Sea of Faith — Dunedin

Reflections on the history of economic thought. Raising the Question – Smith and the Enlightenment – From Smith to the Welfare State – Pre-Enlightenment hangovers in economics – Twentieth-century welfare economics – A Final Word: from Smith to Rawls (19pp)

The year 2011 – Fingerprints of God [mental phenomena] – The Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony – The Once and Future -The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ – The Story behind the [Christmas] Story – Are religions really the same – Is inequality bad? – Dennis Dutton – Is the world stuffed? – The Big Religion Chart – From the Chair (12pp)

A paper presented at the 2011 Conference under the heading: Pulling us Back from the Brink – Economics? Science? Religion?

A Power-point presentation at the 2011 Conference under the heading: Pulling us Back from the Brink – Economics? Science? Religion?

Physical Resources reaching limits – What about climate change – What about renewables? -What about nuclear? – Is oil money? – My answers (8pp)

The Revaluing of All Values – What Values Do We Need to Survive? Geering: Nietzsche’s Contribution; Grant: Justice, stewardship and compassion – re-balancing core values; Bradstock: Theology and values in a secular society; Peet: A no-growth future for humankind? (14pp)

A paper presented at the Dunedin Sea of Faith Group September 2012. (16pp)

A paper presented at the 2011 Conference under the heading: Pulling us Back from the Brink – Economics? Science? Religion? (12pp)

It was 12 December, 2008, just twelve short weeks since my wife, Nadia, had died from acute leukemia, leaving our eight children motherless. Thirty-four days later, my beloved Bossan, my sweet, shy Aya, and my clever and thoughtful Mayar were dead. This is what happened to me, to my daughters, to Gaza. This is my story. (237pp)

After ordination into the priesthood Barrie Allom sought (further) security and mystical status in a religious order, a quest which resulted in the first of a series of traumatic crises or turning points which shaped the rest of his life. Beyond Belief is a profound study of the part played by the Church in one man’s development and his subsequent departure from the Church as his development outgrew traditional beliefs. (266pp)

The late twentieth century has witnessed the emergence in every religious tradition of a strain of threatening and militant fundamentalism, yet, significantly, fundamentalists remain beyond the comprehension of the rest of the world. In The Battle for God, Karen Armstrong explains brilliantly and perceptively how and why their understanding of religion and society differs so starkly from that of their contemporaries. (371pp)

Karen Armstrong’s book cuts through the cliche to reveal a faith which has inspired as many scholars, mystics and poets as soldiers. Islam, she makes clear, has not only been one of the world’s most important and inspiring religions but the basis for one of its most illustrious civilizations. … – Financial Times (161pp)

Islam is the world’s fastest growing religion. Karen Armstrong’s biography provides us with an accurate and profound understanding of Islam and the people who adhere to it so strongly Muhammad also offers challenging comparisons with the two religions most closely related to Islam – Judaism and Christianity. (266pp)

The history of myth is the history of humanity; our stories and beliefs, our curiosity and attempts to understand the world, link us to our ancestors and each other. Armstrong takes us from the Paleolithic period and the myths of the hunters right up to the “Great Western Transformation” of the last five hundred years and the discrediting of myth by science. (149pp)

The centuries between 800 and 300 BC saw an explosion of new religious concepts. Their emergence is second only to man’s harnessing of fire in fundamentally transforming our understanding of what it is to be human. But why did Socrates, Buddha, Confucius, Jeremiah and Lao Tzu – among others – all emerge in this five-hundred-year span? And why did they have such similar ideas about humanity? (399pp)

“Who better to recount the history of the Bible in eight short chapters than the former nun and literature professor who relishes huge topics and panoramic descriptions? Armstrong not only describes how, when and by whom the Bible was written, she also examines some two thousand years of biblical interpretation by rabbis and bishops, scholars and mystics, pietists and critics, thus opening up a myriad of exegetical approaches and dispelling any fundamentalist notion that only one view can be correct.” Publishers Weekly. (229pp)

For the first time in history,many millions of people want nothing to do with God. In the past, individuals went to great lengths to experience a sacred reality that the described as God, Brahman, Nirvana, or Dao. …Why has the modern God become incredible? Does God have a future in this age of aggressive scientific rationalism? Karen Armstrong suggests that if we draw creatively on the insights of the past, we can build a faith that speaks directly to the needs of our troubled and dangerously polarized world. (316pp)

In his forward to God or Godswallop, Lloyd Geering writes:”I am often asked to read manuscripts and sometimes inwardly groan when another turns up. This one I read without stopping, not only because it is relatively brief and concise, but also because its honesty and freshness make it so alive. Many of its readers are likely to find it resonates with their own spiritual problems and dilemmas …”At a time when some clergy are being painfully forced to acknowledge (at least to themselves)  that they are atheists, here is an atheist of some fifty years’ standing who has found that atheism was not enough.” (50pp)

Charting his journey from hippie to monk to lay practitioner, teacher and interpreter of Buddhist thought, Batchelor reconstructs the historical Buddha’s life, locating him within the social and political context of his world. In examining the ancient texts of the Pali Canon, the earliest record of the Buddha’s life and teachings, Batchelor argues that the Buddha was a man who looked at human life in a radically new way for his time, more interested in the question of how human beings should live in this world than in notions of karma and the afterlife. According to Batchelor, the outlook of the Buddha was far removed from the piety and religiosity that have come to define much of Buddhism today. (240pp)

