This is a book about God and gods, Spirit and spirits, prayer and sacraments, ghosts and resurrection, Jesus and the church. It grows out of immersion in Catholic and Anglican traditions and acute awareness of abuses in their name. It is an honest and personal exploration of what still holds up and what has had to be discarded.
Industry Reviews
“A hard-hitting, immensely readable, mind-expanding plea for a less negative, timid, and oppressive form of religious faith, which should be read by all ‘believers.’”
—Keith Ward, University of Oxford, emeritus
“It is no secret that institutional and denominational Christianity is floundering today, not least from multiple authoritarianisms. These wise and incisive essays are to do with repositioning, with recovery of bearings. There is nothing didactic here, but many passages of great profundity and insight which invite reflection and conversation. I wholeheartedly recommend this book.”
—Iain Torrance, Princeton Theological Seminary, emeritus
“Combining the searing observations on contemporary religion of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, the searing insights into the religious life of Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, and the searing honesty of Hammarskjöld’s search for God in Markings, Nicholas Peter Harvey and Linda Woodhead’s coauthorship out of friendship has given us a spiritual classic for our time, a truly non-abusive theology.”
—William Storrar, Center of Theological Inquiry
“A welcome model of collegiality, fresh thinking, common sense, and profound insight on issues that really matter. The clear and engaging style invites the reader into this excellent collection of reflections. A valuable outline emerges of the work that needs to be done towards a post-abusive theology.”
—David Tombs, University of Otago
“In this succinct series of reflections, Linda Woodhead and Nicholas Peter Harvey offer a refreshingly honest account of a faith that has become increasingly conflicted. For some, their work will offer an unsettling challenge to cherished convictions; for others, it will afford relief in articulating their own undeclared reservations.”
—David Fergusson, University of Cambridge