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Tales of Faith: A Guide to Sharing the Gospel through Literature

Tales of Faith: A Guide to Sharing the Gospel through Literature

by Holly Ordway

Format
Regular price $29.95 USD
Regular price $29.95 USD Sale price $29.95 USD
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Winner of the CMA 2023 Book Award for Faith Formation (3rd Place)

How can we share the Gospel and make disciples in our modern culture? Many people, including young people from Christian homes, are walking away from the faith, or have never had it presented to them in a compelling manner. However, our polemical, distracted media environment makes it difficult to have thoughtful discussions about anything. In this context, literature and the arts have a powerful role to play by providing an engaging and inviting way to share the Christian faith.

In Tales of Faith, Holly Ordway shows how literature—and especially old literature—can foster fruitful discussions that allow us to meet people where they are and help them move closer to knowing Christ, or to knowing and loving him more fully and deeply. Here, readers will find a practical, accessible guide to using literature to discuss topics such as the nature of God, virtues and vices, the Crucifixion, longing and sadness, and much more. For each literary text, Ordway provides an introductory essay, a selection from the text (or the whole poem for short pieces), questions for discussion or personal reflection, activities, and recommended resources.

Drawing from ancient classics like the Odyssey and the Aeneid and medieval masterpieces like Beowulf and the Divine Comedy, and providing both practical advice and spiritual guidance for the reader, Tales of Faith offers teachers, parents, and all lovers of classic literature an invaluable resource for sharing the faith through story.

Details

Publisher: Word on Fire
ISBN: 9781685780128
Binding: Hardcover
Page count: 192
Dimensions: 6.25 x 9.25 (in)
Thickness: 0.8 (in)
Made in: United States
Language: English
Release date: Jul 18, 2022

About the Author

Holly Ordway

Holly Ordway is the Cardinal Francis George Professor of Faith and Culture at the Word on Fire Institute and Visiting Professor of Apologetics at Houston Christian University. She holds a PhD in English from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and is a Subject Editor for the Journal of Inklings Studies. Her book Tolkien’s Modern Reading: Middle-earth Beyond the Middle Ages received the 2022 Mythopoeic Scholarship Award in Inklings Studies.

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Our products may be returned if they were purchased within the last 90 days, are unused, and are still in their original packaging. Original shipping costs are already collected by the shipper, and therefore the original shipping costs are not refundable.

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About the Author

Holly Ordway is the Cardinal Francis George Professor of Faith and Culture at the Word on Fire Institute and Visiting Professor of Apologetics at Houston Christian University. She holds a PhD in English from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and is a Subject Editor for the Journal of Inklings Studies. Her book Tolkien’s Modern Reading: Middle-earth Beyond the Middle Ages received the 2022 Mythopoeic Scholarship Award in Inklings Studies.

What People are Saying

Haley Stewart headshot

“Tales of Faith will make you a better reader, thinker, and evangelizer. With Dr. Holly Ordway as your expert guide, you will not only encounter beautiful and fascinating stories and poems from Ancient Greece to medieval Italy; you will be equipped to share and discuss literature with others. This book will be an invaluable resource for educators, parents, and friends to begin deep conversations about virtue, God, and the meaning of life through the power of story.”

—Haley Stewart, author of Jane Austen’s Genius Guide to Life: On Love, Friendship, and Becoming the Person God Created You to Be and co-host of The Fountains of Carrots Podcast

Smiling woman with long brown hair wearing hoop earrings and a blue top, posed in front of a blurred brick wall background.

“Holly Ordway draws from her years of teaching to introduce Christians to the richness of the Western literary tradition. This practical guide shows readers the ways that literature can lead us through its beauty to deep discipleship.”

—Jessica Hooten Wilson, author of The Scandal of Holiness: Renewing Your Imagination in the Company of Literary Saints

Louis Markos headshot

“Holly Ordway has provided the Christian community with a much needed and very accessible reader of classical and medieval literature. She not only provides the necessary background and interpretive help; she asks probing questions that will push modern Christians to wrestle with issues of perennial importance. She is a knowledgeable and reliable guide, and I highly recommend her book for homeschoolers, classical Christian schools, and parish reading groups.”

—Louis Markos, Professor in English and Scholar in Residence, Houston Baptist University, and author of The Myth Made Fact: Reading Greek and Roman Mythology through Christian Eyes

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