At a February 2000 conference, seven scholars of religion were asked to explain how their ‘personal experiences … study, and …. faith perspective influence’ the way that they, as individuals, ‘see God’. This new volume recounts the conference proceedings, offering luminous essays by prolific writer Karen Armstrong, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, rabbi Lawrence Kushner, nun Joan Chittister, and others. [R]eaders of all religious persuasions will find that they see God differently when they have finished this valuable collection – Publisher’s Weekly. (160pp)

For the millions of people who have turned away from many traditional beliefs about God, Jesus, and the Bible, but still long for a relevant, nourishing faith, Borg shows why the Christian life can remain a transforming relationship with God. Emphasizing the critical role of daily practice in living the Christian life, he explores how prayer, worship, Sabbath, pilgrimage and more, can be experienced as authentically life-giving practices. (225pp)

David Boulton, humanist and Quaker, argues that humanism and a reasonable faith are not mutually exclusive. Drawing on his own varied experiences as boy-evangelist, failed politician, peace campaigner, television producer and broadcasting watchdog, he puts a case for radical religious humanism and urges a fresh commitment by both believers and sceptics to the making of ‘the republic of heaven on earth’. (219pp)

Brilliant and timely … Everyone ought to read it, especially those with no sympathy for religion and its crazier adherents … David Boulton is an investigative journalist and the book is an enormous achievement, with its vivid descriptions of what scholars have uncovered … Apart from the excitement of the story of the historical quest, here is the perfect resource for people who want a one-volume guide to a multi-volume industry. It’s all here, and it’s as up-to-date as you are likely to get. – Richard Holloway. (406pp)

In this important book Peter G Brown seeks to chart a new future for all who share this planet. Through a series of careful arguments, he identifies three challenges ahead of us: first, to come up with an adequate account of our minimal obligations to each other, and to the rest of the natural order; second, to redefine and reshape the institutions of economics, government, and civil society to reflect these obligations; and third, to re-conceptualize and redirect the relations between nations so as to foster these institutions and discharge these obligations. He also argues that we have direct moral obligations to non-humans – this he calls “respect for the commonwealth of life”. (158pp)

The author writes: “By about 70C.E. when Mark wrote his gospel, the tendencies to ‘theologise’ Jesus were already well under way … So [Mark] is not recording the events themselves, but rather their theologised version as current in his time and community. …Although the author has presented an alternative Jesus, and one who may not find universal acceptance, he has also given us an academic commentary which provides essential insights for anyone seeking to understand Mark’s gospel in a contemporary way. (280pp)

In Our Endangered Values, Carter offers a personal consideration of “moral values” as they relate to the important issues of the day. He puts forward a passionate defense of separation of church and state, and a strong warning of where the country is heading as the lines between politics and rigid religious fundamentalism is heading.Now he describes his own involvement and reactions to some disturbing societal trends that have taken place during the last few years. The changes involve both the religious and political worlds as they increasingly become inter-twined, and include some of the most crucial and controversial issues of the day – frequently encapsulated under “moral values”. (200pp)

Although in many ways New Zealand is a well-functioning society, nevertheless it contains significant tensions. There are inequalities and injustices, and on some international indicators such as the rate of imprisonment we are doing badly. The lecture draws on the wisdom of three notable thinkers to show how changes in the way we relate to others can help ease tensions and resentments between individuals and cultures. The key to equality is mutual respect, but how is this to be achieved? The lecture concludes by giving particular attention to the relationships between Maori and Pakeha, in both directions. (29pp)

K. C. Cole writes from the crossroads of art and science, mind and matter, sense and soul. A prizewinning science journalist, she is famous for her unique way of making scientific discoveries jump off the page into the heart and mind of the reader. Whether she writes about the babblings of the new-born cosmos, the deep science of making castles in the sand, or the lessons contained in pond scum, Cole is able to bring intimidating concepts close to home.Cole is enchanted by the intensely human endeavour of research, the deliciousness of ambiguity, and the deceptive nature of absolutes. Her great gift to the reader is her ability to find the connections between the far reaches of scientific research and the richness of everyday life as well as the politics that shape the fate of our world. (302pp)

This book is marvelous. Crossan’s respect for both memory and imagination lets him paint a portrait of Jesus even while dismantling the mythic materials of the gospels. The style is dazzling, the portrait haunting. – Burton Mack, author of The Lost Gospel. (201pp)

Did Paul invent Christianity? … Crossan and Reed team up to examine what archaeology and textual scholarship can tell us about the apostle and his role in Christianity, revealing that Paul, like Jesus, focused on championing the Kingdom of God – a realm of justice and equality – against the dominant, worldly power of the Roman Empire. (413pp)

In this fine study of civilization, culture, and transformation, Crossan asks important questions: have those who resort to violence as a means of change succeeded in their quest for empire? Or has nonviolence been more effective in bringing about lasting change? Crossan’s latest work presents a complex subject in a clear and powerful way, and it merits a wide readership. (242pp)

This is quintessential Crossan, providing just the right amount of historical detail and literary insight to enhance our understanding of the prayer in its original setting, and drawing out the transformative power of its words for all who follow Christ today. (190pp)

