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Book ReviewA Book Review on "Money, Sex and Power" by Richard FosterFor those who want to learn how the traditional Catholic spirituality of living a life of poverty, chastity and obedience, can be transalated into living a life of simplicity, fidelity, and service.A brief introduction Richard Foster is a very creative author and writer. This book which he wrote on "Money, Sex and Power" is not only informative, but can teach us how we can truly live more committed lives as Christians in the contemporary world: a world full of industry, business, conglomerations, world politics, conflicts and scandals, complexity, disasters, wars, mistrust, discrimination, and many other new phenomenon that were not present when the Catholic tradition of poverty, chastity and obedience, was born before the 5th century A.D. Money, sex and power Three realities in which our humanity need to deal in the world for all time is: money, sex and power. Often, our human use of money, sex and power, is disordered by our sinfulness, and sin that lives about us. We get tempted to misuse, or abuse it. As regards money, we are often tempted by greed and avarice - putting our trust in it, more than God. With sex, it is the same thing. We see in it as a source to make life comfortable, easy, or as a source of inordinate pleasure. And instead of seeing persons as a subjects, we treat them as objects of money or pleasure. With regard to power, the temptation is also to misuse it, and abuse it. We mask much of our insecurity by displays of unnecessary anger, and flaunt our position and clout when we feel threatened by others' strengths and securities. Poverty, chastity and obedience Christians in the early centuries saw that the solution to this problem of the right use of money, sex and power, is through the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience. The religious vow of poverty regulates the desire for too much money. The religious vow of chastity regulates the desire for too much sex. And the religious vow of obedience regulates the desire for too much power. These religious, who were monks and nuns who lived in monasteries, are the ones who stabilized the spirituality of the Church for many centuries through their way of life. They still continue to exist up to now, but not as numerous as before. This is because life conditions have changed very much, and there are much more alternative responses to living the Christian life today. Simplicity, fidelity, and service Since many of us have to live in a very commercial and industrialized society, we cannot live like the monks and the nuns of long ago anymore. However, we can translate their example to our present time. And Richard Foster has written this book to show how we can translate that traditional Catholic spirituality for our time. For the vow of poverty, Richard Foster proposes the 'vow' of simplicity. For chastity, he proffers fidelity. And for obedience, service. His translation of the monastic and religious vows into our modern times is really very good. Many people can relate to it: especially those who wish to live more committed lives and to find solutions to living ethically and morally in today's global society. Richard Foster treats the 'vows' of simplicity, fidelity and service as responses to how we can rightly use the means of money, sexuality and power that is truly according to God's will. List of chapters in the book To get an idea of what is in the book, below is a listing of the titles of the chapters of the book:
This book is important for many, because much of the spirit in the world is leading us to the wrong use of money, sex and power. Money, sex and power are not evil in themselves. They are means by which we can do the will of God, and to help our brothers and sisters in our profession, state of life, or ways of earning a living. By living these Christian principles, we gain a wisdom of encountering the world ethically and relating to it in the manner of Christ. The wisdom that is contained in the book can guide all who seek to do God's will for our contemporary age. For those interested in this subject, this book can truly help in understanding better what Christian living really involves.
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