Scazzero has a habit of imposing his own experiences and feelings on Scripture as well on all Christians. In this book, he makes broad generalizations, such as all Christians “wear masks,” Christians do not know how to deal with their emotions, and most Christians were not raised in healthy families. It was hard not to write, “speak for yourself!” in the margins of many pages in this book.
There are so many serious issues with this book, it is quite distressing that it is being recommended by many pastors and church leaders. I am not addressing all content of the book, only points related to my areas of my ministry or of obvious concern. Scazzero does offer some good insights in the book, but they are overshadowed by too many troubling statements.
Ezekiel had a “severe alteration of consciousness” when he had his vision in Ezekiel 8. This explains, according to Mackie, the alleged different views of reality Ezekiel and other biblical characters had, and their other “states of consciousness” (starting around 49 min.). This did not need to be spelled out to anyone when the Bible was written, claims Mackie, because they all “took it for granted.” I do not think there is evidence for this in the text; furthermore, I think that seeking such states as well as the belief in “different levels of reality” is contra God and the Bible. A forthcoming article will address this issue and attempt to explain why this is not compatible with Scripture.
Our reality, claims Mackie, is constructed from our experiences (starting around 50 min.) in which we develop “coping mechanisms” and so “what we experience as reality is a result of these shields we build up for years and years.” Whereas we take our dreams as fantasy and what happens during the day as reality, the biblical authors have “the opposite view,” asserts Mackie.
Scazzero and Rohr Due to being asked about Peter Scazzero, author of The Emotionally Healthy Church and Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, a number of times, I watched three videos for this […]
Richard Rohr and the Enneagram Secret by Don & Joy Veinot and Marcia Montenegro was the first Christian book written to give the facts on the Enneagram. Please see this […]
The Wisdom Pattern is the next to latest book from Richard Rohr as of this writing (February 2021). It is a revised edition of a 2001 book, Hope against Darkness: The Transforming […]
This is an evaluation and critique of Richard Rohr’s The Universal Christ, not a book review. I am unable to comment on all the ideas found in the book, so […]
John Philip Newell, who runs a spiritual community in Iona, Scotland, as well as The School of Earth and Soul in the United States (Colorado and Virginia), has become well […]
Why this book? I read this book at the request of some parents whose children were using this book in a Christian school. It is promoted as a book on […]
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.