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Blessed Are the Others: Jesus' Way in a Violent World
Blessed Are the Jesus' Way in a Violent World by Andrew DeCort is a guide that navigates the teachings of Jesus through the lens of the Beatitudes. It offers a trail to a more fulfilling life through vulnerability, compassion, nonviolence, justice, and peacemaking, challenging conventional understandings of religious blessings and prosperity. Andrew calls this humane happiness.
The book is not just about exploring spirituality but also delves into historical and societal context-specifically the influence of political unrest and conflict on the Ethiopian people. It emphasizes the importance of confronting and processing grief and focuses on the societal implications that arise from unresolved pain. Notably, Blessed Are the Others encourages its readers to engage with their pain, promote healing not vengeance, and find solace even amidst suffering. By acknowledging these struggles, the book underscores the transformative power of facing grief with honesty and courage.
The book also features real-life examples of individuals like Etty Hillesum and Dietrich Bonhoeffer who chose mercy over judgment in the face of extreme injustice. It makes an appeal to its readers to foster a similar sense of compassion and understanding, treating the Beatitudes as a tool for navigating challenges such as poverty, grief, violence, and injustice. Moreover, the book explores the life and teachings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a Christian leader who spoke out against extreme injustice during World War II. Bonhoeffer's dedication to love, humility, and the courage to stand against oppression is extensively highlighted. His teachings and life offer insightful perspectives on love and humility as transformative powers even in the face of adversity.
Blessed Are the Others discusses the seven decisions or way-stations on Jesus' Beatitudinal Way, beginning from poverty and transitioning all the way to persecution. It emphasizes the importance of vulnerability, compassion, and justice, and addresses the hurdles we may encounter on this path.
The book is not just about exploring spirituality but also delves into historical and societal context-specifically the influence of political unrest and conflict on the Ethiopian people. It emphasizes the importance of confronting and processing grief and focuses on the societal implications that arise from unresolved pain. Notably, Blessed Are the Others encourages its readers to engage with their pain, promote healing not vengeance, and find solace even amidst suffering. By acknowledging these struggles, the book underscores the transformative power of facing grief with honesty and courage.
The book also features real-life examples of individuals like Etty Hillesum and Dietrich Bonhoeffer who chose mercy over judgment in the face of extreme injustice. It makes an appeal to its readers to foster a similar sense of compassion and understanding, treating the Beatitudes as a tool for navigating challenges such as poverty, grief, violence, and injustice. Moreover, the book explores the life and teachings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a Christian leader who spoke out against extreme injustice during World War II. Bonhoeffer's dedication to love, humility, and the courage to stand against oppression is extensively highlighted. His teachings and life offer insightful perspectives on love and humility as transformative powers even in the face of adversity.
Blessed Are the Others discusses the seven decisions or way-stations on Jesus' Beatitudinal Way, beginning from poverty and transitioning all the way to persecution. It emphasizes the importance of vulnerability, compassion, and justice, and addresses the hurdles we may encounter on this path.
192 pages, Paperback
Published September 24, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
September 24, 2024
This trim book reflects a radically hopeful reading of the message of Jesus for all those who feel broken, inadequate, grieved, and poor—every human. A powerful and generative must-read for anyone seeking a better way in a troubling world.
January 31, 2025
Andrew DeCort taught me Christian Ethics. I am grateful for his life and contribution. He inspires me! In this book, he challenges us to embrace Jesus' Beatitudes. An online dictionary I just looked at defines the beatitudes as 'supreme blessedness'. I think that's what Andrew wants us to capture. He calls us to abandon demeaning paths of lesser 'blessings' such as, in his own words, "...hardening, raging, withdrawing, revenging, resigning, religioning and warring". In their place, we are reminded to embrace our poverties and griefs. We are to pursue non-violence, justice and peace-making with clean-hearted and compassionate truth-telling (or truth-living) that might get us rejected and persecuted. That's alright. We should embrace that with compassion and clean-heartedness too.
