Customer Reviews

What God Wants: A Compelling Answer to Humanity's Biggest Question

5 star:		(104)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

After 10 years or so of the Conversations With God series, Neale Donald Walsch pulls it all together in a wonderful summary. Having read all the other books there was little here for me that was new but then again - I was reading it through the eyes of another "I am" (see the book)
It is not as harsh in tone as The New Revelations - more closely to the tone of Tomorrow's God.
I would give it 5 stars but I really think for someone new to the series, they might read "Communion With God" first. It is gentle and makes you realize that what youi've felt all along about God inside - is true.
But I do recommend this also!

This book is what mankind/womankind needs. Following up on "Tomorrow's God", Walsch's previous book, it captures exactly the problems that religious beliefs cause in everyday life. God is not some being outside of our lives, but an integral part of all of us. As such, God has no needs except for us to be.

WHAT GOD WANTS truly expresses the core belief of all Christians and other religions; that God is a god of love. Walsch presents a God that is familiar to all of us in our souls. A God we all know exists, but tend to forget in our actions. What man/woman needs is to let go of fear and embrace this experience of a God of love.

Many of us who were brought up to see God as this "loving" yet punishing Father figure will have a hard time accepting a God who loves us no matter who or what we are. As the author points out, an omnipotent God, who is all loving, needs nothing from his/her creations. This is a very difficult idea for those who support fear based religions to hear.

This book is a must read for any true seeker of inner wisdom and spiritual insight! The ideas in here will change the world!!!

Or exciting... it all depends on how you look at it. This book really is the BEST book Neale has written. It's short, fast, and clear. It provides stunning answers to the biggest question humanity can formulate. What is it, that God, our maker and creator, wants from us? Do we really know? Does any one of our conflicting religions know? Yes and no. Our knowledge is simply incomplete. To understand the answer, we must zoom out from a piece of the puzzle (a religion, for example), to the broader picture. Wanna take a ride?!? Detach yourself from your belief systems (however inclusive you think they are), open yourself up, fasten your seat belts, and get your insurance papers out before reading this book... and then read it, listen to what it says.... at the very least CONSIDER the possibility that it is true. I guarantee you, that no matter who you are, how many similar books you have read, or how much you think you know about the answer, you will be shocked (or enlightened) by the answer. The answer to the title, in Chapter 13, may make you feel empty... or full of new life and understanding and energized to change the world for the better...

"The New Spirituality is a civil rights movement for the soul, freeing humanity at last from the oppression of its belief in a separate, angry, violent, and fearful God. Human beings have always been free. They simply have not known it." -Neale Donald Walsch

So, when was the last time you read a dangerous book?

Hang on to your seats, because author Neale Donald Walsch challenges the sacred cows of every major world religion by daring to examine what God (truly) wants. An equal opportunity offender, his singular, simple answer to the question "What does God want?" will surprise most, offend the inert close-minded, and thrill those who are already (all ready!) riding the wave of New Spirituality.

Walsch, the author of the New York Times Bestselling Conversations with God series, explores two basic questions in his book What God Wants - A Compelling Answer to Humanity's Biggest Question:

1. Who and What is God?
2. What does God want, and why?

Declaring that fear and guilt are the real enemies of humanity (and differentiating them from caution and remorse) Walsh traces war, world hunger, violence, sexism, racism and more directly to humanity's belief about God and what He wants.

On June 23, 2004, the fascinating results of a scientific survey conducted by Harris Interactive hit the wire services: 69% of adult Americans believe religious differences are the biggest hurdle to global peace. This overwhelming percentage is evidence that individuals are starting to wake up and realize that humanity's beliefs about God and what He wants is THE biggest problem in the world today.

For many nations, entire social and judicial structures are built upon beliefs about various interpretations of sacred scriptures. The major religions, without exception, advocate an "us versus them" Separation Theology. In the 19th century, Americans sincerely accepted the biblical story of Noah's son Ham to justify slavery. In that time, to raise one's voice in protest to enslavement would have been met with persecution, accusations of heresy, and possibly death.

Yet, even now, many followers of religions such as Islam, Christianity, and Judaism justify discrimination, superiority ("specialness"), indifference, hatred, and violence based on what the "sacred scriptures" say. At the risk of being labeled an infidel, subversive, or "lost sinner", Walsch sounds a clarion call that NOW is the time to ruthlessly examine what humanity believes about God, and what Deity wants from humanity.

Walsch asserts:

"When it comes to its most sacred beliefs, our society will not tolerate new ideas that violate doctrine-or even question it. Thus, we are trying to build a twenty-first-century reality with first-century moral, ethical, and spiritual tools. This would be akin to a surgeon stepping into a modern-day operating room with a very sharp stone. It is not necessary to build our tomorrows with such primitive tools. The prohibition against new ideas and new thoughts about God can and must be lifted. A new discussion about God and What God Wants must begin."

Fortunately for humanity, Walsch (and Atria Books) had the courage to open the discussion by asking difficult questions, presenting the global consequences of centuries of religious assumptions, and offering a compellingly simple solution to mankind's greatest challenges. Walsch examines ideas on morality, suffering, free will, death, male and female, money, sex, and so on through the lens of Separation Theology (which is what we've had up until now), and how those same ideas look through the lens of Unity Theology.

While humanity is in some deep do-do right now, the good news is that we can choose TODAY to make different choices-including how we choose to see God, life, and our fellow man.

