or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
Express Checkout with PayPhrase
What's this? | Create PayPhrase
More Buying Choices
60 used & new from $3.25

Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Behold the Spirit: A Study in the Necessity of Mystical Religion
 
 
Tell the Publisher!
I’d like to read this book on Kindle

Don’t have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here.
 
  

Behold the Spirit: A Study in the Necessity of Mystical Religion (Paperback)

~ Alan W. Watts (Author) "Philosophers and historians have been saying for years that the Western world is in a period of acute crisis..." (more)
Key Phrases: incarnational mysticism, second religiousness, mediaeval man, Holy Spirit, New York, Middle Ages (more...)
4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)

List Price: $12.00
Price: $10.20 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
You Save: $1.80 (15%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

Want it delivered Tuesday, November 24? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details
21 new from $6.50 37 used from $3.25 2 collectible from $12.00

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
  Hardcover, December 31, 1970 -- -- $11.08
  Paperback, February 11, 1972 $10.20 $6.50 $3.25

Frequently Bought Together

Behold the Spirit: A Study in the Necessity of Mystical Religion + The Wisdom of Insecurity + The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are
Price For All Three: $29.47

Show availability and shipping details

  • This item: Behold the Spirit: A Study in the Necessity of Mystical Religion by Alan Watts

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

  • The Wisdom of Insecurity by Alan W. Watts

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

  • The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are by Alan W. Watts

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details


Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

This Is It: and Other Essays on Zen and Spiritual Experience

This Is It: and Other Essays on Zen and Spiritual Experience

by Alan Watts
4.8 out of 5 stars (12)  $8.80
Become What You Are

Become What You Are

by Alan Watts
4.4 out of 5 stars (9)  $10.17
The Wisdom of Insecurity

The Wisdom of Insecurity

by Alan W. Watts
4.7 out of 5 stars (53)  $9.95
The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are

The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are

by Alan W. Watts
4.5 out of 5 stars (79)  $9.32
Does It Matter?: Essays on Man's Relation to Materiality

Does It Matter?: Essays on Man's Relation to Materiality

by Alan Watts
4.3 out of 5 stars (9)  $10.36
Explore similar items

Editorial Reviews

Review

Comments Upon Original Publication Of

Behold The Spirit

"I regard [the] book as one of the best -- in fact the only first-rate -- book in recent years in the field of religion. It gets to the fundamental problem, it honestly sees the weaknesses of contemporary Protestantism, and it attempts to diagnose and cure the evil in the only way a cure can be effected, namely by a doctrine with content at the basic metaphysical level.

"It also goes further than this, recognizing contributions from Oriental religion which simply are not present in contemporary Western religion. More than this it shows how the traditional Western doctrine of the Incarnation and the Atonement can be reconciled with and combined with the intuitive religion of the Orient, such as that of Zen Buddhism. These are exceedingly important and outstanding achievements."

F.S.C. Northrop

"Behold the Spirit will, I think, prove to be one of the half-dozen most significant books on religion published in the twentieth century." Canon Iddings Bell -- Review


Review

Comments Upon Original Publication Of

Behold The Spirit

"I regard [the] book as one of the best -- in fact the only first-rate -- book in recent years in the field of religion. It gets to the fundamental problem, it honestly sees the weaknesses of contemporary Protestantism, and it attempts to diagnose and cure the evil in the only way a cure can be effected, namely by a doctrine with content at the basic metaphysical level.

"It also goes further than this, recognizing contributions from Oriental religion which simply are not present in contemporary Western religion. More than this it shows how the traditional Western doctrine of the Incarnation and the Atonement can be reconciled with and combined with the intuitive religion of the Orient, such as that of Zen Buddhism. These are exceedingly important and outstanding achievements."

F.S.C. Northrop

"Behold the Spirit will, I think, prove to be one of the half-dozen most significant books on religion published in the twentieth century." Canon Iddings Bell

Product Details

  • Paperback: 288 pages
  • Publisher: Vintage (February 12, 1972)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0394717619
  • ISBN-13: 978-0394717616
  • Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 4 x 0.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #109,659 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

More About the Author

Alan Watts
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Visit Amazon's Alan Watts Page

Inside This Book (learn more)



Books on Related Topics (learn more)
 
 

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Behold the Spirit: A Study in the Necessity of Mystical Religion
73% buy the item featured on this page:
Behold the Spirit: A Study in the Necessity of Mystical Religion 4.9 out of 5 stars (11)
$10.20
Become What You Are
8% buy
Become What You Are 4.4 out of 5 stars (9)
$10.17
The Wisdom of Insecurity
8% buy
The Wisdom of Insecurity 4.7 out of 5 stars (53)
$9.95
The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are
7% buy
The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are 4.5 out of 5 stars (79)
$9.32

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 
(1)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

 

Customer Reviews

11 Reviews
5 star:
 (10)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.9 out of 5 stars (11 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars One of His Best!, May 13, 2003
By Ross James Browne (Atlanta, Georgia United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
_Behold The Spirit_ is one of the most clearly written, profound, and enlightening books on theology I have ever read. This book represents the ideal combination of profundity and readability - never again will you say that a book must be difficult to read just because it deals with extremely complex and deep subject matter. Like most of Alan Watts' books, _Behold the Spirit_ is an absolute pleasure to read, yet competently deals with universal metaphysical questions which have troubled man for many centuries. For instance, Alan Watts talks at length about the problem of what God was doing before He created the universe. Was He just sitting there alone? The answer can be found in the book.