The Beatitudes or as some call them, "Be-Attitudes", are Jesus' way of life that leads to supreme blessedness. His life and ministry, His death and resurrection, His presence and eternal hope, all reflect His desire for us to practice these teachings. With insightful perspectives, spurring words, and incredible vulnerability, Andrew brings that message to contemporary readers. It was a worthwhile read.
May we be blessed supremely.
The Beatitudes or as some call them, "Be-Attitudes", are Jesus' way of life that leads to supreme blessedness. His life and ministry, His death and resurrection, His presence and eternal hope, all reflect His desire for us to practice these teachings. With insightful perspectives, spurring words, and incredible vulnerability, Andrew brings that message to contemporary readers. It was a worthwhile read.
May we be blessed supremely.
January 26, 2025
Read this devotionally over a few weeks in the new year after being gifted this by @Emily. For all the sermons on the Sermon on the Mount that I’ve heard in my life that never captured how Jesus’ Beatitudes actually have the power to turn the world upside down, I thank this book and Andrew DeCort for filling in the gaps.
This ties in personal memoir and reflection on the text which brings a strong conclusion: we are all in poverty, and we belong to God. A deep recognition of this truth can empower us to create an outworking of radical compassion and nonviolent peacemaking, fueled by the knowledge that despite everything, even death, we belong to God. Following these teachings to the end is probably the hardest way to live life.
One of these days I would love to hear the story of being exiled from Ethiopia from his wife, Lily’s point of view, and what her own personal and spiritual reckonings with the tragic events that have gone by might be. 4/5
This ties in personal memoir and reflection on the text which brings a strong conclusion: we are all in poverty, and we belong to God. A deep recognition of this truth can empower us to create an outworking of radical compassion and nonviolent peacemaking, fueled by the knowledge that despite everything, even death, we belong to God. Following these teachings to the end is probably the hardest way to live life.
One of these days I would love to hear the story of being exiled from Ethiopia from his wife, Lily’s point of view, and what her own personal and spiritual reckonings with the tragic events that have gone by might be. 4/5
September 24, 2024
4.5/5⭐️
This short treatise wonderful reinterprets and re-explores the beatitudes in light of todays events. With powerful examples from James Baldwin, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and more, Andrew Decort encourages and deeply values an alternative way of living, both scary and hopeful!! Andrew’s vulnerability in the book invites closeness and trust. It’s like sitting close with a friend. Thank you for this book, Andrew!
“If we’re sober, who else but the gentle could inherit the earth? Who else but the meek could welcome the rest of us home without turning it back into a death camp? Who else but the nonviolent would have the audacious imagination and creative character to embark with God on something so truly daring and divergent – a new earth, a restarted history, a healed humanity?”
This short treatise wonderful reinterprets and re-explores the beatitudes in light of todays events. With powerful examples from James Baldwin, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and more, Andrew Decort encourages and deeply values an alternative way of living, both scary and hopeful!! Andrew’s vulnerability in the book invites closeness and trust. It’s like sitting close with a friend. Thank you for this book, Andrew!
“If we’re sober, who else but the gentle could inherit the earth? Who else but the meek could welcome the rest of us home without turning it back into a death camp? Who else but the nonviolent would have the audacious imagination and creative character to embark with God on something so truly daring and divergent – a new earth, a restarted history, a healed humanity?”
September 24, 2024
Blessed Are the Others captures the heartbeat of the Beatitudes. Andrew DeCort frames these eight blessings as interconnected way-stations that form a cyclical, rhythmic way of waging peace in a violent world. I grew up hearing the Beatitudes preached at church, quoted at funerals, and written on get-well-soon cards. But reading this book was my first time truly HEARING the Beatitudes. This book reveals that Jesus's blessings are for everyone; poverty is where we all begin, the universal human condition. In light of this, DeCort walks the reader , way-station by way-station, through the choices Jesus urges us to make on the beatitudinal path.
One of the things I appreciate most about this book is that it dares to ask the question: What if Jesus really meant what he said? This question is daring, all-consuming, and full of demanding implications. But it also provides indescribable peace and comfort. The short and accessible nature of this book testify to the radical, revolutionary simplicity of DeCort's approach to Jesus's eight blessings. What would it mean for us if Jesus really meant what he said? For our neighbors? For our enemies? For the other?
