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The American Hour: A Time of Reckoning and the Once and Future Role of Faith

The American Hour is a searching assessment of the strength of the American republic at the end of what has been called the “American Century.” In an incisive analysis, Os Guinness examines the ways in which the current crisis of cultural authority strikes at the heart of American identity. As he shows, this crisis has occurred because America’s beliefs, traditions, and ideals – civic as well as religious – are losing their power to shape the private and public lives of countless Americans. He first charts this growing crisis in America’s moral and cultural order, tracing its roots early in this century to the first open phase of conflict, which began to build in the fifties and climaxed in the cultural revolution of the sixties. He goes on to examine the subsequent conservative counter-revolution, focusing throughout on the impact of this crisis on three areas vital to the health of the republic – on American identity, as in the currently contested notion of what it means to be an American; American public philosophy, including the now controversial relationship of religion and public life; and American republican character, including our distinctive emphasis on the importance of the “habits of the heart.”

Guinness also examines the historical role of religion in American society and its integral function in American public life. He explores how religion came to lose its power as a vital shaping force of America’s moral and cultural order, and he considers the consequences of this loss. He then establishes four scenarios that range from the continued decline of religion in public life to a resurgence of faith, showing how each possible outcome could affect American society in the upcoming century. Examining closely the recent controversies over religion and politics, Guinness concludes by setting forth a vision of how we can move beyond these struggles and provide America’s diverse faiths with a revitalized and constructive role in public life.

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Zero Hour America: History’s ultimatum over freedom and the answer we must give

Zero Hour America: History’s ultimatum over freedom and the answer we must give

IVP
America has lost its way. And America will fall—unless. Americans are approaching a "zero hour" for the republic and its distinctive view of ordered freedom. America is caught between two revolutions and alternately suppresses and squanders freedom with a prodigal carelessness, with little understanding ofRead More
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A must-read for anyone hoping to grapple with the decline of the United States, and who longs to see itRead More
Steve Forbes, chairman and editor in chief, Forbes Media

America has lost its way. And America will fall—unless.

Americans are approaching a “zero hour” for the republic and its distinctive view of ordered freedom. America is caught between two revolutions and alternately suppresses and squanders freedom with a prodigal carelessness, with little understanding of the responsibilities that freedom requires.

Os Guinness warns that if America abandons its distinctive ideals and ideas, we will have carved into the chronicles of history yet another example of the failure of a free society. Like other crucial times in world history, the present crisis is a “civilizational moment” and also a pivot point that could lead to national renewal. Outlining seven key foundation stones of freedom, Guinness lays out a pathway for defining and ordering freedom, righting national wrongs, and passing freedom’s baton from generation to generation.

Human freedom is precious and rare, and citizens who prize it must do what it takes to renew and sustain societies that are free for all of their members. America’s window of opportunity is brief, and the alternative to renewal is bleak. The present moment must not be missed.

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A must-read for anyone hoping to grapple with the decline of the United States, and who longs to see it return to the grand vision of its founding ideals.
Steve Forbes, chairman and editor in chief, Forbes Media
Os Guinness is the Paul Revere for this generation, warning America to wake up before it's too late. With his keen insight and characteristic wisdom, Os diagnoses the root cause of the threats to our freedom and prescribes a look back and inward. In his helpful and engaging style, Os persuasively explains why knowing history and understanding virtue are prerequisites for the restoration of true freedom.
Steve Daines, U.S. Senator from Montana
While many have commented that the loss of faith and virtue are responsible for the precipitous decline of freedom and prosperity in America, few have explained the problem with the dazzling insight and gusto that Guinness provides. Zero Hour America is a bracing and powerful book that demands reading.
Mollie Hemingway, editor in chief, The Federalist
Time for Truth: Living Free in a World of Lies, Hype, and Spin

Time for Truth: Living Free in a World of Lies, Hype, and Spin

Baker Books
In postmodern society, truth no longer exists in any objective or absolute sense. At best, truth is considered relative. At worst, it's a matter of human convention. But, as Os Guinness points out in this book, truth is a vital requirement for freedom and aRead More
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This call for a robust and courageous defense of the use of reason in search of ultimate truths is aRead More
Elliott Abrams, Ethics and Public Policy Center

In postmodern society, truth no longer exists in any objective or absolute sense. At best, truth is considered relative. At worst, it’s a matter of human convention. But, as Os Guinness points out in this book, truth is a vital requirement for freedom and a good life.
Time for Truth urges readers to seek the truth, speak the truth, and live the truth. Guinness shows that becoming free and truthful people is the deepest secret of integrity and the highest form of taking responsibility for ourselves and our lives. Now in paperback, this engaging book will interest Os Guinness fans, thoughtful readers, and those concerned with moral, political, and cultural issues.

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This call for a robust and courageous defense of the use of reason in search of ultimate truths is a welcome gift.
Elliott Abrams, Ethics and Public Policy Center
Prophetic Untimeliness: A Challenge to the Idol of Relevance

Prophetic Untimeliness: A Challenge to the Idol of Relevance

Baker Books
The buzz among evangelicals today is about relevance and reinvention, about new ways of "doing church" through revising, innovating, borrowing, mixing, and experimenting. Yet, says Os Guinness, in our uncritical pursuit of relevance, Christians have actually become irrelevant. By our determined efforts to redefine ourselvesRead More
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The buzz among evangelicals today is about relevance and reinvention, about new ways of “doing church” through revising, innovating, borrowing, mixing, and experimenting. Yet, says Os Guinness, in our uncritical pursuit of relevance, Christians have actually become irrelevant. By our determined efforts to redefine ourselves in ways that are more in line with the modern world than are faithful to Christ, we have lost not only our identity but our authority and significance. Prophetic Untimeliness addresses this issue by giving practical, constructive solutions for living with integrity in the midst of modern pressures. Guinness explores what it means to be both faithful and relevant, and how to be truly relevant without being trivial or trendy. Readers will be challenged to develop “resistance thinking,” an approach inspired by C. S. Lewis that balances the uncomfortable truths of the gospel with the pursuit of relevance. Only by being true to Christ and living with integrity and wisdom will we meet the needs of a world that is hungry for some really good news.

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