Learning Humility: A Year of Searching for a Vanishing Virtue
Written by Richard J. Foster
Narrated by Richard J. Foster
4/5
()
About this audiobook
Using the Lakota calendar as a framework, Foster provides us with a look into the insights he gathered from sources ranging from Native American culture to Julian of Norwich to Scripture to personal friends. By engaging with both the spiritual classics and Foster's own experiences, Learning Humility provides profound insight into what humility can look like in our current cultural climate.
Join Richard Foster on the journey toward a life of humility, which he says leads us into "freedom, joy, and holy hilarity."
Richard J. Foster
Richard J. Foster is the author of several bestselling books, including Celebration of Discipline, Streams of Living Water, Life with God, and Prayer, which was Christianity Today's Book of the Year and the winner of the Gold Medallion Award from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association. He is the founder of Renovaré, an organization and a movement committed to the renewal of the church of Jesus Christ in all its multifaceted expressions, and the editor of The Life with God Bible.
More audiobooks from Richard J. Foster
Prayer Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Celebration of Discipline Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5STREAMS OF LIVING WATER Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Eternal Living: Reflections on Dallas Willard's Teaching on Faith and Formation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sanctuary of the Soul: Journey into Meditative Prayer Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Prayer Selections Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Preparing for Heaven: What Dallas Willard Taught Me About Living, Dying, and Eternal Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fire of the Word: Meeting God on Holy Ground Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Related to Learning Humility
Related audiobooks
*Making of an Ordinary Saint: My Journey from Frustration to Joy with the Spiritual Disciplines Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5God Walk: Moving at the Speed of Your Soul Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Different Way: Recentering the Christian Life Around Following Jesus Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Souvenirs of Solitude: Finding Rest in Abba's Embrace Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Rest of God: Restoring Your Soul by Restoring Sabbath Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hidden in Plain Sight: The Secret of More Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Recapturing the Wonder: Transcendent Faith in a Disenchanted World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Sacred Way: Spiritual Practices for Everyday Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Deep Down Things: Practices for Growing Hope in Times of Despair Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Gift of Thorns: Jesus, the Flesh, and the War for Our Wants Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5You Are a Tree: And Other Metaphors to Nourish Life, Thought, and Prayer Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Searching for Enough: The High-Wire Walk Between Doubt and Faith Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Hidden in Christ: Living as God's Beloved (Apprentice Resources) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Sacred Meal: The Ancient Practices Series Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTeach Us to Want: Longing, Ambition and the Life of Faith Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Magnificent Journey: Living Deep in the Kingdom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Invitation to Solitude and Silence: Experiencing God's Transforming Presence Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Opening to God: Lectio Divina and Life as Prayer Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Invitation to Retreat: The Gift and Necessity of Time Away with God Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Sanctuary of the Soul: Journey into Meditative Prayer Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Embracing Rhythms of Work and Rest: From Sabbath to Sabbatical and Back Again Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Connected Life: The Art and Science of Relational Spirituality Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Gift of Being Yourself: The Sacred Call to Self-Discovery Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Streams in the Wasteland: Finding Spiritual Renewal with the Desert Fathers and Mothers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Invitation to a Journey: A Road Map for Spiritual Formation Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Sacred Rhythms: Arranging Our Lives for Spiritual Transformation Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Becoming Dallas Willard: The Formation of a Philosopher, Teacher, and Christ Follower Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Rhythms of Rest: Finding the Spirit of Sabbath in a Busy World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Deeper Journey: The Spirituality of Discovering Your True Self Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Ethnic & Tribal Religions For You
The Golden Bough Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Yemaya: Orisha, Goddess, and Queen of the Sea Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Conjuring the Calabash: Empowering Women with Hoodoo Spells & Magick Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhen Plants Dream: Ayahuasca, Amazonian Shamanism, and the Global Psychedelic Renaissance Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Finding Soul on the Path of Orisa: A West African Spiritual Tradition Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Toltec Insights And Truths Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Orishas, Goddesses, and Voodoo Queens: The Divine Feminine in the African Religious Traditions Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Espiritismo: Puerto Rican Mediumship & Magic Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ritual: Power, Healing and Community Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The 21 Divisions: Mysteries and Magic of Dominican Voodoo Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Exploring The Hidden Kingdom Of Fungi Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5African American Magick: A Modern Grimoire for the Natural Home Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Old Style Conjure: Hoodoo, Rootwork, & Folk