On Humanality

HUMANALITY

I hereby officially affirm and engage a fresh term (at least to me, and not one that has much usage that I can find elsewhere) that I will use, and would like to inject especially into the Church conversation, often noted as a typo for another word, but having its own uniqueness:

Humanality: The degree to which an idea, action or experience edifies the human soul and restores the quality, dignity and vitality of personhood.

Based on the origins narrative of the Hebrew book of Genesis, specifically the concept of the imago Dei, unique in content to the biblical origins narrative, humanality is a word aiding qualitative analysis (perhaps quantitative as well, if someone can convince me) of the activities of culture today in relation to their service to human dignity.

At the Institute, we talk about renewing worship forms that “re-humanize” people in the face of a “dehumanizing” culture (and sometimes, in the face of what can be, unchecked, a dehumanizing Church sub-culture).

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Sheltering Mercy: Prayers Inspired by the Psalms

Sheltering Mercy, along with its companion volume, Endless Grace, helps us rediscover the rich treasures of the Psalms—through free-verse prayer renderings of their poems and hymns—as a guide to personal devotion and meditation.

The church has always used the Psalms as part of its prayer life, and they have inspired countless other prayers. This book contains 75 prayers drawn from Psalms 1-75, providing lyrical sketches of what authors Ryan Smith and Dan Wilt have seen, heard, and felt while sojourning in the Psalms. Each prayer is a response to the Psalms written in harmony with Scripture. These prayers help us quiet our hearts before God and welcome us into a safe place amid the storms of life.

This artful, poetic, and classic devotional book features compelling custom illustrations and foil-stamped hardcover binding, offering a fresh way to reflect on and pray the Psalms.