God Is the Good We Do: Theology of Theopraxy [Paperback]

Michael Benedikt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 17, 2007

God Is the Good We Do invites believers and agnostics to return to their spiritual heritages with a changed understanding of how religions are and are not carrying out God's will. At the same time, it invites atheists to see that God is not the oldest and strongest but the youngest and weakest force in the universe, a force whose existence depends on them as much as anyone else. God Is the Good We Do appeals to both mind and heart, offering a fresh way to think about God in this scientific and media-saturated age.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Michael Benedikt s book God is the Good We Do is a profound attempt to develop a new God language with which to define the human experience. He takes God out of the sky of theological debate and places this God in the depths of life. He empowers self-conscious human beings to embrace the power they have to bring God into human awareness.... I welcome this book and this author as my ally in the struggle to bring about a New Religious Reformation that is rooted in the ethics of life-affirming Goodness and that sees every religious system finally as an attempt to make us all more fully human. --Bishop (Ret.) John Shelby Spong, author of A New Christianity for a New World.

Benedikt makes a comprehensive case for his theology, which he calls theopraxy, with deep learning, intellectual honesty, and humane wisdom, and his may be about the best God a full commitment to rationality will allow. --Mitchell Silver, review in Jewish Currents, April/May 2008

God is the Good We Do is a passionate and profound rethinking of the meaning of the divine in human life. Its central argument for theopraxy develops biblical, Jewish, Christian, and modern perspectives on God in original and often surprising new directions. In the process, the sacred is fundamentally tied to human goodness while human morality is invested with a powerful holiness. At once down to earth and erudite, readable and penetrating, the book explores a wide range of vital questions of moral life without losing sight of its persistent and courageous goal: locating God in life s goodness. A challenge to both religious orthodoxy and contemporary secularism, it offers a truly fresh and stimulating approach to some of the most pressing issues of our time. --John Wall, Prof. of Religion, Rutgers University, author of Moral Creativity.

About the Author

Michael Benedikt is the author of For An Architecture of Reality (Lumen), Deconstructing the Kimbell(Lumen), Cyberspace: First Steps (ed., MIT Press), Shelter: The 2000 Wallenberg Lecture (U. Michigan), and God, Creativity and Evolution: The Argument From Design(ers) (Centerline Books). He is ACSA Distinguished Professor at the University of Texas at Austin, where he holds the Hal Box Chair in Urbanism and directs the Center for American Architecture and Design.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Bottino Books; 1st edition (November 17, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0979375401
• ISBN-13: 978-0979375408
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,190,914 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Transformative and Uplifting New "Interpretation" of God, December 5, 2007

By 

Tom Spencer "Soul of the Garden" (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: God Is the Good We Do: Theology of Theopraxy (Paperback)

God is the Good We Do is, by turns, profound, witty, poetic, and ultimately very practical. Thoroughly researched and beautifully argued, Benedikt's "Theology of Theopraxy" is also strikingly original. I believe this book will be discussed for many years.

Those who are uncomfortable with "God talk," but who understand that "God" is too important to be surrendered to fundamentalists should prove to be a receptive audience for God is the Good We Do. (Fans of John Shelby Spong take note.) Benedikt argues for a God that co-evolves with us, that is as dependent on us as we are on "Him," and that calls us to reverential, creative acts of good-doing. Here, God is not the all powerful originator, but rather, the "newest and weakest" force in the universe, one that is realized only when we choose to do good.

I highly recommend God is the Good We Do to both believers and non-believers alike. Rarely, have I read a work that has gotten under my skin in the way that this book has. Be prepared to be intellectually challenged for this is a serious work of philosophy and theological inquiry. Be prepared also to think about God and the potential for doing-good in an entirely new way. God is the Good We Do will lift you up, and hopefully, inspire you to do the same for those who share your world.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Even after the book is closed, you continue to think about it., January 24, 2008

By 

Judith Ann Parker (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: God Is the Good We Do: Theology of Theopraxy (Paperback)

This book has given me a refreshing new way to make sense of the concept of God. Having grown up in the Unitarian church, I was given so many choices. There is good in most religions of the world, yet I could never quite find one that rang true to me. The wisdom I found in this book has given me a new tool with which to accept the various religious traditions without so much worry over the particulars. If the practice, religious or otherwise, results in good of a concrete nature actually being done, it is the practice of God (theopraxy.) It rings true, no matter what church you go to.

To see God as the youngest and weakest force in the universe, rather than the oldest and strongest, lifts eyebrows with most people I've discussed it with. You have to reverse roles; God being the child and you being the parent. God's existence "happens" or is born with every instance of good doing. Somehow, looking at it this way replaces the "fear of God" with the pull to create and nurture God. It opens a discussion among thinking people of all religions, about our responsibility in creating the good in this world.

It's a brilliant prospective and thoughtfully written. Benedikt first presents the ideas in poetry and builds upon that framework to fully illuminate each aspect of his philosophy. With all the references and footnotes, you could spin off into the depths of intellectual exploration to your heart's content. Yet, if you didn't read them at all, you would still understand the concepts and be thoroughly entertained and intrigued. You will want to keep the book around, so that you can go back and read parts of it again to reflect on.

--Judy Parker, Austin, Texas

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Theopraxy, August 21, 2010

By 

Carl Coon (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: God Is the Good We Do: Theology of Theopraxy (Paperback)

Michael Benedikt's recent book, God is the Good We Do, is a plea for what he calls theopraxy, which is built around the concept of God as something that just happens when people do good things, rather like a flame just happens when people light a match or a fire. God didn't even exist until evolution produced sentient beings with a conscience. He/she is our responsibility rather than the other way around. She/he is what lights up our lives and makes us feel good when we do good.

It seems to me that this is about as harmless a definition of what used to be called The Almighty as can be imagined. One could argue that ascribing great powers to some almighty being or force in the sky is a buck-passing device that has often created problems for believers, and a more modest approach might work better. Denying that your deity is omnipotent and benevolent certainly solves the problem of evil, for one thing. And if doing good is what morality is all about, what's the difference, from a purely functional perspective, if the end result is for people thinking in moral terms and acting in moral ways?

Of course, it all hinges on how you define âaegoodâ. Benedikt devotes a separate chapter to this which takes off from the following proposition: âaeGood is what we call all free human actions that preserve, honor, and promote all forms and instances of life.â There are caveats, of course, fine print spelling out how you resolve some of the more obvious dilemmas you find when applying this simple rule to the real world. There are weaknesses in this approach; certainly it leaves much to be worked out elsewhere. But at least, it's a starting point for a more expansive exploration of the nature of good behavior in this modern era.

I have to acknowledge that despite some discomfort with the constant repetition of the term âaeGodâ, I enjoyed the book and found it profitable, both as an exercise in the never-ending search for the good, and on a more mundane level for flashes of dry but wise wit. I can recommend it to anyone interested in the issues it raises, even though the reader might not agree with all its content. It is thoughtful and, considering the density of the subject matter, commendably clear and well written.

Carl Coon
Progressive Humanism