefulness of
consumerism, the by-products of Buddhist practices like rituals and
festivals, and the impact of increased Buddhist consumption on
religious practices and social relations. The book also looks at
waste in terms of what is discarded, exploring issues of when and
why particular objects and practices are sorted and handled as
sacred and disposable. Contributors address how sacred materiality
is destined to wear and decay, as well as ideas about
redistribution, regeneration or recycling, and the idea of waste as
afterlife.
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