Overview

Since the time Tim O'Donnell was a nuisance to the nuns, he has been asking questions about religion. He went on to become a successful owner of daily newspapers and consulting firms, but the questions remained. So at age forty, he sold his businesses, built a log home in the woods, and dove headfirst into the taboo questions of Christianity-not as a theologian but as an investigative reporter. The answers surprised him. A View from the Back Pew explores the issues we all encounter on our spiritual journey: * Are spirituality and religion the same thing? * Is guilt a necessary part of the religious experience? * Do the rules of religion actually bring me closer to God? * Will open-minded inquiry help or hinder my spiritual progress? * Is God a concept? A reality? A Myth? * Did God create man? Did man invent God? * If mankind's capacity to understand the world has advanced exponentially in the last two thousand years, shouldn't our spiritual understanding be evolving too? * And, perhaps most importantly, am I looking for God in the right places? Candid, humorous, and at times controversial, O'Donnell takes us on a powerful search for balance-between faith and personal experience, between the roots of Christianity and later layers of doctrine, and between systems of belief and a direct connection to the spiritual presence we call God. In this bold quest for truth, you'll delve into everything from the mystery of the Trinity and the Virgin Birth to celibacy in the priesthood to Jesus' key teachings about the kingdom and the real purpose of prayer. My hope, writes O'Donnell, is that if you are drawn to the Divine but labor over dogma, doctrine, and ritual, you will find support and a fresh perspective in my view from the back pew.

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9780984534418

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Reviews

O'Donnell's precise and unpretentious style makes his personal voyage of discovery terrifically compelling. Unusually congenial and individualistic popular Christian theology. Booklist, January 1, 2011 Entertaining and enlightening, Tim O'Donnell's timely work presents us with a rare opportunity to delve deeply into the real issues of faith and personal spirituality. Powerful, poignant and refreshing. Patricia Spadaro, Honor Yourself: The Inner Art of Giving and Receiving People need to connect and for many, religion isn't working. This spiritual longing is getting projected onto human relationships as people are looking for God in other before seeing his presence inside. This book is a beacon of light for those on this journey. Cindy Stanberry, Psychotherapist

Entertaining and enlightening, Tim O'Donnell's timely work presents us with a rare opportunity to delve deeply into the real issues of faith and personal spirituality. Powerful, poignant and refreshing. -- Patricia Spadaro, Honor Yourself: The Inner Art of Giving and Receiving

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