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Integral Christianity
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Paul’s new book, Integral Christianity: The Spirit’s Call to Evolve, from Paragon House will be in December 2010.
This is the first book to describe a model of Christianity that incorporates the insights of a Jesus-centered theology of biblical interpretation, integral philosophy as articulated by Ken Wilber, and over fifty years of pastoral experience in leading evolutionary change in the local church.
Fr. Richard Rohr says “Clarifying, honest, courageous, and genuinely helpful, making the Gospel shine with a new brilliance and beauty! All sincere believers and seekers should welcome this book.”
This book is only available for purchase through Amazon.com. Click on the button below to order this book on the Amazon.com website.
Advance praise for Integral Christianity: The Spirit’s Call to Evolve!
“A lot of us were introduced to a take-it--or-leave-it approach to Christian faith: it was a tight, stiff, one-size-fits-all system that offered little room to grow. Many of us are now discovering that there's another approach ... an expansive, adaptive approach that sees growth and development as inherent to faithfulness, for both individuals and traditions. In Integral Christianity, Paul Smith offers a helpful, readable, and inviting portal into this alternate approach.”
“Clarifying, honest, courageous, and genuinely helpful, while neither denying nor accommodating any essential Gospel--but in fact, making it shine with a new brilliance and beauty! All sincere believers and seekers should welcome this book.”
“Reverend Paul Smith has written an impassioned book that helps chart a future course of development for the Christian church. His extensive experience as a spiritual teacher and minister shines through as he shows how the integral philosophy of evolution can illuminate our quest to find God. It is good to see a devoted follower of Jesus engage the Christian message from an integral perspective. Integral Christianity: The Spirit’s Call to Evolve! provides an accessible overview of integral philosophy that will be useful to Christians of all denominations. “
“I’m not where he is, but if you are like me, and appreciate well reasoned and passionate arguments on cutting edge mystical spirituality that needs consideration, you will say “thank you” to Paul Smith, even if you don’t agree with him.”
“Integral Christianity: The Spirit’s Call to Evolve! is a wonderful guide for Christians seeking a personal and world-transforming spirituality.”
“I want to thank Paul Smith for his monumental accomplishment. So far as I am aware, this is the first attempt to systematically apply Wilber's integral paradigm to Christian faith and practice. It works not only because he understands Wilber very well, but because he knows Christianity like the back of his hand. It's doubly credible because he writes not from the standpoint of an academic theologian (matching one set of jargon with another), but as a committed Christian pastor who has tested every one of these principles in actual parish ministry and demonstrated the viability of Integral church. And it's triply credible because of the joy and luminosity of his being as it shines through on every page of this text. He indeed models the hope that he lays out here.”
Paul Smith’s Integral Christianity - The Spirit’s Call to Evolve! is an impressive blend of thorough scholarship and prophetic call to reformation. The integral church clearly delineated here recovers mystical spirituality often missing in modern and post-modern churches. This outstanding book makes a strong case, based on the teachings of Jesus, that everyone is Divine. Paul Smith uses a variety of feminine, masculine, and non-gender Divine images to support this biblical truth. He honestly discusses the challenges and risks of leading change in the church along with the rewards of “transformation in ever more inclusive love.”
"Paul Smith gives us a fine book on integral Christianity. It speaks directly to Christians as well as other religious persons everywhere. Highly recommended."
From the Forward: “Integral Christianity: The Spirit’s Call to Evolve! is an important book and a profound one . . . a work of serious scholarship, and though written in ordinary everyday language, it is a work in which the revelation of the Holy Spirit for our times shines through. It sets forth the developmental framework by which Christians grow inwardly in their understanding of Jesus and his teachings. It does this in a more complete and integral way than any other Christian book so far written. I urge every reader to drink deeply of the wisdom contained in this magnificent book, the product of a lifetime of love, service, and prayer in imitation of Jesus, the light of the world.”