The title and subtitle actually contain the seed of Rohr’s Perennial Wisdom, “Everything Belongs: The Gift of Contemplative Prayer,” because in Rohr’s view, the One (the Perennial god) who is truth, is nondual and contains all of creation; and Contemplative Prayer is the gift because it allows one to see this alleged vital truth. However, despite Rohr’s advocacy of Panentheism, Nondualism, and Perennial Wisdom, these terms are absent in the book.
Some may have noticed that suddenly there are people in the evangelical church calling themselves “Spiritual Directors.” This has come about mostly in the last 10 years (this is written […]
Article, “When Mysticism Blurs Truth: How Contemplative Spirituality Undermines Doctrinal Clarity”, by Marcia Montenegro is in the Summer 2026 Issue of Theology for Life, published by Servants of Grace. […]
Tradition and Wisdom This is from the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation website: “Shalem is grounded in Christian contemplative spirituality and, at the same time, draws on the wisdom […]
Living Wisdom by David G. Benner is a 2019 revised and expanded edition from an earlier version. The earlier version has 10 ISBN numbers, which means the first edition was published […]
As the book progresses, it only becomes more troubling. Benner writes that we “are called to be human beings” and “to be fully human.” (87) But we are created as human beings; we really cannot be anything other than human. It is what Benner means by “human” that makes the difference.
Benner claims we are to
“recognize Christ as the deepest truth of our being. It is not just becoming like Christ but actualizing the Christ who is in us. It is a journey toward union with God.” (99)
“Actualizing the Christ” is a concept foreign to the Bible. But if one is a Panentheist and a Jungian, it makes sense because Christ is contained everywhere in creation according to Panentheism. This is a major teaching of Richard Rohr which Benner shares. “Actualizing” the Christ who is already part of our unconscious as an archetype is to awaken the true Self. This is what Benner means by being human.