The Stories We Live By: Seven Cultural Myths That Fail Us and the Story That Never Will
About this ebook
"This book is wonderful: deeply personal; irenic and pastoral; discerning and substantive, all at once. It will touch many, many people."--James Davison Hunter, author of Democracy and Solidarity and To Change the World
Every day culture tells us stories about who we are, why we are here, and what our future holds. Our current culture offers seven specific stories that shape our attitudes, our relationships, and our dreams:
- Be true to yourself
- Live free, just do no harm
- Do what makes you happy
- It's all about power
- Be on the right side of history
- Science has all the answers
- Morality is relative, but justice matters
These seven stories contain elements of truth, but they are built on flawed assumptions and internal contradictions that leave us feeling hollow, empty, anxious, and disillusioned.
But if we learn to recognize these stories when they appear, we can see the specific ways they make promises they can't keep. The Stories We Live By will give you language for conversations you've already been having. For questions you've been carrying. For tensions you've felt but couldn't name. And for the feeling that a better story exists in the face of suffering, trial, and grief.
Born from conversations between a father and son, The Stories We Live By is more than a work of cultural analysis. It is a guide rooted in personal experience to finding a truer, more beautiful, and far more satisfying story to live by.
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About the author
Timothy J. Keller (1950–2023) was the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, cofounder of Redeemer City to City, and the author of numerous books, including The Reason for God, The Prodigal God, and The Meaning of Marriage. His thirty-one books have sold over six million copies and have been translated into twenty-nine languages.
Michael Keller is the lead pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church Lincoln Square and also the longest-tenured senior pastor in the Redeemer network of churches in New York City. He has spent two decades engaging with one of the world’s most culturally diverse populations. He holds a PhD from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and MDiv and ThM degrees from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. His writings have been featured in publications such as Christianity Today, The Gospel Coalition, ByFaith magazine, and Gospel in Life.
