Friendship with God: An Uncommon Dialogue (Hardcover)

by Neale Donald Walsch (Author) "I remember exactly when I decided I should be afraid of God..." (more)
Key Phrases: next grandest version, greatest vision, yourself anew, The New Gospel, Joe Alton, Seven Steps (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Neale Donald Walsch grew up fearing God, especially after his mother, a neighborhood mystic, was caught reading cards for a friend. His mother was "trafficking with the devil," according to Walsch's deeply religious aunt, and as a result, "God will send her straight to hell."

That was the start of a relationship born of "fearship," as Walsch calls it. In Friendship with God, Walsh speaks to the struggles he's had learning to see God as a true friend rather than a punishing judge. Like his immensely popular Conversations with God series, Friendship with God is written mostly in dialogue format, modeling how anyone can converse with God. What makes the book especially accessible is Walsh's humble voice that gently addresses most people's confusion and doubts. For example, Walsh talks about feeling squeamish that God knows the shameful secrets of his life. In response, God points out that Walsh has shared his dark secrets with friends and lovers. So why not share these truths with God, who has never judged or punished him, and never will? These types of tender and reassuring conversations give readers the courage to begin their own private dialogues with the divine. --Gail Hudson

From Library Journal
From the man who had Conversations with God: building the relationship.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 250 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Adult; First Edition edition (October 25, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399145419
• ISBN-13: 978-0399145414
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (109 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #53,041 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 4 in The With God Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

129 of 132 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars God and Neale do it again, November 22, 1999

By	D J (Baltimore, MD) - See all my reviews

I know there are many skeptics who don't believe God is speaking to us through Neale. As both Neale and God say in the first 3 books, if you don't believe it then that's ok, but at least read with an open mind, apply the principles to your life and experience a greater spiritual awareness. That is what I have done and it has had a profound impact on my life. Friendship with God is without a doubt Neale's finest work so far. It pulls together for the reader, many of the concepts explained in the CWG trilogy at a level that makes them practical to every day life. Additionally, it is very helpful (in my humble opinion), the hear about Neale's life, how he has evolved to where he is today, and how the "divine coincidences" played such a key role in getting him there. I believe if all of us take the time to think about similar coincidences in our lives that at least got us to the point of picking up the book and reading it, we will not be able to deny there is a true reason as to why we find ourselves here at this time. That in my view is what has helped me apply much of the teaching in this book to my life. If you read other books ie. Manifest your Destiny by Wayne Dyer, Seat of the Soul by Gary Zukav and others it is clear (at least it is to me) that we are being taught a different way to "view" God in our lives. This view of a truly loving and nonjudgmental God differs greatly from many of the teachings the christian churches. I for one find this view very refreshing and can accept this as the real view for me. Again, I believe this book and others is simply showing us the way. And I thank Neale for taking what I believe was a risk to bring these teachings to us.

78 of 81 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars God talking or not-- why bother ask?, November 19, 1999

By A Customer

It is strange to see people still tripping over the idea of whether it is really God writing these books or not.

In my perspective it is a meaningless distinction. By the series own definition God is All That Is- everything which exists, both seen and unseen and neither. By this logic, it is God talking whether Neale is getting answers from a bird at his window, making it up himself, is chatting with his next door neighbour, or the messages are really coming from a source which would be equivalent to God for us.

The bottom line is that *any* source of information, however he received it, could be said to be God. So in the context of the books themselves, it is a non-issue.

Truly though, can the question be answered in any meaningful way? I don't think so because it just boils down to one person's opinion vs another's with no way of ever proving it objectively one way or the other. The question will have no satisfying answer, so why bother ask it?

For me the question is not "Is this God speaking?" but "How high is the quality of the information?" and "Is this useful?"

Personally I have found these books to be tremendously helpful in my life and I feel that if it is taken to heart it has the potential to not only transform ones life but enhance the lives of everyone on the planet beyond what most people can imagine. So for me the answer is "Yes, it is definitely useful."

A more subjective opinion is the quality of the info and how high its source is. My personal criteria for how "high" a source is how loving it is, how useful, how consistent, wise, open, honest, how much it resonates with my inner knowing, and how much sense it makes (there may be more but that's all I can think of at the moment).

From my reading of all the books in this series and other metaphysical/spiritual literature, this is in the top 3 for me- one of the 3 highest external sources of wisdom I've encountered anywhere.

