Freeing God From Religion

Andrew Farley's experience as a Christian was first characterized by self-effort as he tried to please God at any cost. His ruthless religion resulted in spiritual burnout and disillusionment with church. Only then did he discover what relaxing in Jesus means and how enjoying God's intimate presence can transform everyday life. Using a unique story-driven format, God without Religion dismantles common religious misconceptions, revealing the true meaning of being filled with the Spirit the facts about judgment, rewards, and God's discipline the simple truth behind predestination and the divisions it causes the problem with the popular challenge to "live radical" Pulling no punches, Farley shows how the truth about these controversial issues can liberate and unify believers as we discover how to rest in the unconditional love of God.

In this book, the author, Cliff Ratzlaff, presents the idea that theological definitions of God are not only confusing but also implicated in so many of the social problems afflicting the world of people on planet Earth. God as a spiritual concept, however, invites discussion of seeing God in each other. Spirituality of necessity ends wars, alienation, enemies, hate, and wrath. The author includes reference to Gestalt psychology and to the writings of Martin Buber to help us experience spirituality in a way that frees us. As we free God from theology, we invite experience of God in our I Am experience. To be is equivalent to to be in union and unity with the infinite God of the infinite universe. When we meet others, we look for God in them. If you look for God, you see God. The religious experience of God is the experiences sacred presence: presence without location. Ratzlaff makes much of Gestalts figure-ground phenomenon involved in human perception. The human seeks to put order on chaos, rule over the unruly, and direct over lostness. The experience of transcendence helps us to validate our self-awareness. The person is always sacred, godlike, and holy. God as our experience is inclusive of our fellows. God is love, acceptance, order, and life itself. It all makes sense as soon as one releases God from the fences we have put him in. Those fences are theologies. Among the worst theology to ever be imposed on the chaos of human essence is the Nicene Creed. Pauls description of Yeshua of Nazareth was a gross distortion grabbed by both Constantine of Rome and the church. Rome liked Nicaea; the pope liked Nicaea. Behold politicized theology and theologized politics, followed by the grossest distortion in human history; Nicaea led to the Dark Ages, the demonization of women, the witch trials, the Inquisition, fundamentalism of the reformation and contemporary Islam. Islam started during the Dark Ages. Awareness and practice of spirituality releases God from the fences of theology. When you free God, you free yourself.

If you tend to shake your head when you read religious literature, please read this book. I invite being disagreed with; I welcome debate and do not object to being told I am wrong. The question remains: Who has the right religion? Despite being an octogenarian when presumably all should be settled and nailed down, I now challenge the theology I nodded to so vigorously in a previous time of my life. What I once assumed as truth is now open to the kind of tough scrutiny I had never dared engage in. My theological life scripts were deeply rooted and beyond challenge. Born and raised in a fundamentalist Mennonite conservative evangelical community, doubting and questioning were considered acts of sin. Even though we were good ethical people, we were repaganized every year by visiting English speaking evangelists and getting saved was an annual event. I know; I did it three times before I was fifteen. I include a simple caveat. Once you start critiquing and investigating your beliefs, even the most cherished, you will find that you cannot go back. The very act of questioning intensifies the importance of the question. Millions of books exist about God; every book written by a human being (mostly men). Over twenty five miles of shelves with books about God are in the archives under the Vatican. I had fifteen shelves with many books that talk about God.

Given unprecedented insider access, author Allen D. Hertzke charts the rise of the new faith-based movement for global human rights and tells the compelling story of the personalities and forces, clashes and compromises, strategies and protests that shape it. In doing so, Hertzke shows that by raising issues--such as global religious persecution, Sudanese atrocities, North Korean gulags, and sex trafficking--the movement is impacting foreign policy around the world.

"I am a fanatic about freedom. And I'm fanatical about coming at you hard in this book." Maybe you're not as free as you think you are. Even worse, you may have been duped into believing that a "balanced" life is the key to happiness (it isn't) or that a relationship with God is about layering on rules and restrictions (nope). Whether it’s media-fueled fear, something a parent or teacher said that you just can’t shake, or even the reality of dark spiritual forces bent on keeping you down, something is holding you back from the full-on freedom God intends for you. The Bible says, "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." Not fear. Not guilt. Not morality. Freedom. You can have the sort of joy you thought only kids could have. The day of freedom is here.

Have science and philosophy proved the inexistence of God?In Rethink God, Nadiez Bahi presents a fascinating, fresh look at one of humanity's most enduring questions. He tackles the question, "Does God Exist" through a dialogue between Christian and his new friend, Sherif. Together they seek answers to eternal questions through a conversation covering the most prominent philosophical and scientific topics related to the God question.Accessible and engaging, Bahi examines the significant fallacies of both agenda-driven atheism and religious enthusiasm. Inviting readers to draw their own conclusions, Rethink God provides an original, unbiased approach for readers to answer the big question about divinity.

"A devastating attack upon the dominance of atheism in science today." Giovanni Fazio, Senior Physicist, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics The debate over the ultimate source of truth in our world often pits science against faith. In fact, some high-profile scientists today would have us abandon God entirely as a source of truth about the universe. In this book, two professional astronomers push back against this notion, arguing that the science of today is not in a position to pronounce on the existence of God—rather, our notion of truth must include both the physical and spiritual domains. Incorporating excerpts from a letter written in 1615 by famed astronomer Galileo Galilei, the authors explore the relationship between science and faith, critiquing atheistic and secular understandings of science while reminding believers that science is an important source of truth about the physical world that God created.

Freeing Me is the redemptive story of a former pastor who discovers his complicity and involvement in a man-made, manipulatively religious culture of control and is led to confront his own inauthenticity; thus beginning a journey away from the church to rediscover his faith.Challenging and questioning the status quo can be difficult, especially within the church. Through much pain, disillusionment, heartbreak and rejection, through painful experiences of spiritual abuse and emotional manipulation, the redemptive purpose of God begins to be revealed.So many have been hurt or feel rejected by the church. This book is for the ones who've been broken. You are not alone. Together we'll find the divine love of God in the ashes and empty spaces.