The Power of Ideas [Hardcover]

‘One of the world's great voices for moral, spiritual, and historical awareness and for global peace' – The John Templeton Foundation

‘One of the great moral thinkers of our time’ – Robert D. Putnam, author of Bowling Alone

With a foreword by HRH The Prince of Wales

Following his death in November 2020, voices from around the world celebrated Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks’ incalculable contribution to the religious life of the Jewish community, as well as the global conversation on issues of ethics and morality.

This volume brings together the most compelling selection of Jonathan Sacks’ BBC Radio broadcasts, columns from The Times, and a range of articles published in the world’s most respected newspapers, along with his House of Lords speeches and keynote lectures.

First heard and read in many different contexts, these pieces demonstrate with striking coherence the developing power of Sacks’ ideas, on faith and philosophy alike. In each instance he brings to bear deep insights into the immediate situation at the time – and yet it is as if we hear him speaking to us afresh, giving us new strength to face the challenges and complexities of today’s world.

His words of faith and wisdom shine as a beacon of enduring light in an increasingly conflicted cultural climate, and prove the timeless nature and continued relevance of his thought and teachings.

The choice with which humankind is faced is between the idea of power and power of ideas.

Table of Contents:
Foreword HRH The Prince of Wales xi
Introduction: A Polymath of Our Age Who Guides Us Still Henry Grunwald OBE QC, Chair of The Rabbi Sacks Legacy Trust xiii
Part 1 Thought for the Day
Religious Tolerance and Globalisation, 4 April 2008 3
The Age of Greed, 3 October 2008 5
Holocaust Memorial Day, 30 January 2010 7
Interfaith Relations, 19 November 2010 9
A Royal Wedding, 29 April 2011 11
The King James Bible, 6 May 2011 13
The Council of Christians and Jews, 18 November 2011 15
Leadership, 29 December 2011 17
The Fragility of Nature, 27 September 2012 19
Belief and Rituals, 22 March 2013 21
Margaret Thatcher, 17 April 2013 23
The Danger of Power, 5 July 2013 25
Free Speech, 9 August 2013 27
Faith, 30 August 2013 29
Birdsong, 11 March 2014 31
Shame and Guilt Cultures, 4 November 2014 33
Taking Democracy for Granted, 23 April 2015 35
Religion's Two Faces, 23 November 2015 37
The Good Society, 19 February 2016 39
The Impact of Social Media, 4 November 2016 41
Handling Change, 28 June 2017 43
Disagreement and Debate, 10 November 2017 45
Antisemitism, 20 April 2018 47
Loving Life, 20 June 2019 49
Confronting Racism, 28 November 2019 51
Love, 14 February 2020 53
The Coronavirus Pandemic, 15 May 2020 55
Part 2 Credo
Charity, 26 February 2000 59
Marriage, 10 June 2000 61
Listening, 14 December 2002 63
Religious Fundamentalism, 3 August 2004 65
Terrorism, 9 July 2005 68
Natural Disasters, 15 October 2005 71
Religion and Politics, 10 December 2005 74
Volunteering, 15 June 2005 77
Prayer, 7 January 2006 80
Armistice Day, 11 November 2006 83
Failure, 24 February 2007 86
Resolutions, 5 January 2008 89
Climate Change, 5 April 2008 92
Contracts and Covenants, 23 January 2009 95
The Probability of Faith, 27 February 2009 98
Crisis, 29 May 2009 101
Religion and Science, 29 August 2009 104
What Religions Teach Us, 31 October 2009 107
Faith Schools, 27 March 2010 110
Books, 24 September 2011 113
Jewish Advice, 31 December 2011 116
Achieving Happiness, 28 January 2012 118
A Life Worth Living, 5 January 2013 121
Parenthood, 27 July 2013 124
Faith, 31 August 2013 127
Part 3 Articles
