In the twelfth century, the Chinese Zen master Kakuan Shien produced the pictures, poems, and commentaries we know as the Ten Ox-Herding Pictures. They trace a universally recognizable path of contemplative spirituality, using the metaphor of a young ox-herder looking for his lost ox.According to Addison Hodges Hart, the Ten Ox-Herding Pictures and the teachings of Christ, the Good Shepherd who guides us to God, share a common vision. Both show us that authentic spiritual life must begin with an inner transformation of one's self, leading to an outward life that is natural and loving. In "The Ox-Herder and the Good Shepherd" Hart shares the story that these pictures tell, exploring how this ancient Buddhist parable can enrich and illumine the Christian way."Includes 10 color illustrations"

Blessed are the poor in spirit. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. You cannot serve God and mammon. Judge not, that you be not judged. Though such sayings from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount are very familiar, many people -- including Christians -- struggle to fully understand and follow them. For those who are brave enough to reconsider what Jesus really said, Addison Hodges Hart offers Taking Jesus at His Word.

Too often, Christians who find themselves feeling skeptical or melancholy are perplexed, troubled, or even ashamed. In Knowing Darkness Addison Hodges Hart provocatively argues that both skepticism and melancholy are not necessarily detrimental but can actually strengthen and deepen Christian faith. / Citing diverse examples ranging from Ecclesiastes and Job to Mother Teresa and Jack Kerouac, Hart shows how skepticism and sadness can inform faith -- and how genuine spiritual friendships can sustain those experiencing dark times. / Hart's forthright, engaging reflections will inspire readers to broaden their ideas about belief and thus find a more authentic faith.

Was Jesus ever married? Yes, indeed, says Addison Hodges Hart, who boldly asserts that the church's tradition has always regarded Jesus as "married" - but not in the way that recent sensationalist writers have claimed. Rather, Christ is "the Bridegroom" of "the Woman" in John's Gospel. In this book Hart explores John's rich, poetic imagery, particularly the metaphorical significance of "the Woman," embodied and imaged by Mary the mother of Jesus, the Samaritan woman, and Mary Magdalene. Hart shows what this image reveals about salvation, personal holiness, and the church as a whole. Inspired himself by the writings of early church fathers and medieval theologians, Hart presents John's Gospel as an incarnational, sacramental text and shows that it is primarily a revelation of salvation, deeply mystical and intended to lead its readers into a living relationship with the One who is the Bridegroom of his people. ADVANCED PRAISE: "The best books are short and deep, and The Woman, the Hour, and the Garden is just such a book. . . With the help of Christian art and piety Hart shows that `woman' is an icon of the gathered community, which leads to the bold conclusion that Christ is indeed married and has taken a bride, the church. This is a book for meditation, to be read slowly with the text of the Gospel in hand." - Robert Louis Wilken, University of Virginia

In this book Addison Hodges Hart asks some pointed questions: What sort of church must we become in a post-Christendom world, one in which we can no longer count on society to support Christian ideals? What can we salvage from our Christendom past that is of real value, and what can we leave behind as not practical - and perhaps antithetical - for our discipleship? How do we become "strangers and pilgrims" once more, after seventeen centuries of being "at home" in Christendom? Hart's book takes up these various topics, suggesting both how Christ's disciples can say "yes" to much that was preserved during the age of Christendom, and why they should say "no" to some of the cherished accretions of that passing epoch.

The Yoke of Jesus is an introduction to spiritual discipline, emphasizing the individual's devotion to Jesus. The thirteen chapters of The Yoke of Jesus explore the meaning of faith, our need for stillness and solitude, how we should read, how we must engage nature, how we ought to pray the Psalms, and much more. / Addison Hodges Hart works to deepen our understanding of essential spiritual disciplines, explaining them in terms both ancient and contemporary. The book is at once informative and pragmatic in its approach, grounding the disciplines in Scripture and patristic sources and making them relevant for Christians of the twenty-first century. Hart's vivid and intelligent language highlights the wisdom found here.