Finding God Beyond Religion: A Guide for Skeptics, Agnostics & Unorthodox Believers Inside & Outside the Church (Walking Together, Finding the Way)

This is a most important piece of writing!More than a book on religion, Tom Stella invites thereader to direct their attention inward, and discoversomething precious..amazingly, something which hasalways been available to everyone.It is Experiential!If you can find what is offered in Tom's writingswithin your religion, you are indeed fortunate.You may also be a rarity!My interest in things spiritual is currently informed bythe teachings of Non-Duality, particularly those teachingswhich have been translated from Eastern sources intothe languages of the West. I also call myself a Christian,but use that label in a way that may not be well alignedwith some of the beliefs of mainline Christianity. I findmuch congruence with Tom's writings.In her Forward, The Rev. Canon Marianne Wells Borg,(wife of the late Marcus Borg) writes that it is time for anew aggiornamento, or a "bringing up to date" issuesof prayer, belief, the Bible, morality, the problem of evil,and the mission of the church--issues which underlyand organize Tom's timely book. He is, in short,defining a new paradigm for religion and spiritualityin our era.In matters of religion and spirituality, it seems thatwe have a choice in adhering to beliefs, or to experience.If we choose the path of experience, there is an encounterwith that which is beyond belief, Beyond Religion, which isthe perennial source of all religion, and the joyfulness of ourown spiritual identity.Hopefully, religions, and individuals, will be more andmore as the prodigal, recognizing at last, their sourceor home. In the view of many careful observers, thisrecognition will be best achieved via a path ofexperience, whether inside or outside the church.Finding God Beyond Religion gifts uswith A Guide for such a path...!If you are ready, you will not be disappointed..!!(And more: Tom's latest book, CPR for the Soul, isanother Five Star offering..!)

I’m a member of a Catholic religious order and I’ve been a college professor (of philosophy) for over twenty years. In that time, I’ve seen a gradual decline in religious belief among college age students (and their parents). In the face of diminishing religious attitudes, people often make one of two responses: Aggressively circle the wagons around traditional religious doctrine, or leave religious belief all together. Both responses usually leave people feeling spiritually hungry. Tom Stella provides a meaningful middle ground in this book. Stella offers an understanding of a God who “exceeds [our] wildest imagination and some of religion’s most cherished beliefs” (6). Simply put, the God Stella presents is not a Supreme Being out there in the universe but a loving mystery (in the spiritual sense) that permeates reality, making Jesus’ incarnation simply the profound truth that in all humanity is divinity. For the philosophically inclined, the book leans heavily toward religious pluralism.But this book is not academic philosophy. Stella writes with ease and compassion and is non-judgmental, making the book appealing to all who are interested in spirituality, believers and non-believers alike. The book is most helpful for the many of us who often find in traditional religion “only the thin broth of religious righteousness and the pious party line” (xxi). It is especially for us Catholics who find believing in traditional doctrine difficult or impossible and traditional practices unfulfilling. Stella manages to preserve what is essential to theism while losing all that is not. Theism, agnosticism, and atheism are all meaningful worldviews, and Stella’s “God beyond religion” provides one more.(Note: page numbers refer to the paperback edition).

I liked this book. An easy read and a good condensation of much current thought from progressive Christians . I especially liked the questions at the end of the chapters

I am always looking for books which go beyond the usual religious boundaries.This book was not one of the better ones, but okay.

This book is not for everyone. It is not for people who are content with accepting religion, God, and their own spirituality at face value. This book is not for people who do not want to explore their spirituality on a deeper level, who have never wondered if there's more to experience than their spirituality as they know it.Tom Stella's book has completely changed the way I look at religion and the subject of God. He poses fantastic insights into the spiritual journey, concepts of God that transcend the traditional teachings and interpretations of biblical texts in a way that will completely capture anyone who has not found spiritual fulfillment from traditional ideas, or has not been satisfied with literal interpretations. His ideas are refreshing, and this book is both personal and scholarly. If you looking for a book that is spiritually invigorating, whether your experience with religion has not been completely fulfilling or you're looking for that inspiration, this is the book for you.