Lets quit with the God-issue already =) Its been beaten to death. If you think the material isn't useful or doesn't come from a high source then say why. Be specific. This would be far more helpful to people deciding whether or not to buy the book than just saying "It is/ain't God."

Now, as for this book- I loved it.

For me it was the "missing link" from the other books- the one weak link I found with the previous books was that as they weren't practical enough. I just didn't know how to apply some of the broader concepts to my life.

Unlike the other books which focused on questions of the nature of life and the universe, Friendship with God primarily focuses on cultivating a personal spiritual path.

Some of highlights of the book: It (finally) goes into the 5 attitudes mentioned in the first book (joyful, loving, accepting, blessing, and grateful), explores further the "triangular code" from the second book (awareness, honesty, responsibility), 7 steps for a friendship with God, meditation, 3 "love-enders" (neediness, expectation, and jealousy), guidelines for living (living deliberately, harmoniously, beneficially), and an important discussion of the attitude of superiority (that "our path/god/way is better than yours").

I loved hearing more about Neale's life and his encounters with other "giants" in the field. I found his tone and attitude to be wonderfully refreshing- humble, genuine, honest, vulnerable, transparent. I truly admire this in him and he serves as a model for me in my own movement towards personal authenticity and visibility in dealing with others.

The book feels more personal than the others- it touches home more for me, and it came into my life exactly when I needed it to.

Other recommendations: If you like this material you might also like "Living with Joy" by Sanaya Roman and "Emmanuel's Book" by Pat Rodegast. These are the other 2 of the 3 highest sources I mentioned earlier. While they are not as well known as the CWG series I feel that they equal it in quality. They are among my all time favorite (and most influential) books.

The audio cassettes for CWG are also wonderfully done. Very lively, entertaining, and passionate. If listening to tapes are your cup of tea, be sure to check out volume 2 of the third book (there are 3 tape volumes per book)- the way they did Neale and Nancy's marriage ceremony is one of the most touching and beautiful things I've ever heard.

53 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Disturbing, thought-provoking, & very inspiring, February 18, 2000

By A Customer

It is interesting to me in reading all of these reviews that many of the people writing them are doing exactly what "religions" and "demonimations" do in the name of "truth"--condeming and judging one another. The people who hate the books are "narrow-minded" fundamentalists, and the people who love them are godless "New-Agers." Surely the "contention" between people in these reviews must be disturbing to Neale, considering the fact that one of the basic premises of his books is the fact that there is no one true path but many ways to God, whether we choose to embrace fear in reaching God, or we choose freedom and love. I personally relate to everything everyone has written in these reviews, having been at each place at different points in my life. Ten years ago, as a fundamentalist Christian, having never studied anything except the Bible and the teachings of one or two mainline demoninations, I would have been completely unable to "receive" what Neale had to offer and would have, myself, condemed him as being an "Apostle" of Satan. In the fundamentalist churches, I was warned and taught to fear and hate the "Charismatics" who are too attuned to the "spirit" and are definitely receiving their information from Satan. Eventually, I embraced the Charismatic Church, where I was taught to be deathly afraid of Shirley MacClaine and any of her "New Age" mumbo jumbo, unless, of course, I wanted to end up in the fiery pits alongside her. However, having a searching heart and a desire for truth all my life and also a rather rebellious spirit, I sneaked a peek at her "forbidden" novels and found her to be fascinating and a woman with a sincere and honest desire to discover true meaning in life. This led to an earnest study of all world religons, and I realized what a "little" world I had lived in before and what a "fear" I had of opening my mind and letting go of my "self-hatred" and my "need" to be punished by an angry God. Bottom line--there is some truth and some error in every religion. I think the "Conversations" and "Friendship" books are wonderful, but I don't accept every word as being straight from God's mouth. Neale freely admits that he is a "filter" the same as were the writers of the Bible and the Talmud and every other Holy Book in history. The secret is in doing exactly what Neale has written about in these books--going to God and letting Him reveal His truth to you. God will not deny anyone who has a true desire to know, but that desire has to come with a willingness to admit that maybe you don't possess all the "truth" coming in and a willingness to "hear" truth that may not agree with what you have been taught all your life. God cannot reveal anything to someone who already has his mind made up!