The following quote is attributed to Gandhi: "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike our Christ." If those words resonate with you, I recommend this book. Whether you are skeptical or curious (or both!) about the rhythm of life Jesus offers in the Beatitudes, I recommend this book. If you are looking to reconnect with the heartbeat of spirituality, I recommend this book. I can't think of anyone I wouldn't recommend this book to, actually. Just like the Beatitudes, this book contains both challenge and invitation for all.
One of the things I appreciate most about this book is that it dares to ask the question: What if Jesus really meant what he said? This question is daring, all-consuming, and full of demanding implications. But it also provides indescribable peace and comfort. The short and accessible nature of this book testify to the radical, revolutionary simplicity of DeCort's approach to Jesus's eight blessings. What would it mean for us if Jesus really meant what he said? For our neighbors? For our enemies? For the other?
The following quote is attributed to Gandhi: "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike our Christ." If those words resonate with you, I recommend this book. Whether you are skeptical or curious (or both!) about the rhythm of life Jesus offers in the Beatitudes, I recommend this book. If you are looking to reconnect with the heartbeat of spirituality, I recommend this book. I can't think of anyone I wouldn't recommend this book to, actually. Just like the Beatitudes, this book contains both challenge and invitation for all.
September 24, 2024
Highly recommended! Practical, inspiring, and profound!
Andrew DeCort’s Blessed Are the Others sketches the difficult work of reconciling with God about suffering. He calls the Beatitudes a divine justice manifesto that Jesus proclaimed to inspire right relationships of mutual flourishing. DeCort weaves stories from texts, memoirs, journals, and living testimony from the fields of terror that lead us to crisis points where Beatitudinal wisdom applies. He writes, “Jesus says there’s no need to suppress the painful reality of being poor humans.” You can read it and weep. Just don’t stop there.
I found myself practicing the options while considering personal and historical disclosures of horror, fear, worthlessness, indignity, and abject spiritual poverty. DeCort’s writing on grief is memorable. Do we respond with compassion? Disgust? Ridicule? Cynicism? Worlds shift when we answer Jesus’s call to “Follow Me.” I learned ways to exercise the principles Jesus died for and stay grounded in reality through this profound book.
The Beatitudinal Way becomes “an endlessly generative, culturally divergent path of humane happiness.” I loved how DeCort layers these choices like tree rings that embody the heart of God within us, promising that as we integrate total belonging, we will stand and bear witness while honoring joy in the midst of the crimes of our times.
Andrew DeCort’s Blessed Are the Others sketches the difficult work of reconciling with God about suffering. He calls the Beatitudes a divine justice manifesto that Jesus proclaimed to inspire right relationships of mutual flourishing. DeCort weaves stories from texts, memoirs, journals, and living testimony from the fields of terror that lead us to crisis points where Beatitudinal wisdom applies. He writes, “Jesus says there’s no need to suppress the painful reality of being poor humans.” You can read it and weep. Just don’t stop there.
I found myself practicing the options while considering personal and historical disclosures of horror, fear, worthlessness, indignity, and abject spiritual poverty. DeCort’s writing on grief is memorable. Do we respond with compassion? Disgust? Ridicule? Cynicism? Worlds shift when we answer Jesus’s call to “Follow Me.” I learned ways to exercise the principles Jesus died for and stay grounded in reality through this profound book.
The Beatitudinal Way becomes “an endlessly generative, culturally divergent path of humane happiness.” I loved how DeCort layers these choices like tree rings that embody the heart of God within us, promising that as we integrate total belonging, we will stand and bear witness while honoring joy in the midst of the crimes of our times.
September 24, 2024
Blessed are the Others is a book that made me think. It was both easy to read in its inviting and personal style and also a challenge in its creative approach to the beatitudes of Jesus.
Andrew DeCort builds on these eight blessings to show just how interconnected they are to each other and how they apply to our thinking. This book also opened up a lot of opportunity for conversation with myself about what “othering” looks like. One of his quotes states:
“Jesus was fiercely critical of religious hypocrisy. For all of his compassion (or because of it), he didn’t accept religion that othered people. By this I mean religion that sees ‘others’ as unrelated or less than ourselves.”
