Why are so many baby boomers tuned into a quest for spirituality? How did growing up with the Bomb influence a generation's view of science and spirit? What effects did psychedelic drugs have on American spirituality? What is the difference between open-mindedness and gullibility? Is God a necessary part of a religious life? Is atheism merely a negation of religious belief, or is it something more? Waiting for God challenges us to become the God we seek: Like Prometheus, Bush steals the Heavenly Fire, and treasures a vision of planting it in his own heart and the hearts of his fellow men. Waiting for God offers a probing look at the generational factors - growing up with the Bomb, psychedelic drugs, environmental crisis, and more - that led the Woodstock generation down the path of spirituality. Waiting for God grasps, from an atheist's perspective, the sense of human interconnection that defines contemporary spirituality and poses challenges for skeptics and humanists to provide spiritual leadership in a hungry age.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
Bush [seeks] a deeper understanding of an individual's relationship with God [and] poses challenges for skeptics and humanists. -- Library Journal
Bush's analysis is thoughtful and provocative. -- The Reconstructionist
I never imagined a book could force me to confront my faith in God in such a forceful way. -- Jewish Literary Review
[A] highly readable, insightful, and wide-ranging personal reflection that illuminate[s] the spiritual development of 'counter-cultural' baby boomers. -- Mitchell Silver, author of A Plausible God
[Bush] writes about non-belief with an empathy for believers missing from the works of the New Atheists. -- New Jersey Jewish News
Bush's analysis is thoughtful and provocative. -- The Reconstructionist
I never imagined a book could force me to confront my faith in God in such a forceful way. -- Jewish Literary Review
[A] highly readable, insightful, and wide-ranging personal reflection that illuminate[s] the spiritual development of 'counter-cultural' baby boomers. -- Mitchell Silver, author of A Plausible God
[Bush] writes about non-belief with an empathy for believers missing from the works of the New Atheists. -- New Jersey Jewish News
From the Publisher
What is the spiritual journey of an atheist? For Lawrence Bush it's been a lifelong religious quest.
A red diaper baby, Bush's path began with an unreflective acceptance of his parents' staunch Communist atheism. Like many in his baby boomer generation, Bush first tasted spirituality in his experiences with psychedelic drugs. The conversion of his brother to Orthodox Christianity brought home the fact that religion could indeed be a personal option. Writing speeches for the leader of Reform Judaism put him in the center of a world of liberal religion, forcing him to confront his feelings about the ritual and communal aspects of religion. Bush also wrestles with other aspects of atheism: Is atheism up to the challenge of repairing an ecosystem damaged by mankind? Can atheism "explain away" the real experiences through which many see the hand of God or angels?
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Waiting for God: The Spiritual Explorations of a Reluctant Atheist by Lawrence Bush offers a penetrating analysis of the spiritual journeys of the older baby boomers ("Woodstockers," to Bush), interwoven with his own thoughts and personal experiences as one of that generation.
Although he was a "red diaper baby" whose Communist parents were atheists to the core despite their "cultural" Jewishness, Bush nevertheless found himself swept up in the spiritual struggles of the 60s and 70s, which were, in his opinion, fueled by the nuclear anxiety of the Cold War as well as widespread experimentation with marijuana and hallucinogens. (The influence of the drug culture on much of present-day liberal Judaism, he feels, is a tale that has never been fully told.) Despite the temptations of "cosmic oneness" and feel-good spirituality, however, his ingrained skepticism would not allow him to make the final leap of faith. Nevertheless, as he grew older he developed a deep respect for the principles articulated in Jewish philosophy, and has spent most of his adult life working for Jewish religious institutions despite his continuing status as an unbeliever.
Is it possible to be a "spiritual atheist"? Bush grapples with this question and others, arguing with both the committed secularist and the less traditional forms of religion such as Matthew Fox's "creation-centered" Christianity, Mordecai Kaplan's vision of a "reconstructed" Judaism, and nature-centered religions such as Wicca. Unlike the "New Atheists" such as Richard Dawkins, he attempts to avoid dogmatism and black-and-white thinking, and whatever the reader's beliefs, they are sure to be challenged by this provocative, thoughtful book.
Although he was a "red diaper baby" whose Communist parents were atheists to the core despite their "cultural" Jewishness, Bush nevertheless found himself swept up in the spiritual struggles of the 60s and 70s, which were, in his opinion, fueled by the nuclear anxiety of the Cold War as well as widespread experimentation with marijuana and hallucinogens. (The influence of the drug culture on much of present-day liberal Judaism, he feels, is a tale that has never been fully told.) Despite the temptations of "cosmic oneness" and feel-good spirituality, however, his ingrained skepticism would not allow him to make the final leap of faith. Nevertheless, as he grew older he developed a deep respect for the principles articulated in Jewish philosophy, and has spent most of his adult life working for Jewish religious institutions despite his continuing status as an unbeliever.
Is it possible to be a "spiritual atheist"? Bush grapples with this question and others, arguing with both the committed secularist and the less traditional forms of religion such as Matthew Fox's "creation-centered" Christianity, Mordecai Kaplan's vision of a "reconstructed" Judaism, and nature-centered religions such as Wicca. Unlike the "New Atheists" such as Richard Dawkins, he attempts to avoid dogmatism and black-and-white thinking, and whatever the reader's beliefs, they are sure to be challenged by this provocative, thoughtful book.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
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Length:
2:19
Mins
Lawrence Bush is a reluctant atheist... reluctant because he dreams visions. His poem "When Moshiakh (messiah) Comes" expresses his hope for a better -- and transformed -- world.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By David Marell
Format:Paperback
Larry Bush's Waiting For God is like staying up very late with a good friend discussing the meaning of life, the reality of God, the foundations of belief. I find Waiting For God satisfying, engaging, interesting and relevant to my life and time. My generation, my peers, are defining God for ourselves. It can be a lonely, internal journey. Mr. Bush thoughtfully brings us through his process. He takes us with him. It is a delicious, satisfying, intelligent, frustrating, conundrum from Mr. Bush's mind, heart and life. Enjoy Waiting For God yourself, then recommend it to your book club. Is a work to be shared, discussed and enjoyed.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing concepts about God
Lawrence Bush has written a superb take on the concept of God. Regardless of the title, Bush is more of a reluctant than atheist. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Stargazer Steve
5.0 out of 5 stars
Remember Those Feelings?
How many times have you heard someone describe himself as spiritual rather than religious? Here is a really useful exploration of the impulse to search for meaning. Read more
Published on May 1, 2008 by Anne Bienstock
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Woodstock Generation!!!
This is one terrific book. Bush may be a "reluctant atheist" but he is not reluctant to share his thoughts, feelings, experiences and, no less important, his scholarship. Read more
Published on April 29, 2008 by Meyer A. Rothberg
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thoughtful and fair!
I'm a religious person with a committed spiritual practice, but in spite of its title, I loved this book. Read more
Published on April 27, 2008 by David A. Tapper
5.0 out of 5 stars
Waiting For God - Excellent, Engaging & Thought Provoking Read
Lawrence Bush's "Waiting for God" Confessions of a Reluctant Atheist, is an excellent read examining one man's personal and honest journey to come to terms with those doubting... Read more
Published on April 27, 2008 by Gary K. Sales
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