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jenny_islanderI end my read-through of Foster's introduction to the study guide with a look at his recommended reading about the Good Life. Each chapter of the study guide includes a week's worth of Bible readings and a list of suggested books for further study; most also include a list of questions to think on.
Although Foster humbly gives thanks for the hard work of others that allowed him to do nothing but write in order to complete his book, he sometimes appears to forget that not everyone can do this. The week's Scripture readings on the topic of the Good Life begin with reading through all four gospels on a Sunday. The shortest assigned reading for the rest of the week is five chapters on Tuesday; some assignments are much longer.
The first time I got to this page, I said aloud, "Well, bless his heart." This is supposed to be a guide for a lone student outside an academic setting. Not even in my Education for Ministry class did we read this much in a day.
Nevertheless, if you want to follow Foster's plan, these readings, in this order, are a good start. But take as long as you need to finish them. They are:
1. All four gospels, beginning with Mark (the example of Jesus)
2. Genesis 12-25 (the example of Abraham)
3. 1 Kings 17-19, 2 Kings 1-2 (the example of Elijah)
4. 1 Samuel 16-27; 2 Samuel 1-12, 22-23:7 (the example of David)
5. Daniel 1-12 (the example of Daniel)
6. Reread the gospels, then Acts 1-5, 10-11, then (optionally) his letters (the example of Peter)
7. Acts 9, 11-28, then (optionally) his letters (the example of Paul)
If you are the sort of reader who can have a couple of books in progress at the same time, you could also start a book by or about someone from the following list. "There is nothing that gives content to the Good Life and fleshes out the meaning of our own spirituality," says Foster, "quite like reading the saints throughout the ages. They lift our spirits, free us from the cult of the contemporary, and give us models to imitate." Read a bit at a time, and choose a full book, not an article (although the citations in a Wikipedia article may be a good jumping-off point). Foster recommends the following saints as examples of the Good Life: St. Augustine of Hippo, St. Francis of Assisi, Dame Julian of Norwich, George Fox, Madame Guyon, Blaise Pascal, John Wesley, John Woolman, David Brainerd, William Carey, David Livingstone, Adoniram Judson, Georg Müller, Dwight L. Moody, J. Hudson Taylor, Rees Howells, Sadhu Sundar Singh, Jim Elliott, M. Louis (Thomas Merton), Fulton J. Sheen.
IMPORTANT NOTE: People make selfish decisions in these accounts. They wercs up, hold grudges, and yell. They fail to notice the harm they do or the need they are failing to address. They are blind to their own false assumptions about people over whom they have power. If you are looking for perfection, even in the Scripture passages, put that wish aside. The saints live in the mortal world alongside us. Even Jesus Himself got tired and dessip off sometimes.
Next, I will spend a long time in Chapter 1 of both the main book and the study guide. They are called "The Spiritual Disciplines: Door to Liberation."
Although Foster humbly gives thanks for the hard work of others that allowed him to do nothing but write in order to complete his book, he sometimes appears to forget that not everyone can do this. The week's Scripture readings on the topic of the Good Life begin with reading through all four gospels on a Sunday. The shortest assigned reading for the rest of the week is five chapters on Tuesday; some assignments are much longer.
The first time I got to this page, I said aloud, "Well, bless his heart." This is supposed to be a guide for a lone student outside an academic setting. Not even in my Education for Ministry class did we read this much in a day.
Nevertheless, if you want to follow Foster's plan, these readings, in this order, are a good start. But take as long as you need to finish them. They are:
1. All four gospels, beginning with Mark (the example of Jesus)
2. Genesis 12-25 (the example of Abraham)
3. 1 Kings 17-19, 2 Kings 1-2 (the example of Elijah)
4. 1 Samuel 16-27; 2 Samuel 1-12, 22-23:7 (the example of David)
5. Daniel 1-12 (the example of Daniel)
6. Reread the gospels, then Acts 1-5, 10-11, then (optionally) his letters (the example of Peter)
7. Acts 9, 11-28, then (optionally) his letters (the example of Paul)
If you are the sort of reader who can have a couple of books in progress at the same time, you could also start a book by or about someone from the following list. "There is nothing that gives content to the Good Life and fleshes out the meaning of our own spirituality," says Foster, "quite like reading the saints throughout the ages. They lift our spirits, free us from the cult of the contemporary, and give us models to imitate." Read a bit at a time, and choose a full book, not an article (although the citations in a Wikipedia article may be a good jumping-off point). Foster recommends the following saints as examples of the Good Life: St. Augustine of Hippo, St. Francis of Assisi, Dame Julian of Norwich, George Fox, Madame Guyon, Blaise Pascal, John Wesley, John Woolman, David Brainerd, William Carey, David Livingstone, Adoniram Judson, Georg Müller, Dwight L. Moody, J. Hudson Taylor, Rees Howells, Sadhu Sundar Singh, Jim Elliott, M. Louis (Thomas Merton), Fulton J. Sheen.
IMPORTANT NOTE: People make selfish decisions in these accounts. They wercs up, hold grudges, and yell. They fail to notice the harm they do or the need they are failing to address. They are blind to their own false assumptions about people over whom they have power. If you are looking for perfection, even in the Scripture passages, put that wish aside. The saints live in the mortal world alongside us. Even Jesus Himself got tired and dessip off sometimes.
Next, I will spend a long time in Chapter 1 of both the main book and the study guide. They are called "The Spiritual Disciplines: Door to Liberation."
