{"product_id":"the-body-broken","title":"The Body Broken - Answering God's Call to Love One Another","description":"\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Body Broken\u003c\/i\u003e is an honest and moving meditation on  the Gospel  imperative to love one another as brothers and sisters, even  as we  choose to live and express our faith in differing ways.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eA  lifelong Christian and seeker, Robert Benson has shared the prayers,  rituals, conversations, and practices of many different denominations.  His broad range of ecumenical experiences have led to moments of great  joy and deep fellowship, but they have also opened his eyes to the  misunderstanding and the intolerance that constantly threaten to  dismember the whole Body of Christ. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBenson writes longingly  about the things of the faith that bind us together and gracefully about  the things that keep us apart. He recounts his own journey from  Nazarene to Methodist to Episcopalian and introduces us to the people  and the differing expressions of faith he encountered along the way. We  meet ordinary folk, including Benson's family and childhood friends, as  well as legendary religious thinkers as Henri Nouwen. Some of the  stories--particularly the ones about his own brother's suicide--are  heartbreakingly painful; others bring to light the joy and grace of  Christian love as found in acts of common worship and compassion.  Although Benson acknowledges that there are--and always will be--very  real differences in the ways that Christians seek to live out their  faith, he reminds us of the essential beliefs that we share about God  and our common dependency on God's mysterious mercy and grace, even as  we look for God as through a glass darkly.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn poetic prose that  is reminiscent of the writing of Frederick Buechner and Annie Dillard,  Benson illuminates, with wit and wisdom and humility and passion, one of  the most difficult challenges that face the Church. \u003ci\u003eThe Body Broken\u003c\/i\u003e is a powerful, important examination of the intolerance and  divisiveness that have become an all too familiar part of the Church and  a gentle, poignant call for a Christian community that embraces a  spirit of love and unity even as it honors our differences.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51230383145248,"sku":"9781400070763","price":10.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0836\/3661\/7504\/files\/9781400070763.jpg?v=1770861535","url":"https:\/\/creativebysanchez.com\/products\/the-body-broken","provider":"Creative By Sanchez","version":"1.0","type":"link"}