This immediately struck home with me because of our current election. It made me contemplate where I could be “othering” those who hold an opinion that is different from my own; do I find these people to be “un-relatable” or think of them as less than because of my own moral code? I find myself continuing to search my soul through the lense of Jesus’ words and Andrew’s reflections.
If you are looking for a book to challenge you on everything from religion to politics, I highly recommend taking the time to dive into the newest book by Andrew DeCort!
Andrew DeCort builds on these eight blessings to show just how interconnected they are to each other and how they apply to our thinking. This book also opened up a lot of opportunity for conversation with myself about what “othering” looks like. One of his quotes states:
“Jesus was fiercely critical of religious hypocrisy. For all of his compassion (or because of it), he didn’t accept religion that othered people. By this I mean religion that sees ‘others’ as unrelated or less than ourselves.”
This immediately struck home with me because of our current election. It made me contemplate where I could be “othering” those who hold an opinion that is different from my own; do I find these people to be “un-relatable” or think of them as less than because of my own moral code? I find myself continuing to search my soul through the lense of Jesus’ words and Andrew’s reflections.
If you are looking for a book to challenge you on everything from religion to politics, I highly recommend taking the time to dive into the newest book by Andrew DeCort!
September 24, 2024
This book is real and food for the soul. Let’s be honest - we all go through tough times. Who will you be once the dust settles? Blessed are the Others is a beautiful, simple declaration that in a world of constant suffering and big questions, it is possible to move from a place of suffering to a place of blessedness - for all of us. It is! And these pages hold simple, accessible proof. Dr. Andrew DeCort has the unique ability to put vocabulary to our wordless groaning, taking us on a journey to blessedness underlined with a gentle whisper urging us, “keep going, come alongside me.” These pages contains hope for the dark times, celebration for the joyous times, sweet, honest reminders for the dry times, and always an answer to the deep hunger we all have for good things.
I cannot recommend it enough. You must have it in the repertoire within your heart, wherever you are on the journey, for it is a deep well you will be able to draw from for seasons to come.
“If you feel like you’re falling apart or there’s nothing left to live for but pain, you will end up fully at home with God....”
I cannot recommend it enough. You must have it in the repertoire within your heart, wherever you are on the journey, for it is a deep well you will be able to draw from for seasons to come.
“If you feel like you’re falling apart or there’s nothing left to live for but pain, you will end up fully at home with God....”
September 26, 2024
DeCort has done it again: Just as, in his previous book, he presented the Lord's Prayer as flowing coherently from one line to the next, in this book, DeCort presents as an integrated whole the eight statements - the Beatitudes - with which Jesus starts his Sermon on the Mount. The reader comes to see how Jesus' Beatitudes are an interconnected concatenation, not a list of disparate items. DeCort points out that each Beatitude gives the hearer both a promise and a life choice. Choosing well for one Beatitude generates a particular challenge that the next Beatitude addresses, and so on, until the eighth Beatitude completes the circle by connecting with the first. The overall picture is what DeCort calls "the beatitudinal way": an attitude expressed in action that builds others up, recognising them as not as "others" at all, but as beloved neighbors. Thus Jesus' eight Beatitudes are to do with life together here and now, not only blessings to come in the hereafter. DeCort writes out of firsthand experience and close familiarity with the works of luminaries who have lived the beatitudinal way, such as Etty Hillesum and James Baldwin. Let him - and them - be your guide in this fresh but faithful reflection on the opening lines of Jesus' core teaching.
October 9, 2024
4.5/5⭐️ I would consider Andrew’s book “Flourishing on the Edge of Faith” as one of the best books I’ve ever read. So I had very high expectations for his follow up, and it did not disappoint.
If you are human than this book will speak to you.
DeCort has a beautiful way of writing and talking about God that transports the reader to a different place. I found myself unable to put this book down. I have multiple highlights on just about every page. I have restored hope in what this world could be if a new “we” could rise up as divegerents, like Jesus, against the cycle of voilence, hate, religious hierarchy, and nationalism that so often plauges us.
