Broken Hearts in a Broken World

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Summary

Brokenness has become endemic in our days. In poll after poll, the vast majority of respondents say that our country is fundamentally broken. Our political system is broken. Our economy is broken. And our very society, the way we live together, our values, our priorities, all of them are broken. Although the question doesn’t come up in too many polls, I bet most people—if they are honest with themselves—would admit that they themselves are broken, too.
For Christians, however, the brokenness of the world and their own brokenness should not come as breaking news. Reaching all the way back to the beginnings of our Judeo-Christian tradition, there has been a clear understanding that creation, the entire world, is broken.
That must make for a gloomy book, you might think. But that’s jumping to conclusions too fast. Not only are there cures for brokenness, but there is even glory in brokenness. For Christians, brokenness and the healing of brokenness are at the very heart of the Christian faith. Christians believe that God became a human being in Jesus who suffered and died on the Cross. He came to be among the broken-hearted in a broken world. That’s a very painful, yet comforting thought behind this book.


Table of Contents
 


1. A Broken Generation	
	An X-Ray of a Broken Generation	
	A Cure for a Broken Generation?	
2. A Broken World	
	An X-Ray of a Broken World	
	A Cure for a Broken World?	
3. A Broken Family	
	An X-Ray of a Broken Family	
	A Cure for a Broken Family?	
4. A Broken Heart	
	An X-Ray of a Broken Heart	
	A Cure for a Broken Heart?	
5. A Broken Soul	
	An X-Ray of a Broken Soul	
	A Cure for a Broken Soul?	
6. The Glory of Suffering	
	The Man Job	
	The Man Abraham	
	The God-Man Jesus	
	Glory in Our Own Crosses	
7. The Journey Home	
	Where Is Home?	
	The Way back Home	
	What Is Heaven Like?


Endorsements
 


"The causes and the cures of the brokenness and unhappiness in our broken, unhappy world are obviously many and complex, but this new book reduces the complexity to clarity and then prescribes with great good sense. This is a wise and provocative book that deserves to be read widely and put into effect everywhere."

Russell Shaw
Consultor of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications
Adjunct professor at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Rome
Former Secretary for Public Affairs of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops/US Catholic Conference

"Verschuuren’s book Broken Hearts in a Broken World is a wonderful treatise, full of fresh insights. Using philosophy to refute skepticism and relativism, Verschuuren also provides a panoramic view of all that gives us hope in our Christian vision. There is no cliché advice, but instead blunt, witty, realistic, and compassionate analysis of the ills of our times and the wounds in our hearts."

Ronda Chervin
Professor Emerita, Holy Apostles College & Seminary, Cromwell, CT


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