Reimagining God: The Faith Journey of a Modern Heretic by Lloyd Geering

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Described by the BBC as “the last living heretic,” Lloyd Geering has spent much of his life wrestling with God. Of late, however, he finds himself struggling with the absence of God. The rise of nonreligious, secular culture around the world testifies that he is not alone, that the concept of God has become problematical. Should God be abandoned altogether? Can God be reformed, so to speak?

Drawing from theology, science and his own faith journey—from his call to ministry, through his muchpublicized heresy trial, to decades of public speaking, teaching and writing, Geering retraces key developments in the Western understanding of God. He imagines a new spirituality, one that blends a relationship to the natural world with a celebration of the rich inheritance of human culture.

FROM THE FOREWORD

For some years Tom Hall has edited Lloyd's works for publication. He also wrote the Foreword for this book. Here are some excerpts:

“in 1967 [Lloyd Geering] dared to follow the lead of the best theological scholars of the day in proposing what was widely accepted by theologians but carefully kept from the people in the pews: that Jesus’ resurrection was the stuff of ecstatic experiences rather than an_ historical event.

“[Lloyd has] an imposing intellect equally adept at both analytic and synthetic modes of thought, [he possesses] a genuine concern for others ... an endless curiosity, [and] a passion to understand the everchanging and constantly evolving world we live in.

‘I would suggest that his compilation [this book] presents a portrait of a contemporary prophet who, in the manner of the prophets of old, not only tells us how we have created our present spiritual ambiguities and ecological muddles, but also indicates what steps we must take to avoid planetary disaster. In short, Geering urges us to see things as they are, and challenges us to make our increasingly global and secular world a sustainable one as well —- something we can do, he believes, by undertaking a journey of faith that will attune our lives to the unseen Presence and Process that has long been referred to as God.”

FROM THE PREFACE “So when Polebridge Press invited me to follow up the publication of From the Big Bang to God with a collection of my recent public lectures, it seemed to be an appropriate time to look back once more, though this time over quite a short span. Along what path has my faith journey been taking me over the last twenty years?
To this end I have selected fourteen lectures and present them not chronologically, but in an order that shows the general direction in which I have been moving and why. It may be regarded as an appendix to Wrestling with God, but this time I have been wrestling with the increasing absence of God.” (gage xiv)