Radical Christians therefore find the present church very uncomfortable. Don Cupitt assesses the strategies for their survival, and describes a redesigned church for the future, a church that would be structurally democratic, credally minimalist, and consistently libertarian. (173pp)

Don Cupitt reinterprets for the 1990s, the traditional doctrine that the world has been created out of nothing by the divine Word. He shows how recent developments in thought hae led to the rediscovery both of nihilism and of the creative power of language. …Reality and the conquest of nihilism are …effected by language, and the way is thus opened for a new ‘creationist’ conception of religious truth and life.This book offers …a genuine alternative to pietism and fundamentalism. (203pp)

Religion is human – Whatever happened to morality? – Restoring the body – Mysticism and Transience. (A small book)

In Life, Life (Cupitt) has assembled some 250 … life-idioms. Cupitt mines this database to develop a modern religious philosophy of human life. In it, ethics and stories take the place of traditional supernatural dogma. This fully life-centred religious outlook turns out to be a lively radical theology…. (Cupitt) challenges us to rethink religion and morality in terms of ordinary, contingent, ‘outsideless” life.

Don Cupitt here sharply juxtaposes the traditional Apostles’ creed of western Christianity and the emergent creed of modern radical theology. Side by side, they look amazingly different, and Cupitt carefully explains what is happening, and why. The main change, he argues, is that the old creed situated the believer within a huge narrative cosmology, the central myth of a great religion-base civilization whereas the new creed merely defines the bare outlines of a modern spirituality. The new religion emerges as being scarcely credal at all: it is the practice of ‘solar living’. People no longer ‘look up’: instead, they are content simply to claim their own lies, to find their own way of living them, and to live life to its fullest. Just ordinary life itself is now the religious object – which shows the ‘post’protestant’ character of the new outlook.

The Old Creed and the New tries to define and situate this new kind of religion, and encourages the reader to think about it both intellectually and spiritually. (141pp)

Don Cupitt proposes a reinterpretation of Christian history, arguing that the meaning of the West is not Catholic Christian but radical Christian. The original Jesus was a secular figure … His followers personified his teaching in him and promoted him to heaven … until his return at the end of history.Today, Christian supernatural doctrine is dead, but the secular ‘West’ is Christianity itself now emerging in its final ‘Kingdom’ form. (155pp)

Christianity’s grand narrative – its myth of cosmic Creation, Fall and Redemption – was fatally damaged by Galileo and later astronomers, and by historians of human origin. Don Cupitt rewrites that grand narrative as the story of how religion called us out of nature and gradually made us ourselves – social beings in an ordered world, language-using and self-aware. (129pp)

Science and religion in a changing world – Genesis – Did God create the universe? – Why is there a universe? – What is life? Holism vs reductionism – Mind and soul – The self – The quantum factor – Time – Free will and determinism – The fundamental structure of matter – Accident or design? – Black holes and cosmic chaos – Miracles – The end of the universe – Is the universe a ‘free lunch’? – The physicist’s conception of nature. (229pp)

The debate over evolution versus creation, science versus religion has been bitter and divisive, with each camp dismissing the points of the other. .. Dowd puts those divisions to rest. Dowd offers a perspective that allows both views to exist in harmony. With evidence from contemporary astrophysics, geology, biology, anthropology, and evolutionary psychology, he finds a unity, not a collision, with religion. Ranging over concepts as diverse as deep ecology, original sin, the Big Bang, salvation, and sustainability, Thank God for Evolution celebrates a cosmology that is comprehensive and non-exclusionary. Dowd provides a solid moral and ethical foundation for a life of passion and deep meaning in troubled times. Science and religion are, in Dowd’s view, two sides of the same coin. (369pp)

In Lost Christianities, Bart Ehrman offers a compelling look at the early forms of Christianity and shows how they came to be suppressed, reformed, or forgotten. Each of the early Christian groups insisted that they upheld the teachings of Jesus and his apostles, and they all possessed writings that bore out their claims, books reputedly produced by Jesus’ own followers. Modern archaeological work has recovered a number of key texts, which reveal religious diversity that says much about the ways in which history gets written by the winners. … Ehrman examines in-depth battles that raged between “proto-orthodox Christians” – those who eventually compiled the canonical books of the New Testament and standardized Christian belief – and the groups they denounced as heretics and ultimately overcame…. Lost Christianities is an eye-opening account of politics, power, and the clash of ideas among Christians in the decades before one group came to see its views prevail. (257pp)

….the truth behind the many mistakes and changes that can be found throughout the Bible, including the following:

* The King James Bible was based on inferior manuscripts that in many cases do not accurately represent the meaning of the original text.

* The favourite story of Jesus forgiving the woman caught in adultery (John 8:3-11) does not belong in the Bible.

