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Amazing Grace

A Vocabulary of Faith

By Kathleen Norris

By Kathleen Norris

By Kathleen Norris

By Kathleen Norris

Best Seller
Paperback $24.00

Apr 01, 1999 | ISBN 9781573227216

Ebook $4.99

Apr 01, 1999 | ISBN 9781101042526

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    Amazing Grace by Kathleen Norris
    Paperback $24.00
    Apr 01, 1999 | ISBN 9781573227216

    Buy from Other Retailers:

    See All Formats (1) +
    • $24.00

      Apr 01, 1999 | ISBN 9781573227216

      Buy from Other Retailers:

    • Apr 01, 1999 | ISBN 9781101042526

      Buy from Other Retailers:

    Buy the Ebook:

    About Amazing Grace

    A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR

    From the New York Times-bestselling author of The Cloister Walk, a book about Christianity, spirituality, and rediscovered faith.

    Struggling with her return to the Christian church after many years away, Kathleen Norris found it was the language of Christianity that most distanced her from faith. Words like “judgment,” “faith,” “dogma,” “salvation,” “sinner”—even “Christ”—formed what she called her “scary vocabulary,” words that had become so codified or abstract that their meanings were all but impenetrable. She found she had to wrestle with them and make them her own before they could confer their blessings and their grace. Blending history, theology, storytelling, etymology, and memoir, Norris uses these words as a starting point for reflection, and offers a moving account of her own gradual conversion. She evokes a rich spirituality rooted firmly in the chaos of everyday life—and offers believers and doubters alike an illuminating perspective on how we can embrace ancient traditions and find faith in the contemporary world.

    About Amazing Grace

    A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR

    From the New York Times-bestselling author of The Cloister Walk, a book about Christianity, spirituality, and rediscovered faith.

    Struggling with her return to the Christian church after many years away, Kathleen Norris found it was the language of Christianity that most distanced her from faith. Words like “judgment,” “faith,” “dogma,” “salvation,” “sinner”—even “Christ”—formed what she called her “scary vocabulary,” words that had become so codified or abstract that their meanings were all but impenetrable. She found she had to wrestle with them and make them her own before they could confer their blessings and their grace. Blending history, theology, storytelling, etymology, and memoir, Norris uses these words as a starting point for reflection, and offers a moving account of her own gradual conversion. She evokes a rich spirituality rooted firmly in the chaos of everyday life—and offers believers and doubters alike an illuminating perspective on how we can embrace ancient traditions and find faith in the contemporary world.

    Also by Kathleen Norris

    Acedia & me
    The Virgin of Bennington
    The Cloister Walk
    See all books by Kathleen Norris

    Also by Kathleen Norris

    Acedia & me
    The Virgin of Bennington
    The Cloister Walk
    See all books by Kathleen Norris

    About Kathleen Norris

    Kathleen Norris is the award-winning, bestselling author of Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith; The Cloister Walk; and Dakota: A Spiritual Geography. Her poems have appeared in The New Yorker, in various anthologies, and in her own three volumes of poetry. She divides her time… More about Kathleen Norris

    About Kathleen Norris

    Kathleen Norris is the award-winning, bestselling author of Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith; The Cloister Walk; and Dakota: A Spiritual Geography. Her poems have appeared in The New Yorker, in various anthologies, and in her own three volumes of poetry. She divides her time… More about Kathleen Norris

    Product Details

    Category: Religion | Spiritual Nonfiction

    Paperback | $24.00
    Published by Riverhead Books
    Apr 01, 1999 | 400 Pages | 5-1/2 x 8-1/4 | ISBN 9781573227216

    Category: Religion | Spiritual Nonfiction

    Ebook | $4.99
    Published by Riverhead Books
    Apr 01, 1999 | 400 Pages | ISBN 9781101042526

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    Praise

    “An engaging meditation on the language of faith.”—The New York Times Book Review

    “It’s hard to imagine less off-putting or pious writing about religion than this sublimely commonsensical lexicon of words and concepts that, as Kathleen Norris explains them, have rarely sounded less frightening—or quite so simple to understand.”—Elle

    “Definitely worthwhile reading… She combines an impressive understanding of theology with personal experience, making her essays read like letters from a highly literate friend.”—People

    “A unique and glorious voice.”—Boston Globe

    “[Kathleen Norris] writes about religion with the imagination of a poet.”—Chicago Tribune

    “One of the most eloquent yet earthbound spiritual writers of our time…frequently irreverent and funny… She makes us converts to her simple faith of warmth.” —San Francisco Chronicle

    Awards

    Books for a Better Life Book Award WINNER

    New York Times Notable Book WINNER

    Table Of Contents

    Amazing GracePreface

    Eschatology
    Antichrist
    Silence
    Salvation
    Inheritance: Blessing and Curse
    Incarnation
    Detachment
    Conversion: The Family Story
    Exorcism
    Perfection
    Prayer
    Belief, Doubt, and Sacred Ambiguity
    Repentance
    Annunciation
    Inheritance: What Religion Were You Raised in, and WhatAre You Now?
    Commandments
    Idolatry
    Bible
    Righteous
    Conversion: The Stories
    God
    Blood
    Virgin Mary, Mother of God
    Anger
    Conversion: The Feminist Impasse
    Chosen
    Fear
    Conversion: One More Boom
    Grace
    Intolerance/Forbearance
    Christ
    Sinner, Wretch, and Reprobate
    Faith
    Good and Evil
    Preaching
    The Bible: Illiteracies and Ironies
    Heresy/Apostasy
    Creeds
    Orthodoxy
    God-Talk
    Inquisition
    Oppression
    Herod
    Conversion: The Wild West
    Ecstasy
    Medieval
    Christian
    The Bible Study
    Worship
    Conversion: My Ebenezer
    The Bible: Give Me a Word
    “Organized” Religion
    Hospitality
    Church
    Lectio Divina
    Mystic
    Trinity
    Seeking
    Conversion: The Scary Stuff
    Evangelism
    Imagination (Or, How Many Christians Does It Take to Balance N. Scott Momaday?)
    Unchurched
    Hell
    Judgment
    Apocalypse
    Prayer as Remembrance: The Expert Marksman’s Medal
    Dogma
    Angels
    Wickedness
    Interpretation: “I Know Not”
    Revelation
    Pentecostal
    Prayer as Mystery
    Neighbor
    Theology
    Asceticism
    Heaven
    Infallibility
    Truth
    The New Jerusalem

    Acknowledgments

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