Vainglory

Julia Roberts on the red carpet at the Oscars. Lady Gaga singing “Applause” to worshipful fans at one of her sold-out concerts. And you and me in our Sunday best in the front row at church. What do we have in common?
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Richard J. Foster
-- author of Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth
“At last a book that takes head-on what is perhaps the capital vice of modern culture. Rebecca Konyndyk DeYoung draws from the classical tradition of Christian moral thinking to introduce us to the life-giving virtues, which alone can free us from the plague of narcissism that is the cultural zeitgeist of our day. I recommend this book highly.”
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Jennifer Herdt
-- author of Putting on Virtue: The Legacy of the Splendid Vices
“In disarmingly conversational prose, DeYoung deftly unravels the twisting paths traced by the desire for glory as it roots itself ever more deeply in our characters. But she does not simply leave us in vainglory’s clutches. In conversation with Augustine, Aquinas, and the Desert Fathers, she canvasses traditional spiritual practices that re-open possibilities for truthful self-communication, and she points us to our call to become transparent to God’s glory as vessels of God’s self-giving love.”
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Robert C. Roberts
-- author of Spiritual Emotions: A Psychology of Christian Virtues
“DeYoung’s Vainglory is the best thing out there on the vices of pride. It’s profound, readable, witty, telling, historically informative, and pastorally helpful.”