Customer Reviews

The Sermon on the Mount: The Key to Success in Life

5 star:		(81)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

Fox encourages us to use our minds with our religion. This is a great work. In it's time it must have been quite controversial. Today Conversations with God and An Encounter With A Prophet expand on what Fox had to say in the 1930's. All three books are a must read for independant thinkers.

I am a recovering alcoholic. A few months back I went on an 8 day cruise to Central America. When the ship left the dock I was seized by a panic, I would be stuck on this ship, away from my support group in no less than a floating bar. I was up most of the first night. The next day I found this book (a friend had loaned it to me) and in desperation I started reading. By the end of the day my panic had passed and I felt closer to God than I had in a long time. I thought I had given up on Jesus many many years ago and that was the attitude I had when I boarded the ship. After reading this book I stepped on to the shore in Miami a Christian again, something I thought was quite impossible. This is a very powerful book. Mr. Fox sweeps away centuries of religious dogma and brings us back to the spiritual principals Jesus actually taught. I have read it several times since my trip. It has done nothing less than revolutionize my whole outlook on life and recovery. The right book at exactly the right time in my life. I pray it will do the same for you.

Emmet Fox was a philosopher and lecturer in the '30s; this book was read and used by the founders of AA before the Big Book was written. Although Fox writes of what I think of as "absolutes" (you can overcome death, for example) kind of in the style of the Oxford Groups (also popular at that time), I find his approach to the Jesus Christ message full of hope and clear cut examples of how to apply this to your daily life. I cannot recite the Lord's Prayer without thinking of Fox's interpretation. I love this book!!

The traditional interpretations of Jesus the Christ's teachings have turned thinking individuals into opponents of the Bible. Well, Mr. Fox's work (I read the original version published in the 1930's) provides some acceptable insights.

While Mr. Fox's works are slightly skewed in his references to how the "European race" has civilized the rest of the world, brought order where there is chaos, etc., etc., there is a solid message here.

His analysis the Sermon on the Mount (Mathew 5, 6 and 7 in the Bible), demonstrates beyond a shadow of a doubt that the mind is the builder of all that is in the life of man and woman.

If you are a Christian fundamentalist who has decided not to question literal, traditional interpretations of the Bible in any way, this book is not for you. However, if you find that traditional, mainstream Christianity doesn't fit into your views of life and yet you still believe in the fundamental usefulness of the core teachings of Christianity, I offer that you do the following:

1) Read this book with an open mind

2) Test some the principles in your own life, applying the principles to the resolution of problems that have heretofore not been solved using other methods

3) See what happens.

Every New Thought book I review I also mention the works of Dr. Joseph Murphy's ("The Power of Your Subconscious Mind" is his most famous) because they have had such an impact on my life as well the lives of countless others. If you are new to New Thought and are trying to decide which books to buy, I say read Joseph Murphy Book "Telepsychics" where he discusses Emmet Fox and this book as well.

This is the most wonderful interpretation of the Sermon on the Mount I have yet found. I have read this small book many years ago, but its words have become engraved on my mind and in my heart and it has had a profound impact upon my life.

It deals with spiritual truths, which many people recite through prayer daily, but don't give it much thought. This little book points out in a very clear way, all the elements of not only praying in a way that the prayers are answered, but of creating a successful life - and developing attitude, character and consciousness that brings about that success.

This book has in its own way changed the way I looked upon my relationship with God and my relationship with abundance and one's "daily bread". It has also kept me aware that if one desires to open the way, before the person even begins to pray, the person first needs to cleanse his mind and heart, and forgive anyone toward whom he holds any form of unforgiveness (including himself).

When I joined AA 4 months ago I was spiritually bankrupt and as cynical and bitter about organized religion as they come. The idea of praying and giving my will and my life over to a higher power was inconceivable. Fortunately, my sponsor suggested this book and I am now reading it for the second time, this time under-lining Mr. Fox's prose. To say that my life has change for the better since I've read this book is an understatement and I carry it with me every day. I just love the way Mr. Fox puts his spin on Jesus' sermon. What a wonderful way to live!

"A practical handbook of spiritual development...Fox gives his readers a profound outlook upon life, and an absolutely fresh scale of values." NY Times


The Sermon on the Mount:
Studying these inspiring words of Jesus instructed to all disciples, recorded in the 5th, 6th, and 7th chapters of the Gospel according to Matthew, we are informed how the true disciples of Christ live, love and change realities of life. The Mount Sermon presents the core of Christian discipleship, conceived by the born again individuals, only by the grace of the Lord. The most important debate over the sermon is its applicability to real every day life. Almost all contemporary Christian denominations have developed a conceptual, non-literal, ways to interpret and apply the sermon, thought to be too utopian, advocating only nonviolent resistance, and endangering the survival of civil human society. Alterations of the text of the Sermon were proposed to make it more palatable. Some preachers, inserting 'without a cause,' while interpreting; "whosoever is angry with his brother shall be in danger of the judgment." While "Love your enemies" was tuned down to "Pray for your enemies" etc.

