The Universal Christ: How a Forgotten Reality Can Change Everything We See, Hope For, and Believe

Before beginning my review I want to say a few words about Father Richard Rohr. First and foremost, he is a man with a brilliant mind and likely has an education that makes my own pale in comparison. The language he uses when writing is clearly one of great philosophical instruction and depth. That means that when reading this book you will be challenged to think outside of the box of what he calls “dualistic” thinking. That is “black and white”, “right and wrong”, “good and bad”, and so forth. In that aspect, you’ll find the book will introduce you to many ecumenical thoughts that simply address the enormity and beauty of who God is. The image of Christ as the Universal, eternal God is one we should fit comfortably into as Christians.Does that mean that I agree with the book? I am not so sure I do. I feel that he is correct in the idea that we often fall into dualistic thoughts and meanings when we begin to think of God. God is so much beyond anything we could comprehend, with that in mind we can’t put him into a box of one idea or another. A statement I’ve used in the past is God owns the Church, the Church does not own God. I feel though that Father Rohr falls into dualistic thought all on his own with the idea that one can only either see God as beyond religion or see God as stuck in religion and limited by it. As my favorite taco bell commercial declares: “Por que no los dos?” Why not both? Having a religion that proclaims the Ordinary Means revealed by Jesus Christ himself as the Incarnation of God does not limit God, it rather gives us a sure and secure means of receiving the grace and mercy of that God.I’ll give an example of something from the book that illustrates my point. At one point Father Rohr speaks of the moment before receiving communion in the Catholic Mass that we say “Lord I am not worthy.” This is very familiar to us as we say it at every Mass. Then we proceed forward to receive Jesus in the Eucharist. Father Rohr makes the point that we have a dualistic thought that “we aren’t worthy” but then again we must believe we are because we go forward anyway. What he leaves out (though he implies it later) is the simple statement that comes after I am not worthy, “but only say the word, and my soul shall be healed.” You see, to me, Father Rohr seems to be stuck in the dualistic thought himself, that either we aren’t worthy or we are. Rather than looking at the truth of that moment in which we are definitely not worthy, we’ve done nothing to deserve it. Jesus Christ though is worthy and it is by the authority of His Word, handed down through the Church, that our souls are made clean. It is through the Holy Spirit that we are able to receive, that we are given worthiness not our own, but the worthiness of God.The other issue I have with this particular book is that it’s clear that Father Rohr is stuck in a very liberal mindset (again the very dualism he speaks of) by the verbiage and language he uses. In a book about Jesus, he continually brings up ideas such as “white privilege,” colonialism, classism, and even the idea that the Western Church must have it wrong and the Eastern Church more properly has it right. His disdain for American culture and the “patriarchy” is evident in his writing making it very hard for a “cisgender white male” to read the book and not see a bias (again the dualistic thought he condemns throughout the book). Now, he does at one point refer to the Eastern and Western church as being hampered by being split, as if each side were breathing with just one lung. That I think is a beautiful example of inclusive language.Eisegesis (/ˌaɪsɪˈdʒiːsɪs/) is the process of interpreting text in such a way as to introduce one’s own presuppositions, agendas or biases. … Exegesis is drawing out text’s meaning in accordance with the author’s context and discoverable meaning. Eisegesis is when a reader imposes their interpretation of the text.I guess that is the primary thing that rubs me wrong about this book is its obvious use of eisegesis to prove the points that he already believes. You see, Father Rohr believes very clearly in his own theory. That should be commended. It is a beautiful idea and should encourage thought. What is also obvious is that Father Rohr is not looking to see what Scripture says, exegesis, (as in what it said to the people it was written to, based on who wrote it, when, and what the socio-economic and spiritual thought of the day was), but rather which Scriptures support the theory he presents of the Universal Christ. It is what I have grown to call “cherry-picking” and is something that I have a great amount of disdain for.All of this alone would not make me think the book was “dangerous” as some people proclaimed. I, in fact, when recommended to read it by my spiritual director, wrote some letters to some trusted spiritual guides asking them if it was a good idea. After much prayerful consideration I began to read the book and while it is full of beautiful ideas, challenging thoughts, and even some amazingly deep insights into the love and mercy of God; its very foundational ideas are expressed in a way that seems almost heretical. I found myself having to make mental leaps and acrobatic movements just to see what was written like something from a Catholic and that in and of itself would be why others proclaim it dangerous. The ideas here present a Jesus who seems to be just as present in a tree as he is in the Eucharist. Just as present in you and me, as he was in the Incarnation. While Father Rohr is quick to point out that he isn’t a pantheist, he then begins to write and express ideas as if he is one. He suggests the idea that the Son was incarnate in the earth, in the trees, in the sky and the rocks, in the same way before the Incarnation, as He was in Jesus at the moment that God became a man. Then goes on to suggest seemingly that we too can be the same kind of Christ, as if Jesus were just a human who figured it out, and if we do it too we will become Christ (or rather acknowledge the Christ that already is inside of us).This indeed would be a Christ who transcends religion. It’s also a Christ who transcends the Sacraments, making them unnecessary. Father Rohr does make it clear that he is an orthodox catholic, but also in the same breath makes it clear it’s only begrudgingly and that his religion is beyond thoughts and words, and simply practice now. That is a dangerous path. So what do I rate the book? Do I consider it dangerous? If you are very well instructed with a well-formed conscience, the book could indeed be something that will increase your appreciation of the theological implications of God’s presence in and through all things. I am not sure though that I would recommend it. While the thoughts expressed in it are often deep and provocative, they are also surely confusing and at worst, yes, dangerous.

