CBB Review – Broken Gods: Hope, Healing, and the Seven Longings of the Human Heart

CBB Review – Broken Gods: Hope, Healing, and the Seven Longings of the Human Heart May 27, 2015

broken_godsScripture and the Church Fathers tell us we are to be gods. Before you get too excited (and admittedly I furrowed my brow at that one myself) note that it is not god with a capital “G”. What it means is our Creator wishes us to have a personal relationship with Him simply because He cares and loves us each so much. Gregory Popcak does a fine job explaining all of this in his new book Broken Gods: Hope, Healing and the Seven Longings of the Human Heart.

Psalm 82 states: “You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you”

St. Clement of Alexandra says: He who listens to the Lord, and follows the prophecy given by Him, will be formed in the likeness of the teacher – made a god going about in flesh.

St. Augustine: If we have been made sons of God, we have also been made gods.

How can this be? It almost sounds blasphemous doesn’t it? Gregory tells us it all goes back to the Garden of Eden. You see we were meant to be gods. Adam and Eve, our first parents, walked with God in the garden. They carried on a personal relationship with Him. The ease of that relationship was ruined when sin entered the picture. We must bear in mind that though they were punished, God still loved them, and us, so much so that He has never given up on the desire for a personal relationship with us.

Here is where Broken Gods gets good.  Greg takes a chapter by chapter, deep dive look into the seven longings. These longings are ingrained into each us by our Creator who wants nothing more than to love each of us as He wanted from the beginning of time. By contrasting these seven longings with their opposing seven sins Greg effectively gives us a mission manual for success. And what is the successful end goal? I can’t say it enough…a   close, personal relationship with the God of the universe.

These dedicated chapters are as follows:

Satisfying the Divine Longing for Abundance

Satisfying the Divine Longing for Dignity

Satisfying the Divine Longing for Justice

Satisfying the Divine Longing for Peace

Satisfying the Divine Longing for Trust

Satisfying the Divine Longing for Well-Being

Satisfying the Divine Longing for Communion

Each of the chapters concludes with a thought provoking prayer, a section on practicing a virtue relative to the longing discussed in the chapter and a brief discussion on applying the prinicipal of COAL to the particular longing. COAL is discussed early in the book and it is an acronym for Curiosity, Openness, Acceptance and Love.

Gregory Popcak tackles the early Christian doctrine of theosis (the process of coming into union with God ) and brings it down to a level everyone can understand. By applying the principals laid forth in this book the reader will certainly approve upon their own relationship with God. With a complete and solid relationship with God true happiness can be obtained and that will reflect outwards on our home lives, in our work places and with everyone we encounter.  This in turn will fulfill our destiny and the purpose for our lives as desired by God. This is truly a life-changing book not only for the individual but potentially for the world all around us.

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