Andrew writes, “Once we stop striving to be on top and looking down on others, we’re blessed to look upon the divine image in all humanity. The mundane and mystical merge into one. The sacred and secular, heaven and earth, return to their primal union.”
How beautiful! May it be so Lord!
Blessings to the others. Ours is the Kingdom.
If you are human than this book will speak to you.
DeCort has a beautiful way of writing and talking about God that transports the reader to a different place. I found myself unable to put this book down. I have multiple highlights on just about every page. I have restored hope in what this world could be if a new “we” could rise up as divegerents, like Jesus, against the cycle of voilence, hate, religious hierarchy, and nationalism that so often plauges us.
Andrew writes, “Once we stop striving to be on top and looking down on others, we’re blessed to look upon the divine image in all humanity. The mundane and mystical merge into one. The sacred and secular, heaven and earth, return to their primal union.”
How beautiful! May it be so Lord!
Blessings to the others. Ours is the Kingdom.
September 25, 2024
'Blessed Are the Others", by Andrew David DeCort, is a remarkable book indeed, which dares its readers to reimagine faith and the people that surround them. Through the use of deeply spiritual insight with deep empathy, Andrew explores those often overlooked in society and calls us to see the sacred that resides within every person. His writing is engaging, accessible, full of stirring stories that illustrate his message.
What I really like about this book is that it applies to today's world: *Blessed Are the Others* does not avoid how messy life can be but gives hope and a way forward toward unity and compassion. You might be a person of religion or in search of a more significant relation with other people; this book will touch your heart and mind permanently.
Highly recommend to all for a new light into faith, relations, and the power of being kind. You will be both inspired and challenged in the best possible manner!
What I really like about this book is that it applies to today's world: *Blessed Are the Others* does not avoid how messy life can be but gives hope and a way forward toward unity and compassion. You might be a person of religion or in search of a more significant relation with other people; this book will touch your heart and mind permanently.
Highly recommend to all for a new light into faith, relations, and the power of being kind. You will be both inspired and challenged in the best possible manner!
September 24, 2024
As someone who departed from my Christian faith years ago, Blessed are the Others is the only book I’ve ever read that made me think: “This had to have been what Jesus meant.” The psychological, spiritual, and social realities portrayed in Blessed are the Others are captured in high-fidelity, and compels me to wrestle seriously with the way of life Jesus teaches. The overall effect of this beautiful and insightful book is that words that normally make my brain shut off – like justice, enemy-love, nonviolence – are instead woven into a cyclical path that is healing, actionable, and truthful to the light and darkness of lived experience. I would recommend this book to anyone who struggles to understand why Jesus ever mattered – and for anyone who wonders whether those teachings, so commonly distorted these days, are worth taking seriously again.
September 25, 2024
- Thinking and feeling toward God -
In this concise book, Andrew brings Jesus’ beatitudes into sober conversation with human conflicts.
Blessed are the Others is an affirmation of the image of God in every stranger. It is also a reminder that those who suffer are not far off from God.
Andrew’s idea of humane happiness is small enough to find a place in the narrowest moments of life. At the same time, humane happiness is sweeping and even ecological, as it is nothing less than an outline of practices necessary for the beautiful repair of the whole world.
In this concise book, Andrew brings Jesus’ beatitudes into sober conversation with human conflicts.
Blessed are the Others is an affirmation of the image of God in every stranger. It is also a reminder that those who suffer are not far off from God.
Andrew’s idea of humane happiness is small enough to find a place in the narrowest moments of life. At the same time, humane happiness is sweeping and even ecological, as it is nothing less than an outline of practices necessary for the beautiful repair of the whole world.
September 24, 2024
Fully Recommend this book for anyone who’s hurting and looking to understand why, and what to make of it. Atheist, agnostic, and Christians alike, I think you’ll find this book a worthy guide to engaging with Jesus’ vision of happiness and the human experience.
October 27, 2025
A truly fascinating approach to understanding the depth of the beatitudes. However, some traditional western Christian theology that elevates the focus on the "eternal next life" reward may still be implied. A feminist or womanist critique would be an interesting discussion.
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