Richard Rohr’s most recent book strikes me as an intimate memoir by a deeply spiritual guide. At 76, Rohr’s “memoir” provides the reader (or in my case listener) with a helpful map for seekers at all phases and levels of their lifelong journey, but especially for the later stages of life – what Rohr and others call the second half of life.Rohr’s sharing shows him as an avid lifelong learner who seems always open to the next chapter of his own journey no matter where that truth may take him.In this book he references tools that have helped him and continue to help him grow – from his early formation as a priest, through rich soils of self-discovery through working with scriptures, the Enneagram, suffering, the Ira Progoff Journal workshop process, contemplation, psychological inquiry, etc. He describes all these tools and sources for the reader to consider.Rohr’s generous, vulnerable and honest sharing from his rich spiritual life serves two purposes for readers. First it confirms the value of these sometimes esoteric tools and practices that the reader may have discovered along his or her own journey (especially in the second half of life) but who may have “worried” when these sources and practices took him or her beyond the comfortable conventions he or she has held – often for most of an entire lifetime. Second, these tools and practices may be new to some readers and hence a source of inspiration for one’s beginning and continuing spiritual evolution.Rohr shares his sense of an evolving epistemology (how we know what we think we know) – moving from intellectual ideas and concepts early in the journey, then growing in emotional knowing and finally getting increasing glimpses of more experiential presence and mystical Knowing – often through times of suffering.Two concepts stand out for me in this book. First is Rohr’s chapter on original goodness – contrasted against the common theology of original sin. This reminds me of Matthew Fox’s work in 2000 of Original Blessing. Perhaps more relevant yet would be David Bentley Hart’s forth-coming book (September, 2019) That All Shall Be Saved: Heaven, Hell, and Universal Salvation.The second concept that Rohr shares that is that both Christ (or God) AND humanity are not uniquely present in Jesus (the God/Man – described in theology as Jesus’s essential nature captured in the doctrine of the hypostatic union of Jesus where Jesus is said to be True God AND True Man). Rohr extends this idea of Christ (Jesus’ God-nature) being present not only uniquely in Jesus, and not even uniquely in all humanity but, but rather in ALL THINGS. This seems like a theological concept of “hypostatic union for all”! God is in everything! This deeply resonates with me and inspires me to manifest love from this essence within rather than appear to love but only as an “ought-to” act from my ego self.“God in everything” Rohr calls panENtheism, where God is both IN everything AND transcendent to everything. PanENtheism is distinct from of pantheism in which God simply IS everything. In this panENtheism Rohr speaks of the incarnation as God, from the beginning in Genesis, coming into incarnation in everything over time.I like Rohr’s concept of having “the religion OF Jesus” distinguished from “The religion ABOUT Jesus” – I first ran across this statement in Jacob Needleman’s Lost Christianity published in 1980 and it stood out for me there also.Two things struck me as a distraction from the truly profound messages of this book. First is his introducing scientific understandings (e.g., the “Big Crunch” when supposedly the “Big Bang” will be reversed, or talking about the nature of neutrinos as an example of some point he was trying to make). These scientific things may be current theories that may or may not prove to be correct decades from now. I much prefer a simple statement that the more we know scientifically about the reality of the Cosmos the more we realize we don’t know (especially in such topics as the relationship between matter and consciousness}.In our “scientific progress” we simply go from clearing up one level of mystery only to find a much more profound Mystery – a process that has no end. So a solid (pardon the oxymoron) worldview is one that simply ACCEPTS Mystery per se, the vast Unknown – all the way down and all the way up. In this regard I am helped not only by Rohr but by (atheist, philosopher) Thomas Nagel’s 2012 book Mind and Cosmos: Why the Materialist Neo-Darwinian Conception of Nature is Almost Certainly False and by (theologian, philosopher) David Bentley Hart’s 2014 book The Experience of God: Being, Consciousness, Bliss.The second thing that distracted me from the profoundness of Rohr’s teachings in this book is the frequent quoting of scriptures. Considering the level of consciousness reflected in Rohr’s book and its emphasis on Knowing beyond the intellect, the constant references to scripture for me interrupted the flow of information. Perhaps it felt too much like a Fundamentalist throwing one “proof-text” after another as “proof” that such-and-such is true because the “Bible tells me so.”And of course my conservative roots, while very helpful early on in my life, did not serve me well later in life. (Confession: Like Rohr, I am 76, and, unlike Rohr, was trained rigorously for eight years in my Lutheran day-school where “right doctrine” according to Martin Luther’s Small Catechism – expanded from the original to include 703 biblical “Proof Texts,” nearly all of which we would memorize, was central. I remained very active in my bible teaching and church leadership – until, in my 40s and 50s, this kind of “belief-based ‘faith’” simply would not hold all that was so alive in me. Having said that, this early bible-study was all perfect for my journey and set the stage for an explosive breaking out that would come in my fifties and beyond.)All in all I am thrilled by this latest Rohr book – and I eagerly await the “next chapter of his life” to be revealed in his next book. I am full of gratitude for his life and willingness to share and in the process serve!

