The Secret of Happiness [antikvár]

THE SECRET OF HAPPINESS In this book, the dynamic author of Peace With God explains Christ's teachings about happiness and what they mean to us. "If by happiness we mean serenity, confidence, contentment, peace, joy and soul satis-faction," says the magnetic evangelist in his preface, "then Jesus was supremely happy. He didn't have to have an outside stimulus He had learned a secret that allowed Him to live above the circumstances of life and fear of the future . . . He gave it to us in the Beatitudes." THE SECRET OF HAPPINESS consists of ten chapters, eight of which are based on a Beatitude. In simple, forceful language the author explains the one way that real and enduring happiness can be found. Billy Graham has already swayed millions in England and America, through the printed word, through radio and TV, and through his phenomenally sucessful appearances. It is impossible not to take notice of this man. THE SECRET OF HAPPINESS is the work oj a great preacher talking on a subject of paramount interest to everjone. PREFACE I sat down to write a book on "The Greatest Semtion Ever Preached"—the Sermon on the Mount—but I got no further than the eight Beatitudes. The more I read them, meditated on them and studied them, the more I realized that Christ was giving a formula for personal happiness that applied to anyone, no matter what his race, geography, age or circumstance! When trjdng to put on paper these thoughts, I decided to consult with other writers. I was amazed to find how little has been written on the Beatitudes. Most Biblical commentaries skip hurriedly over them—yet in these few statements of Jesus is almost the whole depth and scope of His teaching. The Beatitudes are revolutionary! Startling! Deeply profound, and yet amazingly simple! If applied on a universal scale, they could transform the world in which we live. If you apply these simple formulas in your own personal life, you can never be the same! Ten thousand pages would not be enough to exhaust the meaning of these remarkable statements of the Master; I have only touched the high spots. Although in one sense the Beatitudes are repetitious as Jesus was driving home to His rapt and startled listeners not many points but one point: happiness in this life . . . and eternal life to come! If by happiness we mean serenity, confidence, contentment, peace, joy and soul-satisfaction, then Jesus was supremely "happy." We never read of His laughing, though I am sure He did. He was not given to pleasure-seeking, hilariousness, jokes or poking fun at others. Nor was His happiness dependent on outward circumstances. He did not have to have an outward stimulus to make Him happy. He had learned a secret