* Scribal errors were so common in antiquity that the author of the Book of Revelation threatened damnation to anyone who “adds to” or “takes away” words from the text. (261pp)

….Ehrman skilfully demonstrates that the New Testament is riddled with contradictory views about who Jesus was and the significance of his life. Ehrman reveals that many of the books were written in the names of the apostles by Christians living decades later, and that central Christian doctrines were the inventions of still later theologians. Although this has been the standard and widespread view of scholars for two centuries, most people have never heard of it. Jesus, Interrupted is a clear and compelling account of the central challenges we have when attempting to reconstruct the life and meaning of Jesus. (283pp)

The worldview of Christendom – The impact of science – The  quest for certainty – Responsibility – ‘Body, mind and spirit’ – Sanctions  – Justification of sanctions – The language of morals – Ethical criteria – Some reflections (86pp)

Upon the Disruption, 18 May 1843, The Free Church of Scotland was landless. In the country, open air services held between the high and low level water marks were exposed to inclement weather. The idea behind a flat-bottomed covered Floating Church containing 200 people was that one couldn’t be evicted from the sea. (Illustrated) (12 pp)

A reconstruction of the historical Jesus as a poet of the Kingdom of God and a searing indictment of lectern and pulpit, professor and pastor, for not saying clearly what they know technically and not saying publicly what they think privately. – John Dominic Crossan. (314pp)

Papers and Prayers from the Christian Ecology Conference, April 1999. A Joint Publication of the Christian Ecology Group and the Maclaurin Chaplaincy. (70 pp)

Machines, Computers and People, the winter 1985 series, examines the impact of human technology not only on the world, but also on its creators. From the hand tool to the computer, technology has changed our lives – but for better or worse? (29pp)

Human Destiny, a series of lectures given in July 1990, drew large and appreciative audiences. In them, Lloyd Geering sketches the most basic options we have as humans concerning our future. All traditional answers to the question of human destiny have largely become anachronistic. (42pp)

Creating the New Ethic, first delivered as lectures in October 1991, differentiates between ethics and morality and outlines the areas of our live where changing circumstances are making new  ethical demands on us. (40 pp)

Religious Trailblazers, first developed as lectures in October 1992, examines the contributions of four seminal thinkers who explored radically new paths for religion; Friedrich Schleiermacher, Ludwig Feuerbach, Carl Jung, and Teilhard de Chardin. He says that though historically in our past, they are spiritually ahead of us. (48pp)

In Crisis in the Christian Way, first delivered as lectures in September 1993, Lloyd Geering says the Christian Church today faces a momentous choice – to be bound by a past which has become obsolete, or to be a path-finder on the way of faith for the future.Avoiding a blind alley – Deciding at the Crossroads – Removing the roadblocks – Taking the open road. (52pp)

Geering argues that, for our own survival, we must consciously create new meaning for our lives. We must focus – and urgently – on caring for the earth. But new systems of meaning can only evolve out of our cultural past, and Geering shows how the Christian tradition may lead towards a new world of meaning. (236pp)

Sacrifice in a Secular World, the Easter 1985 series, is a study of the human drive to sacrifice… an urge often barbaric in its practice and outcome. Willingly, we have sacrificed others, rather than offering up that greater sacrificial gift – ourselves. (28pp)

Encounter with Evil, the Easter lecture series 1986, examines both the theological and secular concepts of power. By exploring the origins of evil, Lloyd Geering offers and engaging argument that there is the possibility of eliminating evil in the world. (31pp)

After examining the reasons for Christianity’s decline, the author writes eloquently about the likely shape of the global future. People everywhere will recognise his concerns at the turn of the century -the fragility of the environment, the population explosion, the conflict of cultures, the deepening poverty, the ongoing nuclear threat. (162pp)

In 1984, shortly after the Economic Summit Conference in New Zealand, Lloyd Geering delivered a series of lectures entitled Envisioning New Zealand’s Future. In Paradise on Earth he revisits the hop of a more harmonious and just society, and asks: How has the global scene changed? What would paradise on earth look like? What can we do to move towards it? What is stopping us? (57pp)

The bitter clash between Israel and the Palestinians for possession of the Holy Land is the chief factor that has been fomenting, in the Arab and Muslim world, distrust of the West in general and hatred of the US in particular.This book sketches the historical factors that lie behind this conflict and attempts to analyse the respective rights and responsibilities of all who are concerned with it. (65pp)

Does the ‘death of God’ spell the end of the whole Christian tradition? Or does it simply mean the end of conventional Christian doctrine? Christianity Without God affirms the latter, treating Christian culture as a living and evolving stream. (146pp)

Christianity burst into life 2000 years with a message of salvation for people then expecting an imminent end of the world and the return of Jesus Christ. Fundamentalists still await that.In contrast, we now face an imminent global crisis that we humans are causing because of our interference with the ecology of the planet and Christianity has even been blamed for it.Lloyd Geering here discusses some radical changes Christianity needs to undergo if it is to play a positive role in the salvation of humankind within this entirely new situation. (54pp)

‘A lucid and moving account of a lifelong quest characterised by integrity, honesty and a passion for truth.’ – Karen Armstrong. 267pp)

Lloyd Geering has brought Ecclesiastes to life by ingeniously composing imaginative dialogues with the sage, which shows that he was a free-thinker, a humanist, and an existentialist…. The role of the sage, as Ecclesiastes saw it, was not to pass on gems of eternal wisdom, but to goad us into thinking things out for ourselves in our search for the meaning of life. (210pp)

A series of talks by Professor Lloyd Geering at St Andrew’s on the Terrace, Wellington, New Zealand. Jung – and self-understanding, – and religious experience, – and the archetype of God, -and global unity. (Case of 2 DVDs.)

