Immortal Diamond: The search for our true self
Richard Rohr
SPCK £10.99 (978-0-281-07017-6)
Church Times Bookshop £9.90 (Use code
CT448 )
The Mystery of Reality: With its implications for
love, religious faith and the courage to be oneself
Christopher G. Smith
Matador £9.95
(978-1-78088-335-9)
Church Times Bookshop £8.95 (Use code
CT448 )
The Fullness of Life: Reflections on the Lord's
Prayer for today's world
Michael Smith
Initiatives of Change £5
(978-1-85239-045-7)
RICHARD ROHR describes the true self as "that part of you that
knows who you are and whose you are, although largely
unconsciously". In Immortal Diamond, he advocates that we
should reveal our true selves - a transforming, "resurrection"
experience - although this process is threatened by, and a threat
to, many groups, including religious ones. Rohr explores the
contrast with the false self, and discusses the search for the true
self with reference to various religious traditions and various
ways of thinking.
His book is clearly intended to be inspiring, and no doubt will
resonate with people broadly sharing his own views. An unconvinced
reader will find less to grapple with, be- cause Rohr does not
explain the reasons for his views. For example, Rohr claims that
the "world of science, biology, and astrophysics is now affirming
this trinitarian truth from very different angles". But he does not
expand on how the scientific world affirms this truth, or refer to
the scientific views that do not support it, some of them
explicitly. Also, for readers who follow Rohr and are convinced of
the need to search for the true self, I am disappointed that his
suggestions on how to go about this process are limited to 12
points in the final appendix.
Christopher Smith's Mystery of Reality deals more
directly with the process of being oneself. To do so, he draws on
abstract concepts (clearly explained) to describe reality in terms
that include both intuition and rational thought, with connections
through energy fields to (what Paul Tillich called) the "Ground of
Being". In this description, love is a form of "bonding between the
life energy or spirit . . . of the individual with that of other
individuals and the 'Ground of Being'." Indeed, Smith sees love as
"the essential value that gives meaning to human existence", and,
therefore, "love in action" as the response of genuine
religion.
I found his exploration fascinating, but he barely makes links
with daily human existence. (Perhaps I should not be surprised at
this: all his sources, except for one scientist, are male.) So I am
left wondering how one goes about developing the consciousness
described if, for example, one lives with constant pain or has
full-time caring responsibilities. I also wonder what part
relationships or groups can play in living out the genuine
universal religiousness he advocates. Despite its clarity and
helpful diagrams, therefore, readers unfamiliar with conceptual
thinking may find his proposed foundation for religious faith
incomprehensible.
Michael Smith's small book on the Lord's Prayer has a more
defined starting-place. A chapter is devoted to each phrase of the
Lord's Prayer, providing some relevant background and information,
and ending with some brief but profound questions. For example, the
chapter on "Thy kingdom come" starts with the expectations of
kingdom in Jesus's time, and makes reference to more recent
experiences, before asking questions such as "Where is God's
kingdom?" and "What can I do to make it a reality in my own life?
In the lives of others? In the world as a whole?"
Examples from Smith's own experience enrich many chapters. As
intended, then, this book could make a good starting-place for
exploration in a small group, and no prior knowledge of the Lord's
Prayer is needed.
Dr Anne Spalding is a member of the Third Order of the
Society of St Francis, and lives in Suffolk.