Reflections: One Year On, The Jewish Chronicle, 7 July 2006 133
All Faiths Must Stand Together Against Hatred, The Times, 2 January 2009 136
Reversing the Decay of London Undone, The Wall Street Journal, 20 August 2011 139
The 9/11 Attacks Are Linked to a Wider Moral Malaise, The Times, 8 September 2011 145
Has Europe Lost Its Soul to the Market?, The Times, 12 December 2011 149
The Moral Animal, The New York Times, 24 December 2012 153
What Makes Us Human?, The New Statesman, 29 April 2013 156
If I Ruled the World, Prospect Magazine, 18 July 2013 159
A New Movement Against Religious Persecution, The Wall Street Journal, 12 December 2014 162
A Kingdom of Kindness, The House Magazine, 12 December 2014 165
Nostra Aetate: Fifty Years On, First Things, 28 October 2015 168
The Road Less Travelled, The Islamic Monthly, 10 March 2016 171
Beyond the Politics of Anger, The Daily Telegraph, 11 November 2016 174
Morality Matters More Than Ever in a World Divided by Fear and Faithlessness, The Daily Telegraph, 1 September 2018 177
Part 4 The House of Lords
Queen's Speech (Maiden Speech), 26 November 2009 185
Faith Communities, 29 May 2012 189
Religion in the United Kingdom, 22 November 2012 192
Business and Society, 12 June 2013 194
Middle East and North Africa, 30 October 2014 197
Freedom of Religion and Belief, 16 July 2015 200
National Life: Shared Values and Public Policy Priorities, 2 December 2016 202
Balfour Declaration Centenary, 5 July 2017 205
Education and Society, 8 December 2017 207
Antisemitism, 13 September 2018 209
Part 5 Speeches and Lectures
A Decade of Jewish Renewal: Installation Address upon becoming the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth (London, 1 September 1991) 213
Markets and Morals: The Annual Hayek Lecture at The Institute of Economic Affairs (London, 2 June 1998) 226
Forgiveness and Reconciliation: Address to the Millennium World Peace Summit at the United Nations (New York, 28 August 2000) 245
The Good Society: The St George's Lecture in St George's Hall at Windsor Castle (Windsor, 5 June 2000) 249
The Five Cs Essential to Our Shared Future: Address to Global Leaders of Tomorrow Summit at the World Economic Forum (Davos, 4 February 2002) 264
Insights from the Bible into the Concept of Criminal Justice: Lecture at Inner Temple (London, 1 December 2003) 267
On Freedom: The Sir Isaiah Berlin Memorial Lecture (London, 16 June 2003) 279
Faith and Fate: Address to the Plenary Session of the Lambeth Conference (Canterbury, 28 July 2008) 295
A Gathering of Many Faiths: Welcoming Pope Benedict XVI to Britain (London, 17 September 2010) 308
A New Chief Rabbi: Address at the Installation of Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis as Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth (London, 1 September 2013) 310
On Creative Minorities: The twenty-sixth Erasmus Lecture (New York, 21 October 2013) 315
The Love That Brings New Life into the World: Address at an International Colloquium on 'The Complementarity of Man and Woman' (Vatican City, 17 November 2014) 331
The Danger of Outsourcing Morality: Acceptance Speech on receipt qf the 2016 Templeton Prize (London, 26 May 2016) 342
The Mutating Virus: Speech to The European Parliament on Antisemitism (Brussels, 27 September 2017) 350
Facing the Future Without Fear, Together: TED Talk delivered at the 2017 TED Conference (Vancouver, 24 April 2017) 357
List of Published Works Jonathan Sacks 363
Index 365

Binding: Hardcover
Size: 5.80(w)" x 9.30(h)" x 1.40(d)"
Pages: 400
Language: English
Publisher: Hodder Faith (October 4, 2022)
ISBN-10: 1399800019
ISBN-13: 978-1399800013

The Power of Ideas [Hardcover]
Words of Faith and Wisdom
By: Jonathan Sacks