Twenty well-known New Zealanders reveal some of their personal beliefs and private thoughts about their childhood and adolescence, about religion, spirituality, politics, identity and sexuality. Those featured include Sir Edmund Hilary, Dame Catherine Tizard, Sir Guy Powles, Dame Mira Szaszy, Michael King, Margaret Mahy, Fraser McDonald, Shirley Smith, Eru Pomare, Ian Cross, Lorraine Moller and Irihapeti Ramsden. (254pp)

In this book Ian Harris suggests that it is possible to re-conceive the Christ of faith in a way which stems from the core faith tradition, yet which is culturally appropriate to the world as we know it on the eve of the 3rd millennium. (102pp)

John F Haught gives clear, concise and compelling answers to the charges against religion laid out in recent best-selling books by Richard Dawkins (The God Delusion), Sam Harris (The End of Faith) and Christopher Hitchens (God is Not Great). For some, these “new atheists” appear to say extremely well what they believe to be wrong with religion. But, as John Haught shows, the treatment of religion in these books is riddle with logical inconsistencies, shallow misconceptions, and crude generalizations. Can God really be dismissed as a mere delusion? Is faith the enemy of reason? And does religion really poison everything? (107pp)

The most fundamental questions about the origins of the universe and of life itself, once the province of philosophy, now occupy the territory where scientists, philosophers and theologians meet – if only to disagree. In The Grand Design, the most recent scientific thought about the mysteries of the universe is presented in language marked by both brilliance and simplicity. (181pp)

This radical book is a rescue attempt – a heartfelt and passionately argued presentation of the challenge of Jesus, which reveals the essence of his teachings and shows why they are revolutionary, human and of immense contemporary importance. Doubts and Loves is a compassionate and accessible work of scholarship, a blueprint for belief that subverts traditional ways of understanding the Bible and Jesus. (251pp)

Religion without Religion – Reclaiming the Future – Managing the Chaos – Redeeming the Chaos.

Doubts and Loves will appeal to all of us who continue to be interested in the moral challenge of our times … it is an involved, painful, personal struggle with the Big Questions. For Holloway, the moral challenge is not who should be excluded, but how to include the whole world. (92pp)

Looking in the Distance celebrates the possibilities that life affords whilst examining how doubts and fears too often paralyze people, especially as they get older. It is a highly personal and meditative work that will inspire whoever reads it, helping us to better understand the different ways in which the human search for wholeness and healing can be approached.  …(It) is accessible, funny, serious, hopeful andd heartfelt – a book that will change your life. (215pp)

The book discusses significant passages from both the Hebrew and Christian scriptures, and explores the evolution of the split between the two communities, the tragic consequences of which still reverberate powerfully. (120pp)

The purpose and nature of prayer – Chaplaincy reflections on prayer – Maori perspectives on prayer – Prayers written by the chaplains – Prayers written by students – The Student’s Psalm – A variety of graces to pray before meals – A New Zealand Christmas – Classic Prayers – Prayers from other faiths – General prayers – Prayers for peace. (54pp)

Why aren’t believers better people than non-believers? Why are there so many religions? Why did God wait till a couple of thousand years ago to send his son to earth? Is God bigger than one religion? How do we reconcile what we believe with what we know? Man will always find security and truth in the traditions that developed, and good for them. But for those who can’t, for those who have given up on religion or never thought it worth considering, the original teachings are worth another look. If we could recover them and live by them, we could change ourselves and the world for the better. We could bring God back to earth. (320pp)

“Here Johnson has given us a God truly worthy of our belief, fidelity and love. Every word breathes  with the author’s own deep love of God, the church, and the world. Combining her usual theological sophistication with the practical wisdom that comes from a life-long commitment to the life of faith, this is theology as it should be.” – Robertos Goizueta, Assoc. Prof. of Theology, Boston College, and past president of the Catholic Theological Society of America. (228pp)

…. An impressive array of activists and intellectuals, representing the Palestinian nonviolent movement alongside Israeli Jews who have supported their struggle for equality, justice, and self-determination. (475pp)

Theology, Gordon Kaufman suggests, is an imaginative construction, the creation of a symbolic world for ordering life. As it has been constructed, so it can be be reconstructed, and Kaufman does so in a way that clarifies both the historic roots and the present-day applications of Christian symbolism. (461pp)

… a moving story of one man’s quest for truth and spiritual authenticity. From the nature of prayer to Christian views on life after death, Knitter demonstrates how Buddhist perspectives can inspire a more person-centred and socially engaged understanding of Christianity. … (217pp)

An adventure into the contemporary trends that are reshaping religion and spirituality – both in established traditions and through new and evolving beliefs and practices.Dr Kohn offers to those who have the eyes to see a new pathway into a religious future that is real. It might be religion’s last chance. – Spong. (213pp)

Distinguished historian of religion Bruce Lawrence gracefully describes the Qur’an’s interpretation and use – by individuals, leaders, poets, and even on building walls … This book, like the book it studies, is meditative and unique, a lovely read for any spiritual person, Muslim or not. (199pp)

What was (the) ‘Disruption’? Why did it loom so large in the minds of many early Presbyterians in New Zealand? Why, and when, did its grasp on the collective imagination begin to slip? (43pp)

