Pride and Humility at War: A Biblical Perspective

“Lanier Burns has put us in his debt by producing a carefully researched and thoroughly biblical study. Years of teaching and theological reflection are evident throughout and enrich the work with depth and maturity. It is particularly gratifying to have a substantive studynot something trite and trivialthat puts the heel of its boot squarely on the neck of self-promotion and pride: a new virtue that threatens our lives and churches. Read it and find the way of wise living, godly significance, and eternal meaning in a dying world. I recommend it with fear and trembling.”

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“For good reason, the early church fathers and the medieval scholastics regarded pride as the worst, most insidious of the seven deadly sins. Lanier Burns explains whystraightforwardly and with an eye to practicality that can disguise the profun- dity of his insight. The bad news is that pride infects us to the core of our depraved being; but the good news is that humil- ity causes godliness to seep into all our thoughts and ways in counteractive redemption. Burns captures this dynamic and describes the sanctifying process in ways real and accessible. Of the many takeaways that this book offers, I probably most appreciated Burnss matter-of-fact investigations of Moses, Job, and Jesus, who each uniquely illustrate that although humility may not prevent hardship, it will take one through hardship with greater godliness of character and greater closeness with God on the other side. Not every book inculcates godliness of character into the reader who meditates on its thesisbut this is one such book.”

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“Dr. Lanier Burns, along with Dr. Howard Hendricks, has been one of the most sought-after professors at Dallas Theological Seminary. His integrity, his spiritual maturity, and his biblical insight make him more than qualified to pen Pride and Humility at War. I am honored to call him a friendone whom Ive known since I was in his wedding over fifty years ago. While his profes- sional and academic credentials are without question, I would like to commend him to you as one who genuinely practices what he preacheswith humility.”

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“Too often we Christians exhibit pride in our interactions with others, both in the church and outside. Lanier Burns reminds us through a careful exposition of a host of biblical passages that humility is the way of our Lord Jesus Christ. This book not only informs us but, through a careful study of Scripture, leads to our personal transformation.”

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“In a global culture consumed with the powerful and accom- plished, Lanier Burnss careful study of humility and pride helps reorient our social assumptions with deep biblical thought. Sweeping from Genesis to the New Testament exemplars of the Lord Jesus Christ and the apostle Paul, Burns urges believers to true humility in an engaged, God-centered lifea way of life that he well exemplifies.”

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“Lanier has given us a biblical understanding of pride and humil- ity that few if any have taken such an effort to form. The thor- oughness of his research throughout Scripture leaves little doubt that his surprising conclusions are on solid ground. Describing biblical humility as aggression for God as seen in the life of Christ raises the bar of understanding that most of us have never considered. This is a book you will use often in ministry.”

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