You will very much enjoy this book. If you’ve never heard of him, I think it would be good to start with another one of his books or visit the website for the Center for Action and Contemplation, to understand who he is, where he has come from, is currently.I enjoyed the book, it took me awhile to read it because I kept getting distracted. However, I also listened to the “Another Name for Everything” podcast, which relates to another of Richard’s books, so when I returned to THIS book, I found it easy to pick up from where I left off.

Book arrived in a timely manner and in good shape.

This book gives a language that allows for the merger of the head, heart, and spirit in a holistic away. This is the first time since my personal Christian conversion experience at the age of 15 that I am seeing that experience in a whole new way. I have found a door into a whole new reality of my Christian understanding that places me in kinship with everyone and everything that is. I now have a whole different understanding of what the gospel is. That will allow me to live with a different sense of fidelity and integrity in my place on the planet.

I have gifted this book and talked about it to many folks. His approach to faith is so much better than much of the "do this or you're not getting into Heaven" views of religion. His sharing of what a relationship with God is, is pragmatic, attainable, relatable and creates peace of heart. Read it. Or better (as I did) listen to the audio of his own voice.

Although this was written by a Catholic priest, it is comforting to everyone. It makes the most sense of all catholic based books. I read things I suspected all along. I don't need to live in fear.

Again Richard Rohr presents an integral vision of the Divine in the beautiful, challenging and wise vision of the real meaning of Christ. The book opens your heart to see!

Von allen Büchern von Richard Rohr hat mir dieses ungeheuer reiche Buch am meisten gebracht; kaum am Ende angekommen, habe ich es gleich wieder von vorne angefangen. Es ist für mich das grösste Geschenk von Rohr und bereichert mein spirituelles Leben in hohem Mass.

Völlig neuer ( bzw ursprünglicher) theologischer Blick

Leerlo hace reforzar la esperanza.

I bought this book when it was first published and found it absolutely refreshing for my soul. I had in the past, been criticised, by fellow Christians, for saying that I see god and his anointing everywhere and in everything. To discover Richard Rhor and his books, has been a saving of my sanity and a confidence in what I found unfolding within me. I’ve given copies of his books to several people and everyone has come back with a first comment of Wow! Wishing they had heard this teaching earlier in their faith walk. If you either don’t or are starting to understand that god resides in creation itself. That the message of Jesus is saying the same thing. Buy this book. Read it, absorb it, live with its revelation. You will blossom. Thank you for your faith and courage Richard Rhor. Reading your books has helped me on my faith path, travelling with me and supporting me in ways I never envisioned.