A Voluptuous God: A Christian Heretic Speaks (Paperback)

~ Robert V. Thompson (Author) "Sometimes I think I must be wearing a scarlet "H" around my neck..." (more)
Key Phrases: greater patriotism, redemptive violence, soul liberty, Meister Eckhart, Divine Presence, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

In this captivating book, Bob Thompson opens a window onto the soul and lets the welcome breeze of his writing freshen many of our traditional perspectives on Christianity. Using humour and a light and accessible tone, he challenges religious orthodoxy in a non-confrontational way that encourages us to live our humanity joyfully, thankfully, and fully from our hearts. He offers an image of God that is not obscured by rigid dogma, the idea of separation, or an obligatory sense of unworthiness. Voluptuous is not a word most of us associate with God. Yet God is delicious, says Thompson. God takes pleasure in simple things. God knows that laughter is the best medicine, that only love can heal what ails us, and that only joy can cause our hearts to sing. Thompson calls us to worship a God of intimacy rather than a God of distance. God and humanity hunger for closeness, and so Thompson calls us to an intimate relationship with the divine. The book is rooted in the Christian tradition but affirms that truth is found in other religions and spiritualities, and in secular practices. It offers an exploration of the place which is here and now where we belong to God and to each other. A Voluptuous God questions, and offers insights into, many of the ideas and experiences our minds and souls dance with daily. It allows us to examine our personal spiritual needs and makes accessible the larger spiritual truths that give shape and meaning to our lives.

About the Author

ROBERT V.THOMPSON was ordained as a Baptist minister and has served in this capacity since 1973. For the past 25 years he has been Senior Minister at the Lake Street Church in Evanston, Illinois. In the early 1990s, Bob began to explore the richness of other spiritual traditions including indigenous and Eastern spiritu-alities along with the Christian mystics and began using his discoveries in his sermons at church. Bob became a heretic. He and his church began to be leaders in the evolution of an emerging form of Christianity. Robert Thompson is active in the sphere of social justice, and speaks out on a variety of issues including homelessness, politics, interfaith engagement, the Christian Right, and spirituality. From 1999 - 2004 he served as Chair of the Parliament of The Worlds Religions.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: CopperHouse (January 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1551455587
• ISBN-13: 978-1551455587
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #548,524 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An invitation to know God -- intimately, October 17, 2007

By	D. Smith (Evanston, IL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

A Voluptuous God is, simply put, a beautiful book. First, a little context. This book is rooted in the Christian mystical tradition - an invitation to a direct, intimate experience and relationship with God. Hence, the title, which is mystic Meister Eckhart's descriptive metaphor of his experience. This book is also rooted in Thompson's personal journey in answer to that invitation. For those familiar, Marcus Borg writes as a scholar about the gap between what is taught in seminaries (at least in some courses) and what is presented in churches; Thompson, a minister, writes how he bridges that gap, inviting his congregation and the reader to step beyond religious doctrine.

Back to my opening comment. Besides some particularly beautiful passages that you'll have to discover for yourself, more generally, this is a beautiful book because it

- Peels away layers of Christian doctrine to unveil the raw beauty of a spirituality rooted in the Christian tradition;
- Calls us into a direct, intimate relationship with God (You'll have to read the book for the author's answer to "What is God?");
- Speaks to some of our heart's deepest longings while pulling us again and again into our hearts and challenging us to stay there, live from there;
- Is open and honest, allowing the reader to learn from personal experiences shared;
- Interweaves teachings from several different religious traditions, showing there are many paths to a common destination -- into the innermost heart where we discover there is no "I," no separate self, but only "we," all one.

Even though A Voluptuous God is beautiful, as well as beautifully written and easily read -- do not expect an easy read; expect to be challenged as this is also a book about courage. Thompson's message is a call to freedom: an invitation to choose to set aside any doctrinal formula that gets in the way and head straight into -- and live from -- our innermost heart in personal communion with God. But, whether we like it or not, freedom comes bundled with personal responsibility and accountability. Just one example. The author reminds us that once we let go and are free of religious dogma associated with Jesus, particularly the belief that all we have to do is believe that Jesus died for our sins and we will be saved, we are left face-to-face with Jesus' message or call to love. As the author shows us, there could be no more demanding message than Jesus' call to love -- radically love: to invite everyone (yes, everyone) to our table, into our hearts.

Perhaps, one of the central questions posed, which the author returns to in many different ways, is, "Do we have the courage and commitment to choose to journey into our hearts and continually wrestle with all it means to live life fully anchored in our innermost heart in communion with God, where we experience bliss, but where there are also no strangers -- where we open and learn to see "God in me" but also to see "God in you and you and you;" where we see "me in you" and "you in me"-- where we are pulled to grow into greater compassion and conscience?" I hope so.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Spiritually nourishing without dogma, November 7, 2007

By	J. R. Huyck - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The second-best thing for me about Bob Thompson's book is the way it brings near-mystical experience to my non-mystical temperament. He writes well, and he persuades me of my connectedness with others and with everything. The book makes a positive difference in how I feel.

Yet I have some problems with it. I'd want to argue that he overstates the opposition of "heart" and "head." Also, it's not clear to me how a sense of no-self goes along with a sense of personal responsibility. But I think such problems could be worked out, to the extent they need to be.

The best thing for me about Bob Thompson's book is harder to express. It conveys a feeling of deeply lived experience, a complete lack of pretense, and a respect for my own "soul liberty" that comes off the page and supports me, whether I'm arguing with him or not. This is a very beautiful and helpful book.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An informed, open-minded, and heartening book, October 30, 2007

By	C. Lauhon - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is helping me figure out what I believe. That's a first. Dusty platitudes prevail at my mainline Protestant church. Just being "in the fold" is supposed to be enough to get me through life.

A Voluptuous God takes my questions seriously. But the book doesn't insist on pat, take-it-or-leave-it answers. Instead, reading it is like having Robert V. Thompson standing alongside me, helping me face life's deepest conundrums. His clear writing leads me through Christianity and beyond to wide-ranging sources of spiritual help. I still have questions, but every chapter provides enlightened suggestions to further my thinking.

For example, Chapter 5, "Do You Believe in Divine Intervention?" lets me see that helping a loved one who is moving inexorably toward death is less about expecting God to intervene, and more about how my "compassionate presence" can make all the difference.

The book is not a slick how-to manual for leading a good life. It's a provocative tutorial for thinking about what I believe and how I can live my everyday life generously, purposefully, and forgivingly. Because the author believes in the value of my attempts, A Voluptuous God is a challenging, encouraging book.