This book … seeks to look at everything through one lens, the model of the universe or the world as God’s body, an organic model providing perspective from which to consider major theological issues …. What does it mean to understand sin as the basic refusal to share the necessities of survival? … (212pp)

‘The uncovering and explanation of the structured depths of nature continues to fascinate and excite me, evoking a sense of delight and wonder shared by countless others working in these fields. Yet I write these words as a wounded lover, one who has become increasingly aware of a darker side of what I had once seen in a solely positive light.’ (188pp)

Edgar Mitchell is not a mere astronaut-technician, but a many-faceted cosmic explorer who also probes the nature of divinity. He ushers in new concepts challenging science and religion, and makes us think differently and more appreciatively about life on this planet. And not only Edgar Mitchell is the explorer in this book – so are we.  … is an awesome educational experience. (216pp) (83pp)

Primal Cultures and Religions: the Shaman – Ancient Empires and Religions: Persian Zoroastrianism – Hebrew Prophets – Abrahamic Religions – Hindu Tradition – Buddhism: Pan-Asian religion – Western Modernity and Secular Enlightenment – Spiritual Revolution? (83pp)

… this collection includes material that will be … new to many of his New Zealand readers. Based on detailed archival research, the selections demonstrate the remarkable consistency and development in the thought of this increasingly influential thinker. (382pp)

‘This book critiques Geering’s now well-known religious atheism, examining its philosophical underpinnings. ‘The authors look at the justifications of ‘Geeringism’, in particular his rejection of the cognitive content (and other aspects) of Christian belief, and illuminate not only the specifics of his approach to the age-old questions “How are we to live?” and “What are we to believe?”, but also the wider set of ideas from which such issues have arisen.’ (176pp)

What is our nature? What is this enigma that we can human? Who are we? Since the dawn of human history, people have exhibited wildly contradictory qualities: good and evil, love and hate, strength and weakness, kindness and cruelty, aggressiveness and pacifism, generosity and greed, courage and cowardice. Experiencing a sense of eternity in our hearts – but at the same time confined to temporal and spatial constraints – we seek to understand ourselves, both individually and as a species. (277pp)

… (Prothero) shows that the differences between the major religions are far greater that we think: they each ask different questions, tackle different problems, and aim at different goals. God is not One highlights the unique aspects of the world’s major religions, with chapters on Islam, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Yoruba religion, Judaism, Daoism and atheism. (340pp)

In this ingenious and spellbinding retelling of the life of Jesus, Philip Pullman revisits the most influential story ever told.

Charged with mystery, compassion and enormous power, The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ throws fresh light on who Jesus was and asks the reader questions that will continue to reverberate long after the final page is turned. For above all, this book is about how stories become stories.

Pullman has serious fun with the interaction between the brothers. It is Christ, impressed by his brother’s oratory and moral passion, who puts the three satanic questions to him during his period in the desert. And in the parable of the prodigal son, Christ knows Jesus is fingering him as the timid, mean-spirited, stay-at-home older brother. (245pp)

Who are the Karo? They are the people of the highlands of North Sumatra. In a little over one lifetime they have experienced colonial occupation, invasion by the Japanese, revolution, and the emergence of the modern Republic of Indonesia.

In this study of Karo religion, Simon Rae shows how it has expressed Karo identity, how the people have responded to change, and how close are the ties that bind them to their land.

Celebrating One Hundred Years 1876-1976 – The Theological Hall 1976-1984 – Creative Energy and the Stress of Diversity 1985-1989 – In Difficult Times: Years of Tension 1989-1994 – A Special Relationship: The Theological Hall and the University of Otago 1976-1996 – Back to the Drawing Board: Inventing the School of Ministry 1997 – The School of Ministry 1997-2007 – Knox Centre for Ministry and Leadership – Change and Continuity (187pp)

In High Noon, J. F. Rischard challenges us to take a new approach to the twenty most important and urgent global problems of the twenty-first century. Rischard finds their common thread: we don’t have an effective way of dealing with the problems that our increasingly crowded, interconnected world creates. Our difficulties belong to the future, but our means of solving them belong to the past.

Rischard proposes new vehicles for problem-solving that are startling and persuasive. With its clear-eyed urgency and refreshing specificity, High Noon is an agenda-setting book that everyone who cares about the future must read. (204pp)

Three Prophets’ Nonviolent Actions: Case stories from the lives of the Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad – The Prophets and Murderers: Re-enchanting peace with prophetic paradigms – Forgiveness in Southeast Asia: Political necessity and sacred justifications – Information about the Dunedin Abrahamic Interfaith Group. (40pp)

God the What?: What Our Metaphors for God Reveal About Our Beliefs in God.

