While many books strive to stimulate thinking through provocative anecdotes and theories, Why Are We Created? takes a different path. It begins with a question and continues with a multitude of questions like these:
- What is the importance of recognizing the presence of the sacred within us and around us?
- How can individuals create a purposeful and fruitful way of life?
- How does happiness relate to one’s purpose?
The intent of these questions is to encourage thoughtfulness, observation, and research that enlarges understanding while offering a sense of direction. The goal is to help individuals live a more useful and happy life.
Sir John and Reverend Dunlap use the questions to help listeners explore the role of humility as a key to knowledge and progress. They look at the creative power of purposeful thinking and ask how life might be changed if we refuse to dwell on any thought we would not want objectified in our life. They pose questions related to consciously directing one’s life: Can studying happy people be a way to learn more about happiness?; Do spiritual realities like prayer, love, worship, thanksgiving, and humility propel us toward beneficial accomplishment? They also suggest avenues for further research.
Helping to shed light on the possible connection between spiritual principles and human concepts is commentary from a wide range of sources: the Scriptures, Mother Teresa, Albert Einstein, Edward O. Wilson, Emanuel Swedenborg, Emmet Fox, A.H. Maslow, Sir Isaac Newton, Dr. Albert Schweitzer, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, among many others.
Highlights
- Inspires productive and beneficial thinking about who we are and why we are created
- Presents a guide for consciously choosing the direction of one’s life
- Encourages enthusiasm for further wide-ranging and open-minded research
Author Biography:
Sir John M. Templeton founded the John Templeton Foundation in 1987, which supports more than sixty programs in the fields of science and religion, spirituality and health, and moral education. He is the author and editor of numerous books that encourage humility, optimism, scientific research of spiritual principles, and the study of world religions.
Rebekah Alezander Dunlap is a retired Unity minister and author of numerous books on spirituality.