Open and Unafraid: The Psalms as a Guide to Life
Written by W. David O. Taylor and Eugene H. Peterson
Narrated by Tim Lundeen
4.5/5
()
About this audiobook
"A book you will want to read and read again." -- Eugene Peterson
Afterword by Bono.
How can we find a more transparent, resilient, and fearless life of faith?
The book of Psalms has been central to God's people for millennia, across all walks of life and cultural contexts. In reading it, we discover that we are never alone in our joys, sorrows, angers, doubts, praises, or thanksgivings. In it, we learn about prayer and poetry, honesty and community, justice and enemies, life and death, nations and creation. Open and Unafraid shows us how to read the psalms in a fresh, life-giving way, and so access the bottomless resources for life that they provide.
"David Taylor’s take is 'open and unafraid' alright. He really goes there, exposing himself before God in the most beautiful way. He might have called the book Naked, because if you don’t find your own self feeling a little exposed here, it might be time to take some armor off." -- Bono, from the Afterword
"A book that you will want to read and read again, and yet again, in order to discover the wisdom of the Psalms that shows us how to walk in the life-giving way of Jesus." -- Eugene Peterson, from the Foreword
"A winsome, accessible entry into the Book of Psalms…Connects the poetry of the psalms to real-life wonders and struggles." -- Walter Brueggemann, Columbia Theological Seminary
"Taylor reads these biblical prayers with Dr. Seuss, rappers, and other poets, along with theologians and the daily news....Guides readers in tracing out patterns of holy speech that have the potential for healing our hearts and our communities." -- Ellen F. Davis, Duke Divinity School
"I have always loved the psalms--for their defiant devotion, their deep joy, and their brutal yet beautiful honesty. And after reading this fantastic book about them, I love them even more." -- Matt Redman, worship leader and song writer
"In these fraught and fearsome days, we need the psalms more than ever. And we need more faithful artists and thinkers like David Taylor to mine the infinite gifts the psalms offer across the ages." -- Karen Swallow Prior, author of Fierce Convictions
W. David O. Taylor
W. David O. Taylor (ThD, Duke Divinity School) is associate professor of theology and culture at Fuller Theological Seminary and the producer of a short film on the psalms with Bono and Eugene Peterson. An ordained Anglican minister, he is the author of Open and Unafraid: The Psalms as a Guide to Life, Glimpses of the New Creation: Worship and the Formative Power of the Arts, and The Theater of God's Glory: Calvin, Creation, and the Liturgical Arts, the co-editor of Contemporary Art and the Church, and the editor of For the Beauty of the Church: Casting a Vision for the Arts.
Related to Open and Unafraid
Related audiobooks
Being with God: The Absurdity, Necessity, and Neurology of Contemplative Prayer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Reluctant Witness: Discovering the Delight of Spiritual Conversations Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Deep Down Things: Practices for Growing Hope in Times of Despair Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIn Constant Prayer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Survival Guide for the Soul: How to Flourish Spiritually in a World that Pressures Us to Achieve Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Room of Marvels: A Story about Heaven that Heals the Heart Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pilgrimage of a Soul: Contemplative Spirituality for the Active Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5God on Mute: Engaging the Silence of Unanswered Prayer Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Soul Feast: An Invitation to the Christian Spiritual Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Sabbath: The Ancient Practices Series Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Courage for Caregivers: Sustenance for the Journey in Company with Henri J. M. Nouwen Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsChrist Plays in Ten Thousand Places: A Conversation in Spiritual Theology Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Remarkable Ordinary: How to Stop, Look, and Listen to Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Prayer in the Night: For Those Who Work or Watch or Weep Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Crazy, Holy Grace: The Healing Power of Pain and Memory Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5He Speaks in the Silence: Finding Intimacy with God by Learning to Listen Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5God Walk: Moving at the Speed of Your Soul Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Way Up is Down: Becoming Yourself by Forgetting Yourself Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Chasing Wisdom: The Lifelong Pursuit of Living Well Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Having the Mind of Christ: Eight Axioms to Cultivate a Robust Faith Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Art and Faith: A Theology of Making Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Courage, Dear Heart: Letters to a Weary World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Learning Humility: A Year of Searching for a Vanishing Virtue Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5On the Road with Saint Augustine: A Real-World Spirituality for Restless Hearts Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Surprised by Paradox: The Promise of "And" in an Either-Or World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Honest Advent: Awakening to the Wonder of God-with-Us Then, Here, and Now Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Habit Called Faith: 40 Days in the Bible to Find and Follow Jesus Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Our Hearts Wait: Worshiping Through Praise and Lament in the Psalms (Walter Brueggemann Library) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLetters to a Young Congregation: Nurturing the Growth of a Faithful Church Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Inhabit Time: Understanding the Past, Facing the Future, Living Faithfully Now Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Christianity For You
The Great Divorce Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Boundaries Updated and Expanded Edition: When to Say Yes, How to Say No To Take Control of Your Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Becoming Free Indeed: My Story of Disentangling Faith from Fear Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mere Christianity Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5All My Knotted-Up Life: A Memoir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Grief Observed Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Four Loves Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Good Boundaries and Goodbyes: Loving Others Without Losing the Best of Who You Are Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Decluttering at the Speed of Life: Winning Your Never-Ending Battle with Stuff Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The 5 Love Languages Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Boundaries: When To Say Yes, How to Say No Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Girl, Wash Your Face: Stop Believing the Lies About Who You Are so You Can Become Who You Were Meant to Be Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5More Than a Carpenter Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus: Third Edition with Bonus Content, New Reflections Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Present Over Perfect: Leaving Behind Frantic for a Simpler, More Soulful Way of Living Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Holy Bible in Audio - King James Version: The Complete Old & New Testament Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Boundaries in Marriage: Understanding the Choices That Make or Break Loving Relationships Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Garden Within: Where the War with Your Emotions Ends and Your Most Powerful Life Begins Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Weight of Glory Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Uninvited: Living Loved When You Feel Less Than, Left Out, and Lonely Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Cost of Discipleship Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Winning the War in Your Mind: Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mary Magdalene: Women, the Church, and the Great Deception Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Barn at the End of the World: The Apprenticeship of a Quaker, Buddhist Shepherd Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Open and Unafraid
14 ratings1 review
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to be--just BE--with God. When thoughtful, joyful, angry, lost, hopeful, distressed, creative, in a black hole ... you can still be. With God.