Amy Peterson - Where Goodness Still Grows: Reclaiming Virtue in an Age of Hypocrisy

PRAISE FOR WHERE GOODNESS STILL GROWS

If the church of your childhood has broken your heartparticularly, politicallyif your faith foundations have been shaken by betrayal and complicity, it might seem quaint to turn toward virtues. And yet what are we yearning for but embodied goodness? Amy has given us a well-researched, beautifully written, strong book about the virtues necessary for the apocalypse. We need to lean in further to discernment, lament, love, and hospitality, not in a weak be nice sort of way but in the muscular, lean way that holds on to hope out of faith disguised as sheer stubbornness. This book is one part lament, one part hope, and entirely necessary for these days.

SARAH BESSEY, AUTHOR, MIRACLES AND OTHER REASONABLE THINGS AND JESUS FEMINIST

Readers will find [Petersons] courageous exposure of American evangelicalisms watered-down version of Christianity eye-opening, convicting, refreshing, and inspiring.

CAROLYN CUSTIS JAMES, AUTHOR, FINDING GOD IN THE MARGINS AND MALESTROM

In this poignant, honest book, Amy Peterson confronts her disappointment with the evangelical leaders who handed her The Book of Virtues then happily ignored them for the sake of political power. But instead of just walking away, Peterson rewrites the script, giving us an alternative book of virtues needed in this moment. And its no mistake that it ends with hope.

JAMES K. A. SMITH, AUTHOR, YOU ARE WHAT YOU LOVE, AND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, IMAGE JOURNAL

Amy Peterson reflects the best of the churchs next generation. With biblical faithfulness and wisdom, Where Goodness Still Grows gently critiques the shortcomings of the generation who came before her, then lovingly points the way toward a more holistic and virtuous future for all who claim the name of Christ.

KAREN SWALLOW PRIOR, AUTHOR, ON READING WELL AND FIERCE CONVICTIONS

Deconstructing is becoming a new normal; re-envisioning a path forward in the shadow of tradition is increasingly rare. Through gorgeous prose and widening her scope to a diverse array of voices, Peterson is doing the hardest work of all: stubbornly clinging to faith while holding it accountable at the exact same time. This book is vital reading.

D. L. MAYFIELD, AUTHOR, ASSIMILATE OR GO HOME AND THE MYTH OF THE AMERICAN DREAM

Set against a culture where truth is for sale and faith trades down for power, this exquisite book invites us to abandon fear, cultivate curiosity, and learn to connect. If youre searching for signs of life, you will find them here.

SHANNAN MARTIN, AUTHOR, THE MINISTRY OF ORDINARY PLACES AND FALLING FREE

Amy Petersons reflective, impassioned book is for anyone who, like me, both loves the evangelical Christian movement in which you were raised and also grieves its compromises and inconsistencies. It is one of the most genuinely hopeful books Ive ever read: clear-eyed about Christian complicity in evil, resolute in its determination to recover the good in spite of the churchs failures, and visionary in its attempt to imagine a better future.

WESLEY HILL, AUTHOR, SPIRITUAL FRIENDSHIP

2020 Amy Peterson

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Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version). 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the King James Version. Public domain.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are from the New King James Version. 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked THE MESSAGE are from The Message. by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

Scripture quotations marked NRSV are from New Revised Standard Version Bible. 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Portions of were originally published in the authors work Open Hearts, Open Homes, as part of the Discovery Series, Our Daily Bread Ministries, 2017. Used by permission.

The authors essay Basket Weaving, published at Patheos.com (blog), November 28, 2012, was adapted and incorporated into . Used by permission.

The authors essay What We Cannot Hold, published at Art House America (blog), June 18, 2016, was adapted and incorporated into . Used by permission.

The authors essay Chicken Eight Ways, published in The Cresset, Trinity, 2016, was adapted and incorporated into . Used by permission.

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978-0-7852-2573-7 (eBook)

Epub Edition November 2019 9780785225737

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Peterson, Amy, 1981- author.

Title: Where goodness still grows : reclaiming virtue in an age of hypocrisy / Amy Peterson.

Description: Nashville : W Publishing Group, an Imprint of Thomas Nelson, 2020. | Includes bibliographical references. | Summary: Where Goodness Still Grows dissects the moral code of American evangelicalism and puts it back together in a new way. Amy writes as someone intimately familiar with, fond of, and also deeply critical of the world of conservative evangelicalism. She writes as a woman and a mother, as someone invested in the future of humanity, and as someone who just needs to know how to teach her kids what it means to be good. She reimagines virtue as a tool, not a weapon; as wild, not tame; as embodied, not written. Reimagining specific virtues, such as kindness, purity, modesty, hospitality, and hope, Amy finds that if we listen harder and farther, we will find the places where goodness still grows Provided by publisher.

Identifiers: LCCN 2019032806 (print) | LCCN 2019032807 (ebook) | ISBN 9780785225669 (hardcover) | ISBN 9780785225737 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Virtue. | Character. | Virtues. | Christian ethics.

Classification: LCC BV4630 .P465 2020 (print) | LCC BV4630 (ebook) | DDC 241/.4dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019032806

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019032807

Printed in the United States of America

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