Christianity Without God: Moving Beyond the Dogmas and Retrieving the Epic Moral Narrative

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Argues that Christianity does not require its supernatural aspects. Christianity without an omnipotent god, without a divine savior, without an afterlife? In this bold and hopeful book, theologian Daniel C. Maguire writes that traditional, supernatural aspects of Christianity can be comforting, but are increasingly questionable. A century of scholarly research has not been supportive of the dogmatic triad of personal god, incarnate savior, and life after death. Demonstrating that these beliefs have questionable roots in historical traditions, Maguire argues for a return to that brilliant and revolutionary moral epic of the Hebrew and Christian Bible. Rescued from god, Christianity can offer a realistic global ethic to heal a planet sinking under the effects of our ungrateful mismanagement. “Once again Dan Maguire’s new book is at the cutting edge. Passionate, yet crystal clear, Christianity without God distills the essential Christian message from the mythological and theological accretions that have distorted it. It’s a message we need today, more than ever.” — David R. Loy, author of Awareness Bound and Unbound: Buddhist Essays “For many of us, Maguire’s book will be a kind of homecoming. Someone, at last, has had the courage to write what so many of us have been thinking.” — John C. Raines, author of The Justice Men Owe Women: Positive Resources from World Religions “With immense learning and considerable charm, Daniel Maguire evokes a Christianity freed from dogma, literalism, self-righteousness, and terror. Believers and skeptics alike can delight in what’s left: poetry, morality, a sense of awe and wonder. In a word, humanity.” — Katha Pollitt, author of The Mind-Body Problem: Poems