The Sermon Teachings:
The Sermon on the Mount as recorded in Matthew, chapters 5, 6, and 7 can be divided into three main teachings:
- The Beatitudes; These teachings are meant to comfort suffering believers, beginning with "blessed."
- New upgraded laws; Raising the bench mark, in contrast to Moses teachings, 'Old law' with the new loving commandments of Christ, consisting the core of Christian moral teachings. Christian attitudes concerning the use of money. Reasons to avoid worry. Motives for fasting and offering gifts. Warnings on money. Dangers of hypocrisy and of false teachers. Jesus concludes with a warning parable of the wise and foolish builders
- The Lord's prayer; A model prayer that Jesus teaches as the proper way to approach the Father, based on the central asking for His Kingdom.

Fox's Christian Science:
Emmet Fox's; "The Sermon on the Mount" does not include any radical 'New Thought,' and nothing sectarian, certainly, not new age. This booklet is a fundamental discourse presenting the ideas at the core of 'Christian Science.' At heart, it means to be entirely practical, as the "Christian Science" reveals. Enriched with daily relevance, this book stresses N. V. Peale's 'The Power of Positive Thinking' principle and its capacity for restoring the faltering faith of millions. Fox offers stimulating insights on methodology of self transformation, explaining that thoughts are factual beings, and their potential lies in their creative and constructive use. These inspiring Fox's essays put in focus: 'How to have it all; health, happiness, and a liberated spirit, through the power of constructive thought.'

Fox's Sermon:
Denying there is any theology in the Bible, Fox argues that Jesus was preaching real life: "Jesus explains to us...the meaning of life and of death; shows us why we make mistakes; why we yield to temptation; and, most important of all, he tells us how all these evils may be overcome, and how we may bring health, happiness, and true prosperity into our lives."
In his master work, Emmet Fox explains how to interpret and apply the true nature of divine wisdom, taping into the power of prayer to develop a fully expressed and integrated personality. What did Jesus teach? Fox's answer in 'The Sermon on the Mount' is simple. "The Bible is a 'textbook of metaphysics' and the teachings of Jesus express, without dogma, a practical approach for the development of the soul and for the shaping of our lives into what we really wish them to be." For Fox, Jesus was 'no sentimental dreamer, no mere dealer in empty platitudes, but the unflinching realist that only a great mystic can be.' Fox taught: Transform negative attitudes into life-affirming beliefs and claim our divine right to a fully abundant life.

Emmet Fox:
Fox attended Stamford Hill Jesuit college near London, and became an electrical engineer. However, he early discovered that he had healing power, and from the time of his late teens studied New Thought. He came to know the prominent New Thought writer Thomas Troward. Soon he went to the United States, and in 1931 was selected to become the successor to the James Murray as the minister of New York's Church of the Healing Christ. Fox became immensely popular, and spoke to audiences in some of the largest halls in the city. He was ordained in the Divine Science branch of New Thought, and half a century after his death, the writings of Emmet Fox remain influential.

I read this book when I first began searching for meaning, a sense of connection, and inner peace. Emmet Fox's book took me back to the feelings I had as a little girl sitting in church filled with innocence, wonder and awe. I think he explains what Jesus really meant with his words rather than what his words have been distorted to mean.

This book teaches about love and acceptance. It is a beautiful guide if you really want to connect with the essence of who and what you are. It showed me how to really practice being loving to myself and others and how to find peace amongst the chaos.

This book is a wonderful addition to anyone's library. On a scale of 1-5 I'd rate it a 10!

Some where in this book you will read something, that will change your life.

I was first introduced to this book about 12 years ago, but at that time the last thing I wanted to read or discuss was anything having to do with religion, God, or spirituality. I refused to read it, even though the recommendation came from one of my closest and most trusted friends. In the time since then, many things have happened in my life which forced me to reconsider my previous convictions. I was no longer as happy or serene as I had been in the past, and I somehow intuitively knew that the answer lay within the realm of spirituality. I made a commitment to obtain another copy of the book, and to read it. I would not be guilty of "contempt prior to investigation". My journey began with 2 wks. of prayer, asking for understanding. I earnestly sought answers to questions which had baffled me all my life. I began my reading with an open mind, and within the first few pages, I knew I had found what, for me, was an absolute treasure. This book has become indispensable in my sincere desire to grow in the light of truth. Powerful emotions evoked by what I read just rolled over my soul, and I began to see. From the first day I began reading, I have not looked at religion and spirituality the same as I once did. I truly consider it to be one of the single greatest gifts which I have ever received, and I am filled with gratitude and thankfulness for the blessing.