Lost Virtue of Happiness
by J.P. Moreland and Klaus Issler

• Title: The Lost Virtue of Happiness: Discovering The Disciplines of the Good Life
• Publish Date: 1/17/2006
• Discount: 32%
• Publisher: NavPress
• Audience: Beginner
• Kingdom Categories: Life of the Mind, Spiritual Formation

The Lost Virtue of Happiness was birthed out of a mutually-shared burden with my co-author, colleague and dear friend, Klaus Issler. It is delightful to have twenty-five years of friendship built into this book.

Overview

In our eight, practical chapters, Klaus and I are fundamentally burdened by two basic issues: (1) how the contemporary concept of happiness (“happiness as pleasurable satisfaction”) has failed to offer a vision and means for a fulfilled, flourishing life for human beings; and (2) how the vision and means of Jesus’ call to come and be his disciple or apprentice is in fact the sort of happiness that we are meant to experience in this life (I further enlarge these two issues and their interrelationship in my 2007 book, Kingdom Triangle, and also in my 2009 book, The God Question).

Thus, in my chapter 1 and 2, I try to show how to gain happiness by practicing self-denial as a disciple of Jesus and how that is meaningful and relevant to the contemporary quest for happiness. Indispensable to being a disciple of Jesus is learning to form a tender, receptive heart, which Klaus helpfully addresses in chapter 3. My chapter 4 extends Klaus’ discussion by focusing on what it means to form a thoughtful mind that stays focused on God, which is a microcosm of what I also tried to develop in my 1997 book, Love Your God with All Your Mind. Klaus’ chapter 5 takes seriously the formation of a trusting will that cooperatively risks with God and His work in this world. This matter is so important, especially in light of a well-formed heart and mind (Klaus and I extend this discussion further in our 2008 book, In Search of a Confident Faith).

Chapters 1-5 are foundational for then understanding what we do in the remaining three chapters of the book. For example, drawing from biblical and early church wisdom, Klaus shows how we must learn to embrace the “hiddenness of God” (chapter 6) and why that is integral to us learning to be Jesus’ disciples. In chapter 7, I reveal for the first time in print my own hardship with anxiety and depression and how I have learned to defeat it in light of its spiritual, chemical and psychological factors. Finally, Klaus’ chapter 8 handsomely ties the book together by showing how we are made for friendship with God and with each other, and that in the absence of spiritual friendships, are lives will not experience the sort of flourishing and goodness of life that they are meant to have.

Friendship

Speaking of friendships. The Lost Virtue of Happiness was written at a crucial time in my journey with the people of God. My wife (Hope) and I had been attending the Vineyard Anaheim church (with the Isslers) for a few years prior to this book coming out. That fellowship was, and continues to be, a place of safety, openness, love and responsiveness to each other under the presence of God. For example, my ability to process the challenges of anxiety and depression would not have been as healthy of an experience as they were if it were not for our church and her leaders. Moreover, my confidence in being a disciple of Jesus and learning to cooperative with His work in my life has been strengthened in manifold ways due to the sort of teaching, leadership, and modeling of the Vineyard Anaheim church.

Find This Book in a Library

Related Content: If The Lost Virtue of Happiness interests you, you might also want to consider the following:

• "How to Maintain a Peace of Mind" (audio)
• In Search of a Confident Faith (book)
• Kingdom Triangle (book)
• The God Question (book)
• Love Your God with All Your Mind (book)
• Smart Faith (book)
• The God Conversation (book)

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