To me, this type of theological question is quite fascinating. I appreciated the unorthodox and critical approach Watts took in examining a wide range of theological and general metaphysical issues. In other words, this is not an evangelical or fundamentalist Christian book; it is a critical and sceptical examination of Christianity and man's belief in God. I highly recommend this work to anyone, and if you only want to read one or two of Alan Watts' most important works, they should be _Behold the Spirit_ and _Psychotherapy East and West_. These two works represent the solid core of Alan Watts' philosophy. They are rigourous, profound, and comprehensive psychological works which are also remarkably succinct, miserly, and readable. With Alan Watts, you can obtain large amounts of elightenment in a short amount of time, with minimal aggravation and headache.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars better than a cup of steaming java, December 29, 2001
During my days as a resident assistance of a christian fellowship i discovered this book in a rather large box donated to me by my sister. Amongst the books their were titles by Kenneth Hagin and Kenneth Copland. I perused these and hastily laid them aside. then i commenced this book by Dr. Watts and my my jaw hit the floor. what a radical departure from the sterile christianity I was mired in.
I started to incorporate Watt's teaching in my bible studiesand eventually i left that bastion of provincial thought and started
my own search.
All of alan's writings are absolutely enlightening i would recommend this book to anyone, no matter what they denominate themselves
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A Return to Mysticism, March 20, 2005
By Nicq MacDonald (Sioux Falls, SD United States) - See all my reviews
Christianity is, today, in a strange place. While the religion is in steep decline in Europe, conservative, literalist forms are on the rise in an America hungry for some spiritual depth. Yet these forms also invite a great deal of disdain from seekers hungry for a faith that gives deep meaning without insulting their intelligence.

Written almost sixty years ago, Alan Watts "Behold the Spirit" is as relevant today, if not moreso, than it was then. Addressing the acute problems within both Catholicism (which is used loosely, including Orthodoxy and "High Church" protestants such as Episcopalians and Anglicans) and Protestantism, Watts chalks them up to an irrelevancy steming from the periods they evolved out of. As Watts points out, the early Christianity of the bible, Paul, the Church Fathers, the Neoplatonists, and Augustine was the high wisdom of a dying civilization- Rome. The Christianity of the medieval era was the literalist religion of a newly born Western civilization, while the Christianity of the Renaissance and modernity is the stripped-down moral faith of an adolescent civilization rebelling against it's roots. In order to gain a wisdom appropriate for a mature civilization, Watts contends, we must look to the wisdom of other mature civilizations- the Christianity of the ancients, and the mystical wisdom of the Eastern religions.

Watts goes on to discuss what a "nondual" Christianity and Christian mysticism would look like ("we must develop a Christian way of washing our hands"), the problems with philosophical modernity and Protestant moralism, and the issues of spiritual "monkey business"- thinking that we can attain sanctity by imitating forms rather than recognizing the spirit.

Overall, an important contribution to modern theology, and a worthwhile, though quick, read.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspired Brilliance with a caveat
Behold the Spirit stands in the company of very few books in my life that can be called foundational. The expression of the Christianity portrayed within is simply amazing. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Daniel Wilkewitz

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best things I've read recently
This is quite simply a great book. I stayed away from it, even after a Catholic priest friend recommended it 30 years ago, because I knew Watts had essentially repudiated the... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Gary P. Biester

5.0 out of 5 stars A mystical trail blazer
This book explores how traditional Western religious doctrine can be reconciled with the intuitive religion of the Orient. Read more
Published on April 27, 2006 by Al Link and Pala Copeland

4.0 out of 5 stars A Needed Antidote To Extremism.
Being quite familiar with Watts and his many books,indeed he was one of the most freshest spirits available in print,and remains so, the basic message of direct experience with... Read more
Published on July 17, 2005 by Original Mixed Up-Kid

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent introduction to Watts
this is my favorite book by Alan Watts. originally published in 1947 while he was still an Anglican priest, it is perhaps a better introduction to his work for newcomers -- not... Read more
Published on August 15, 2002 by a

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing book!
This book has touched me in ways unimaginable. After reading this book, I started to evaluate my whole outlook on my religion. Read more
Published on September 8, 2000 by artsygeek

5.0 out of 5 stars A powerful treatment of Incarnation theology
This book stands as a masterpiece in Christian thought. The discussion of the role of symbol and ritual in the life of the church is engaging and thought provoking, and the... Read more
Published on November 30, 1998

5.0 out of 5 stars My 2nd Favorite Book
This is, next to the Gospel of John, my all-time favorite book & I've read a good 500 or so books in my 32 years. Read more
Published on May 15, 1998 by LightJesusMaryLover

Only search this product's reviews



Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   




Product Information from the Amapedia Community

Beta (What's this?)


Look for Similar Items by Category


Look for Similar Items by Subject

 

Feedback

If you need help or have a question for Customer Service, contact us.
 Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
Is there any other feedback you would like to provide?

Your comments can help make our site better for everyone.


Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.