Pt One: God absent and present. Ch 1. The Missing Star – Ch 2. Experience and Religious experience – Ch 3. Conscious awareness of God – Ch 4. Intimations of transcendence. Pt Two: Incognitos of God – Forms of his unrecognized presence. Ch 5. The depth in existence – Ch 6. Human dependence – Ch 7. The search for meaning and wholeness – Ch 8. The call to responsibility – Ch 9. The pull of the not-yet. Part Three: The cognitive value of religious experience. Ch 10. The reality of God. (202pp)

“The few fairly recent [sermon] efforts I have gathered together are not startlingly good, but they try to open up in an acceptable way how the Gospel might be expressed if one takes seriously the post-theistic approach of a number of contemporary theologians …

There may be others who are grappling with these issues, and my attempts may be of interest to them. (94pp)

In the 2006 CBC Massey Lectures, renowned ethicist Margaret Somerville asks: What does it mean to be human today, when mind-altering scientific breakthroughs are challenging our ideas of ourselves, how we relate to others and the world, and how we find meaning in life? Somerville touches upon the controversial topics such as new reproductive technologies, genetic modification and transhumanism. And she eloquently proposes that it is only by undertaking a journey of the imagination – by heeding our stories, myths, and moral intuition – that we can truly develop an ethic to guide us into the future. (248pp)

Moving beyond the facade of certainty (4 chapters) – Moving beyond traditional sexual stereotypes (6 chapters) – moving beyond tribal identity (4 chapters) (202pp)

[Spong] presents a carefully researched, boldly persuasive argument that “the virgin of a literal Bible, the virgin of the annunciation, Bethlehem and the manger, corrupted by the years of an overlaid male theology, will have to go.” His daring and engaging reading of scripture shows that “only the church that manages to free itself from its sexist definition of women anchored significantly in the virgin Mary tradition, will survive.” (224pp)

Showing the strong formative influence of Jewish tradition on the early Christians, Spong argues convincingly that most of the details of Jesus’ Crucifixion are not historical, but derive instead from Jewish Midrash, legends, and myths. Through this radical interpretation of the New Testament, he offers a provocative and inspirational re-creation of what happened on that first Easter.(293pp)

Pt 1. Understanding the Biblical Issues. (Ch 1) Ch 2. The Gospels are Jewish books. Ch 3. How these Jewish books became Gentile captives. Pt 2. Examining the Gospel texts from a Jewish perspective. (7 chapters). Pt 3. Looking with Jewish eyes at critical moments in the Christian faith story. (9 chapters). Epilogue: Entering the God presence of the Bible and Jesus. (335pp)

… Spong explores the future of ethics, prayer, and Christianity itself. His manifesto is both the summation of his life’s work and a guide for every reader searching for a reasoned, just and loving faith. (228pp)

… Spong has spent a lifetime struggling to discover and create a more just, loving and authentic Christian faith. Throughout his career as an Episcopal priest and bishop, he has inspired praise and gratitude among the marginalised Christians whose cause he has championed, as well as hostile resistance from traditional ad conservative Christians whom he has so boldly challenged. Here I Stand reveals the private side of this very public figure, as [he] tells the story of the people and events that shaped his thoroughly contemporary, yet dieeply biblical theology and his commitment to liberal Christian values. (461pp)

[Spong] presents his inspiring alternative to what true faith should be today – a Christianity premised upon justice, love and the rise of a new humanity – and offers a unified vision of authentic Christian belief for the third millennium.

Spong looks beyond traditional boundaries to open new avenues and a new vocabulary into the holy. What does God look like beyond theism? How do we understand evil? (246pp)

… Spong surveys the great conflicts in Western history. He reveals, for instance, how the Bible was used to oppose the Magna Carta and support the divine right of kings, to support slavery and later apartheid and segregation. Christian leaders used the Bible to justify the Crusades as well as the virulent anti-Semitism of the Holocaust. The Bible is still quoted in the church to justify treating women, gays and lesbians as second-class citizens. In addition, the Christian church, while claiming allegiance to this book, has encouraged the abuse of children and supported environmental degradation. How can a book called ‘The Word of God’ leave a trail of such violence, hostility and death throughout its history? (298pp)

Spong challenges much of the traditional understanding that has for so long surrounded the Jesus of history, from the tale of his miraculous birth to a virgin, to the account of his cosmic ascension into the sky at the end of his life. Spong questions the historicity of the ideas that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, that he had twelve disciples and that the miracle stories were meant to be descriptions of supernatural events. He also speaks directly to those contemporary critics of Christianity who can God a “delusion” and who write letters to a “Christian nation” and describe how Christianity has become evil and destructive.

Spong invites his readers to look at Jesus through the lens of both the Jewish scriptures and the liturgical life of the first-century synagogue. … Spong proposes a new way of understanding the divinity of Christ: as the ultimate dimension of a fulfilled humanity. (293pp)

This book, written by a group of New Zealand scholars, theologians, historians and lawyers, examines the question of New Zealand’s Western culture and Christianity. The contributors explore recent debates over secularisation, exploring its merits and explanatory power, while also showing its limitations. Throughout the West diverse forms of religiosity and spirituality remain widespread, and while changing form, show few signs of disappearing. The contributors insist that it is impossible to understand contemporary relations between the west and, for example, the Islamic world without understanding the religiosity on both sides of this complex and portentous divide. Several contributors raise questions about the extent to which Western political, intellectual and media elites really understand what ordinary Westerners, let alone Muslims, actually believe. The assumption still pervasive amongst secular Westerners that religion is dying out constitutes a species of wishful thinking that the twenty-first world can no longer afford. (230pp)

As modern society becomes more diverse and human choice increases, many people are questioning traditional medicine and health care. Alternative therapies are challenging how we care for people and questioning the way we understand not only individual but also social health.

