Thomas Moore: DIY religion

Henry David Thoreau  (Public Domain)

It's not that New York Times bestselling author Thomas Moore has never tried cozying up to formal religion.  In fact, the introduction to his latest book, A Religion of One's Own: A Guide to Creating a Personal Spirituality in a Secular World, makes it clear that Moore has been quite steeped in the Catholic faith for much of his life.

Why then the need to create a kind of do-it-yourself spirituality?  Moore explains that he began to "wake up spiritually" after reading the works of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and Paul Tillich.  Studying the New Testament with John Dominic Crossan was also key to this awakening.

Moore warns that this type of quest is not for the fainthearted. Nor is it for the egotist…  It is instead "a courageous, deep-seated, fate-driven, informed, and intelligent life that has sublime and transcendent dimension."

He then gives examples of hardy souls who have traveled highly individualized paths.  Henry David Thoreau is one such spiritual pilgrim - Edgar Mitchell another.  Moore points out that Thoreau "walked two miles to find a spiritual center" at Walden Pond, whereas Mitchell journeyed "more than 280,000 miles" into space to catch his own "glimpse of divinity."

Resources 

http://www.amazon.com/Religion-Ones-Own-Creating-Spirituality/dp/159240829X#reader_B00DGZKXJ4

Copyright January 25, 2014 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved