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A review by leviofmichigan
The Universal Christ by Richard Rohr
4.0
When I began reading this book, I was a Christian. As I finished reading it today, I’m in a place where I’ve been disillusioned with a lot of what made me hold on to orthodox Christian teaching, and no longer consider myself a Christian, which feels very strange to write.
Before you’re confused, my internal transition actually had very little to do with this book. In fact, had I not gone down the same path and had the existential crisis that I did, this book would have certainly made me more of a Christian and help me further connect my Christian faith to my Buddhist practice. In fact, Thich Nhat Hanh’s “Living Buddha, Living Christ,” would make a perfect pairing with this book to help someone understand the ways Buddhism and Christianity meet each other in vital ways.
If I were still a Christian, that is to say, if I believed Jesus claimed to be G-d, that Jesus was prophesied about in the Hebrew Bible, that Jesus meant to die on the cross, and that Jesus came back to life and ascended into the clouds, this book would be 5 out of 5 for me. Now, though, as someone who is more sensitive to the ways we make Jesus out to be more than it seems he ever expected, imagined, or wanted, there were some distinct misses. So, my positive view of this book is mostly an expression of “I wish that more Christians saw their faith this way.”
Before you’re confused, my internal transition actually had very little to do with this book. In fact, had I not gone down the same path and had the existential crisis that I did, this book would have certainly made me more of a Christian and help me further connect my Christian faith to my Buddhist practice. In fact, Thich Nhat Hanh’s “Living Buddha, Living Christ,” would make a perfect pairing with this book to help someone understand the ways Buddhism and Christianity meet each other in vital ways.
If I were still a Christian, that is to say, if I believed Jesus claimed to be G-d, that Jesus was prophesied about in the Hebrew Bible, that Jesus meant to die on the cross, and that Jesus came back to life and ascended into the clouds, this book would be 5 out of 5 for me. Now, though, as someone who is more sensitive to the ways we make Jesus out to be more than it seems he ever expected, imagined, or wanted, there were some distinct misses. So, my positive view of this book is mostly an expression of “I wish that more Christians saw their faith this way.”