Magic Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Haitian Vodou: An Introduction to Haiti's Indigenous Spiritual Tradition Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Hoodoo Your Love: Conjure the Love You Want (and Keep It) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Indigenous Traditional Healing Techniques In Altered States of Consciousness Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Santeria: The Religion Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Hopi Survival Kit: The Prophecies, Instructions and Warnings Revealed by the Last Elders Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An Offering of Native Wisdom Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFrom Girl To Wise-Woman Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUnmasking The Gentiles: The Secret Plot To Replace Israel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Santería: Mastering the Power of Lucumí Spells, Rituals, and Sacred Orishas for Spiritual Growth and Personal Empowerment Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Healing Tree: Botanicals, Remedies, and Rituals from African Folk Traditions Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCircling the Earth: Creation Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSpirit Service: Vodún and Vodou in the African Atlantic World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mayan Myth and Legend Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMore Than Equals: Racial Healing for the Sake of the Gospel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Infinite Field Of Possibilities: Viewing Change Through A Kaleidoscope Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Reviews for Learning Humility
27 ratings6 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Foster's latest book is a journal detailing his reflections and explorations on the subject of humility. The book is not a systematic treatment of the subject but rather a meandering journey. However, the method seems especially suited to his subject. Foster juxtaposes the insights on humility that he learns with reflections on the Lakota people (both their rich spiritual resources and the injustices they experience). In a way, it reveals a humble people's experience facing the evil of arrogance and pride. I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to consider the value of humility in their own lives, as well as the importance many historic voices of the church place on the virtue. I received a copy of this book from the publisher. The opinions in this review are my own.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This book was far more rambling than I expected. And I am not saying that's a bad thing at all. In many ways, it is precisely why I enjoyed meandering through its pages -- especially when a quote or an anecdote sparked a long forgotten memory from my youth. Whether it was a quote from Thomas Acquinas or a memory of Christmas Eves long ago... what I got from reading it, was a sense of some treasured remembrances of my own earlier years. I also enjoyed the Native American background, and felt much human connection there as well. Joys, sadness, smiles, tears... all part of everyone's life. Yes, a tad unusual a book, yet I found it to be a rewarding one to enjoy at a slower than expected pace.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I think I may have enjoyed this author (though well known in Christian world, new to me) more than the content itself. He seems to be a very nice man, one I'd like to have in my friend group. I was not aware this author/book would delve into this issue with such a Christian lens. I thought the book would take a look at humility through the predominant world religions (Buddhist, Baha'i, etc.), so I was disappointed. I enjoyed the Lakota writings the best and thank the author for the selections he added at the end for further reading. The problem for me is that I find the Christian religions so lacking in humility, that I left the Christian church. Perhaps if the Christian community would read Mr. Foster's book...
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Three main things readers need to know about this book:1. Richard J. Foster is the same author who wrote "Celebration of Discipline." He's known for offering "strong meat" thoughts for "mature" Christians.2. Though his own ancestors were Anishinaabe, in this book he's reading Lakota history along with several Christian books that mention humility, from Benedict or Nursia to Philip Yancey. The juxtaposition makes more than one strong political statement if you think about it, not only because it's humbling (if not humiliating) to consider some incidents in Lakota history, but because the Lakota/Dakota/Nakota people who greeted everyone by identifying themselves as a "kota" (or kola or koda) were thereby practicing a kind of humility that had nothing to do with "worm theology." (Most of my generation have read some dreadful, exploitative, syncretistic drivel about Lakota or Dakota spirituality, probably between 1985 and 1995. I mention that sort of books because "Learning Humility" is not one of them.)3. As explained in the text, when he was younger Foster wrote tightly structured, information-packed, long books by studying, writing, and revising fourteen hours a day. This book, written at age 80, is a personal journal consisting of short, loosely connected, blog-post-type reflections. Often he says, in a very Quakerish tone, "I'll think about this," but doesn't mention the idea or book again. A younger writer might be told that "Learning Humility" is a batch of notes toward a future book. The fruit of a well-spent writing life is that Foster has fans who will love this book just the way it is. If you think about it, this book makes philosophical, political, and psychological statements as important as its devotional ones.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Learning Humility: A Year of Searching for a Vanishing Virtue is an engaging read. The author brilliantly paints a vivid picture using his prose.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5[The following is a review of the Advance Reader's Copy (ARC)]Foster is emminently readable, and the result is a rich understanding of the place for and steps to humble living in modern culture. Pride fuels the pursuit of wealth and power and is a zero-sum game, but humility in one blesses all.From the last chapter, the following makes a good summary: - Be brave enough to learn humility. - Be strong enough to learn humility. - Be courageous enough to learn humility. - Be compassionate enough to learn humility.Extra Credit - Can you spot the astronomical error in the ARC cover image?