Indeed, our very lives-and the life of the planet-may depend on it.

As Walsch succinctly puts it: "We human beings do not need to be saved from the `snares of the Devil', we need to be saved from ourselves. We are threatening to condemn ourselves to Hell right here on earth. We can yet create Heaven on earth, but we must choose now very wisely...That new understanding can launch the Thousand Years of Peace of which it has been written. It can give birth to a Golden Age of Glory."

Amen and Amen.

Janet Boyer, author of The Back in Time Tarot Book: Picture the Past, Experience the Cards, Understand the Present (coming Fall 2008 from Hampton Roads Publishing)

The core message in this book is to reduce fear. Fear from religious dogma, and damnation if you don't obey and listen. I found it useful, and helpful in that respect. People need more courage to align with God, rather than cower away out of fear.

If you like this book, you would also like Friendship with God also By Neale Donald Walsh, and If God Was Like Man by Barbara Rose. They are both additional great reads.

'What God Wants' explores some of the most controversial and sensitive questions that all of humanity has asked throughout time, about who God is, what God wants, and where do we, as individuals and as a collective fit in?
Neale Donald Walsch concludes with answers that make simple sense of otherwise potentially conflicting and confusing issues, and in doing so, uncovers some exciting revelations that give hope to all of humanity, and are within everyone's reach of understanding and application to their life. This is a book that gives a refreshing perception to old, deeply ingrained belief systems, and challenges us to be greater, more thoughtful and responsible beings. I feel that the message Walsch is delivering demands a more powerful portrayal. However, whatever your belief or understanding of God, this is a very worthwhile read and is sure to open doors to much contemplation and potential change.
To further explore God, there is no better reading than the compilation of remarkable teachings by Ramtha, particularly 'A Masters Reflection on the History of Humanity' Part 1 and Part 2. Ramtha's unlimited knowledge and genius gives each individual the tools and knowledge to be great, to reclaim their lost and forgotten divinity and to understand God from a personal and scientific level, giving hope for a noble, adventurous and joyfilled life. The subject of what God wants, amongst many others, is thoroughly and beautifully explored in these two volumes.

Belinda Dawson.

I once read the original "Wizard of Oz" with my children. They asked, at the end of the story, why the people of Emerald City didn't realize there was a wizard behind the curtain pulling all the levers and making all the rules. Upon discussion, one of them said it was because the people of Emerald City didn't WANT to know.
Walsch has become a "Toto" of these times and ripped away the curtain from our everyday plodding and made us question how we've seen God (and life) for so very long. Like in his previous books, Walsch's "What God Wants" will make you think twice about life. It'll make you ask questions. Question how our beliefs in God have shaped this world. Question if that is how you want it to stay. Question how we can recreate a better world today. Don't be an Emerald Citian. Be Toto! Question your reality.

I am writing as someone who has read and is a big fan of most of Walsch's prior work (especially CWG 1, 2, 3, Communion with God, and Tomorrow's God). What God wants is basically a short and easily accessible summary version of his prior work, and probably a good introduction for those who haven't read Walsch yet, and an excellent choice for those who don't like thick books. For the fans of Walsch's writings like me: it nicely completes the collection, but it doesn't really add anything!

The other thing is that this one does not dwell on the "big" universal metaphysical questions, which is what I liked about the others: it is, I think, mostly targeted at the many people who have faith in one of the main monotheist religions (Christians, Jews and Muslims - I guess Conservative American Christians are his primary focus), of which I am and was not.

So, I would still recommend the Conversations with God, Communion with God, or Tomorrow's God, over this one, for the essence of Walsch's incredible message and their more universal appeal. I would recommend this one to offer as a gift to people you know who have faith in one of the big monotheist religions and are starting to examine their faith.

It is of course legitimate that Walsch now wants to spread his message as widely as possible, so I guess he will be experimenting with different writing styles, all at the same time intensifying, like he does here, his call to action to bring about the New Spirituality on earth.

I think what this book will accomplish over time is to open up an overdue debate about some of the most significant philosophical issues in our history - a debate that those in power have successfully squashed for a few thousand years. That is why this is a dangerous book. But it is dangerous only to those who want to use their authority to hide the Truth or to impose their views on the world. For the rest of us, it will be a force for spiritual and psychological liberation. Mr. Walsch's genius is in presenting these extremely complex issues in a logical, easily understood manner.

This book you'll probably either love or hate. Evidence: see how many reviewers gave it either a 0-1 or a 5. Shows it's an important book. It IS provocatively written. But it's hard to argue with Walsch's logic or with his general contentions and their far-reaching implications.

Many might prefer, as I do, that he'd have given some of the positives of traditional religion, which are many, along with the strong negatives. But to his credit, Walsch more than once warns that he is simplifying complex subjects. I give him some slack because most authors in the theological/philosophical arena, myself included, lean to the complex side. We need accessible books like this to stimulate deeper thought and conversation.

And actually, there is more research and careful thought behind what he is saying than meets the eye. Through 5 years of graduate theological education, many years of Christian ministry, and years more of self-directed study, I've encountered the same concepts. But I found "What God Wants" to bring a fresh approach, and stimulating, concise, helpful summations and calls to action. He is absolutely right to emphasize that actions follow beliefs and the emotions associated. We need a lot of new actions! Few books confront us as well on the vital need to examine and revise our often-counterproductive (and wrong-headed) beliefs about the most foundational issues for us individually, as a society, and the world.