Eight Questions of Faith

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Eight Questions of Faith

Biblical Challenges That Guide and Ground Our Lives

Niles Elliot Goldstein

188 pages

Paperback

September 2015

978-0-8276-1219-8

$19.95 Add to Cart
eBook (PDF)
Ebook purchases delivered via Leaf e-Reader

September 2015

978-0-8276-1244-0

$19.95 Add to Cart
eBook (EPUB)
Ebook purchases delivered via Leaf e-Reader

September 2015

978-0-8276-1242-6

$19.95 Add to Cart

About the Book

Eight Questions of Faith is a spiritual exploration of some of life’s biggest questions—questions that have been asked by prophets and kings, mystics and sinners—that continue to be asked by every one of us today.


Niles Elliot Goldstein uses eight questions found in the Bible to explore the human journey from cradle to grave, confronting such important existential experiences and themes as mortality, responsibility, forbidden knowledge, sin, and the afterlife. By interweaving texts from the Bible, commentaries, philosophy, psychology, and literature with his own experiences, Goldstein also meditates on midlife. This book will appeal to believers and nonbelievers alike and is aimed at anyone who has ever faced a challenge or wondered what life is all about.
 

Author Bio

Niles Elliot Goldstein is the director of development at the Center for Interfaith Engagement and a lecturer at Loyola University Chicago. He is the award-winning author or editor of nine books, including Gonzo Judaism: A Bold Path for Renewing an Ancient Faith and God at the Edge: Searching for the Divine in Uncomfortable and Unexpected Places.

Praise

"The great value of this book is in the way the reader will take the author’s experiences, personalize his questions, and move toward more meaningful choices in his or her own life."—Arnold D. Samlan, Jewish Book Council

"More than a study, Goldstein's book is a midlife meditation on the imperfections and ambiguities of human life and the chronicle of a very personal and often painful struggle to attain authenticity and wholeness."—Kristine Morris, Foreword Reviews

"Eight Questions of Faith provokes readers to examine the meaning of their own life."—Nira Wolfe, Association of Jewish Libraries

"A genuine contribution to contemporary explorations of the intersection of Judaism and real life issues that every person faces."—Peter Knobel, CCAR Journal

“Here is a personal journey whose signposts are biblical tales and spiritual insights of the masters. Niles Goldstein asks ever-deepening questions, leaving the reader both uplifted and enlightened.”—Rabbi David Wolpe, Sinai Temple, Los Angeles, and author of Why Faith Matters
 
 

“Weaving insights from personal experience with philosophical perspective and religious wisdom, Niles Goldstein has provided a thoughtful, provocative, and accessible context in which readers can find their own way toward inner growth.”—Rev. Dirk Ficca, former executive director of the Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions
 

Table of Contents

Introduction
1. Between Cradle and Grave
“Why did I ever issue from the womb?” (Jeremiah 20:18)
2. The Strong and Silent Type
“Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?” (Exodus 3:11)
3. Rules, Regs, and Rebellion
“Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4:9)
4. Mission (Im)Possible
“What does the LORD your God demand of you?” (Deuteronomy 10:12)
5. A Definition of Madness
“What is this you have done?” (Genesis 3:13)
6. Separation Anxiety
“My God, my God, why have You abandoned me?” (Psalms 22:2)
7. Return, Repair, Repent
“How shall we return?” (Malachi 3:7)
8. Down in the Valley
“If a man dies, can he live again?” (Job 14:14)
Conclusion
Acknowledgments

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