In this book Dr James Stuart examines the biology of belief and the importance of meaning for the wellness of the human spirit, and then explores the relevance of healthy religious concepts to the development of a healthy society.

Dr Stuart argues that human wellness is directly related to affirming beliefs and share meanings. When these are present religion is relevant and society is healthier. (64pp)

From the big bang to the present and into the next millennium, The Universe Story celebrates the total community of existence as it unites science and the humanities through a profound and poetic modern myth.

Grounded in contemporary scientific understanding and inspired by the world’s great wisdom traditions, cosmologist Brian Swimme and cultural historian Thomas Berry meld the findings of contemporary science – cosmology, geology, biology and sociology -with the human search for meaning. The resulting account articulates fifteen billion years of existence with awe, delight and vision.

Swimme and Berry remind us of the importance of story – “story is the only way of providing, in our times, what the mythic stories of the universe provided for tribal peoples and for the earlier classical civilizations in their times.” In a richly detailed narrative of epic sweep, they recount the unfolding of the universe, from the “primordial flaring forth” and the formation of galaxies and supernovas to the “human emergence,” classical civilizations and imminent Ecozoic era.

The Universe Story compellingly explores humanity’s place in the evolving cosmos and our ecological imperative. … (268pp)

We are in the midst of a spiritual revolution. Churches are emptying and traditional forms of faith are being abandoned. Meanwhile interest in a more personal spiritual experience, ranging from exploring indigenous religions and long-forgotten mysterious sects and cults, to seeking spirituality in nature, has never been greater. What is happening to our society? What does this change tell us about our beliefs, our needs, and where are we headed?

In The Spiritual Revolution [Tacey] reveals how … new forms of spirituality meet needs not addressed by traditional religion, and he argues for a bridge between the old and the new to help us find new meaning and significance in our contemporary world. (226pp)

Religion is one of the most powerful forces running through human history, and although often presented as a force for good, its impact is frequently violent and divisive. This provocative work brings together cutting-edge research from both evolutionary and cognitive psychology to help readers understand the psychological structure of religious morality and the origins of religious violence. These insights are applied to both Judaism and Christianity, and their texts, to illustrate how our evolved mind shapes religious beliefs and influences human events.

Contrary to popular belief that religious violence is a corruption of true religion, carried out by individuals who twist its teachings, Teehan argues that religious violence is in fact grounded in the moral psychology of religion. This controversial argument is illustrated with reference to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and the response to the attacks from both the terrorists and the President. (219pp)

If a selection of prominent people had been asked to describe their ideas about God thirty years ago, their answers would have fallen into a range of predictable categories. Today philosophies of the absolute are radically different, and are influenced by social change, environmentalism, feminism, quantum physics, liberation moments and indigenous spirituality. In The Future of God, important figures from around the world reveal a[n] extraordinary range of ideas as they speak openly about the role of God in their lives and in society – today and in the years to come.

Provocative, often startling and always fascinating, each chapter challenges readers to revise their notions of humanity, spirituality and the deity, and together the interviews paint a picture of the future of belief in the 21st century. (260pp)

Mark Vernon was an Anglican priest, left a conviction atheist, and now finds himself to be a committed, searching agnostic. Part personal story, part spiritual search, this journey through physics and philosophy concludes that the contemporary lust for certaintty is demeaning of our humanity. We live in a time of spiritual crisis, but the key to wisdom – as Socrates, the great theologians and the best scientists know – is embracing the limits of our knowledge.

This much expanded edition was previously published as After Atheism, and includes new chapters looking at mindfulness meditation, pic’n’mix religion, quantum spirituality, the probability of God and why Stephen Hawking is wrong about nothing. (260pp)

the dialogue begins …

I have heard the crying of your heart. I have seen the searching of your soul. I know how deeply you have desired the Truth. In pain have you called out for it, and in joy. Unendingly have you beseeched Me. Show Myself. Explain Myself. Reveal Myself.

So go ahead now. Ask Me anything. Anything. I will contrive to bring you the answer. The whole universe will I use to do this. So be on the lookout; this book is far from My only tool. You may ask a question, then put this book down. But watch.

The words to the next song you hear. The information in the next article you read. The story line on the next movie you watch. The chance utterance of the next person you meet. Or the whisper of the next river, the next ocean, the next breeze that caresses your ear – all these devices are Mine; all these avenues are open to Me. I will speak to you if you will listen. I will come to you if you will invite Me. I will show you then that I have always been there.

All ways. (211pp)

This book is for anyone who would like to take faith seriously but finds their intelligence getting in the way. It outlines many of the objections raised to formal Christian religion, and suggests ways of dealing with them which do not compromise people’s intellectual integrity. The claim made here is that Christianity is far more about the way we live than the way we think, that faith can work for all of us, and that what we may or may not believe must never be allowed to get in the way of faith. (223pp)

In this little book, Allan Yeoman seeks to describe his understanding of what has shaken the Christian Church over the past decades. What seemed, at first, to be an unwelcome intrusion into the ordered life of the church, namely a reversion to ultra-conservatism, he believes has turned out to be almost total rejection of a necessary ongoing adjustment to the world as it is today.

If the church cannot fulfill its founder’s charge to change the world, the future of the human race will be in the hands of a benign secularism or humanity might facilitate its own demise. (48pp)