Above Us Only Sky [Paperback]

Don Cupitt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 11, 2008

Don Cupitt believes that a new and truly global religious consciousness has been quietly easing itself in around the world. It does not need any visible organization and does not make any non-rational doctrinal claims. It is the religion of life: a secular, purely this-worldly, and radically-democratic affirmation of ordinary life. Where pre-scientific ages saw Heaven, he says, we see only sky. We have given up belief in a supernatural world, and we have felt compelled to break with the received ecclesiastical form of Christianity. But the Christian spirit of critical thinking, of systematic self-criticism and perpetual reform, has spread around the whole world in modern science, technology, critical history, and liberal democracy. In Above Us Only Sky, in 27 brief slogans, he presents a systematic theology of this religion of ordinary life, setting it against its philosophical background, its spirituality, and its relation to other faiths. It is, he says, the legacy and the long-awaited fulfillment of Christianity.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The fullest exposition to date of Cupitt's new 'everyday' religion of life. Brilliance and daring of thought and style are, by now, only to be expected from Cupitt, but this draws together many of the threads of the last ten years' of his work in a scintillatingly readable declaration of faith and hope. --George Pattison, Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity at the University of Oxford

If there is one Cupitt book to read, Above Us Only Sky is it. It offers the clearest and most complete expression of Don Cupitt's philosophy to date, and will appeal to both long-time Cupitt fans and newcomers seeking an introduction to his philosophy. --John C. Kelly, Sanford Distinguished Professor of the Humanities, Emeritus, University of Nevada, Reno

About the Author

Don Cupitt is a Life Fellow and former Dean of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, England, and the author of more than forty books including Impossible Loves (2007) and The Great Questions of Life (2006). A frequent broadcaster, mainly for the BBC, he has made three TV series, one of which, The Sea of Faith (1984), gave rise to an international network of radical Christians.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Polebridge Press (November 11, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1598150111
• ISBN-13: 978-1598150117
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #931,222 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The merger of religion and ordinary life, February 9, 2009

By 

Douglas Kings (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Above Us Only Sky (Paperback)

Since no reviews have been posted yet, I want to provide at least a short comment. Don Cupitt was known in his earlier career as the "atheist (Anglican) priest." Describing him as an atheist is not particularly helpful but he has, as his probably most famous book says, "taken leave" of God. Cupitt is "post-Christian" but readily admits his lingering affection for much of the Christian tradition and it shapes all that he writes. Perhaps less acknowledged is the importance of his clerical background, as his writing also has significant pastoral component. His interest is more than academic for Cupitt is always seeking to provide practical guidance to life in the post-modern world.

"Above Us Only Sky" is a concise summation of Cupitt's writings and thought. He describes how "the religion of ordinary life" is spontaneously taking hold throughout the world as the notion of a god "out there" becomes alien to more and more people. Religion now is to help us to accept that life is contingent, linear, and finite. In response, then, we recognize that life is now "solar", i.e. we live like the sun in a continuous process of "burning out." The book conveys a real sense of Cupitt's comfort both with how his philosophy has developed and with this latter stage of his life (he turns 75 this year). I found this book to be remarkably positive and upbeat as well as an insightful and helpful guide to life "after god." Highly recommended.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Happy Nihilism, October 31, 2010

By 

Daiho - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Above Us Only Sky (Paperback)

I learned of Don Cupitt in Stephen Batchelor's latest book, Confession of a Buddhist Atheist, in which the former Buddhist monk claims to have a greater affinity for Cupitt than for any living Buddhist thinker. After reading Above Us Only Sky, I can see why.

Both men are tussling with the problem of what to do with the religion with which they grew up, the one that appears now to be deader than dead. Are Christianity or Buddhism of any value to those of us, without recourse to ancient dogma, trying to make sense of the experience of life?

Gauging by what I read in Above Us Only Sky, Batchelor has been able to better rescue Buddhism from the idolaters than has Cupitt Christianity. Above Us has only the most minimal references to Jesus, God, or the Bible. In fact it reads more like a secular manifesto for living a good life, where good is synonymous with authenticity, generosity, and personal fulfillment. Cupitt argues that as our world is bound in language, to that degree our knowledge will always be contingent. There are no eternal truths, let alone a place of eternal rest (or damnation). Life itself has become God and the only meaning there is to it is the one we make for it. Cupitt's concern is how to make the best of what we have, of living our finite lives to their fullest.

"...the religion I describe accepts life as it is, as a package deal, finite and imperfect. We should avoid the zealous pursuit of ideals and absolute purity, holiness and perfection. The thirst for the Absolute is slightly mad, and in the end destructive. Instead we should always prefer things human, actual, imperfect, transient, and (above all) bittersweet. In ethics, I'm arguing for a practice that is as consistently affirmative as it knows how, and attempts never to allow entry to the negative emotions that poison the soul: resentment, envy, covetousness, grievance and grudge, bitterness and hatred, and all the rest. The true victory over evil is simply the practice of magnanimity. As for the bittersweetness of life, try just to live with it and smile over it. Ruefully, maybe. But there are possibilities of joy in this affliction of which we are all aware." [p89]

Above Us is a quick read (only 128 pages) and if you are new to Cupitt perhaps not all that filling. The book is something of a summary, written in bullet points and short chapters. It doesn't feel so much like Cupitt is trying to explain, as he is making sure you get everything in outline form. Even so, it might not be a bad place to start, as you can then go back and fill in the details from some of his other work.

The cover, by the way, features a character from the Japanese Zen tradition signifying emptiness, read "mu." It should be noted that in Buddhist philosophy emptiness does not refer to absence or lack, but the fullness and potential of the not yet.

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6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Quick to state his point of view with but little explanation as to why he thinks as he does., June 25, 2009

By 

John T. Clymer (Tucson, AZ) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Above Us Only Sky (Paperback)

I would call him quite liberal in his theology. This is not the first book one should read who is begining to question the evangelical teachings of his childhood where reciting creeds is important, accepting the bible as inerrant and beliving that God intervenes in human activities. First they should read books by Marcus Borg such as "The Heart of Christianity" or John Shelby's books. His most recent one is: "Jesus for the Non-Religious". Then topping it off with the recent book: "When Faith Meets Reason" edited by Charles Hedrick. Here 13 Religion scholars relfect on their spiritual journey. It is a quick and easy read. Then Don Cupitt.