How to Find Yourself
Why Looking Inward Is Not the Answer
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- USD 13.99
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- USD 13.99
Descripción editorial
A Christian Answer to the Identity Angst of Our Culture
In the 21st-century West, identity is everything. Never has it been more important, culturally speaking, to know who you are and remain true to yourself. Expressive individualism—the belief that looking inward is the way to find yourself—has become the primary approach to identity formation, and questioning anyone's "self-made self" is often considered a threat or attack.
Prompted by his own past crisis of identity, Brian Rosner challenges the status quo by arguing that, while knowing yourself is of some value, it cannot be the sole basis for one's identity. He provides an approach to identity formation that leads to a more stable and satisfying sense of self. This approach looks outward to others—acknowledging that we are social beings—and looks upward to God to find a self who is intimately known and loved by him. How to Find Yourself equips readers from a variety of backgrounds to engage sympathetically with some of the most pressing questions of our day.
Challenges the Status Quo: Examines and critiques expressive individualism—the leading strategy for identity formationGospel-Centered: Identifies an approach to identity formation in Jesus's life story and God's personal knowledge of his childrenAccessible: Helpful for a wide audience of laypeople, students, and church leadersForeword by Carl R. Trueman: Opens with a message from the author of The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this probing treatise, Rosner (Known by God), principal of Ridley College in Melbourne, Australia, suggests readers look to the Bible for guidance on shaping identity. Using scriptural analysis and personal stories about Rosner's own identity crisis, the author criticizes "expressive individualism," which conflates identity with who one feels like they are "on the inside," and claims that it overemphasizes such identity markers as occupation, gender, and ethnicity. Instead, "we need to look not only around, and backward and forward, but also upward," Rosner writes, contending that while "we know ourselves in being known by others," perceptions can be flawed, and so one should turn to God, who knows each person as a father does his child. The author examines biblical passages to outline a Christian approach to identity formation that follows Jesus's example of "costly, selfless, others-centered love." The author's exploration of the causes of contemporary identity crises is perceptive ("It is ironic that social media appears to enable self-definition while in reality magnifying the influence of others on how you think about yourself"), but the overabundance of superfluous personal anecdotes may not sustain reader interest. This thoughtful volume offers a refreshing and novel Christian understanding of the self and how it forms.
