Description
Book SynopsisA powerful reflection on human affliction in the stories of some remarkable individuals.
Paul Murray is not only an academic, a preacher and published poet, he is also a superb pastor. During his ministry, he has dealt with some extraordinary people - not least a South African who was convicted of murder and hanged under Apartheid. Drawing on this remarkable experience, the reader is offered here a sustained meditation on the meaning of affliction and suffering in a way that is ultimately the story of human triumph and the ultimate victory of the Cross. The book concludes with Paul Murray''s extraordinary meditations on the Seven Last Words from the Cross in which the wealth of his pastoral experience is fully brought to bear.
Scars is the account of men and women of all ages who have survived major crises or tragedies of one kind or another: the scourge of drug addiction, the misery of long-term imprisonment, severe illness, the burden of remembered vi
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements Introduction Part One - Impossible Words: Essays on affliction 1. The fourth friend 2. Bad health - good news? 3. 'I have tears and hope' 4. A friend dying Part Two - The dark hours: Songs for the afflicted Introduction Part Three - The Scars of God Introduction 1 'Father, forgive them for they know not what they do' 2 'Today you will be with me in Paradise' 3 'Behold your mother!' 4 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?' 5 'I thirst!' 6 'It is finished!' 7 'Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.' Notes
