The Universal Christ by Richard Rohr
A review
Richard Rohr’s latest work was a hard book for me to read, mostly because it challenged my thinking as it relates to Jesus Christ. In it I learned that my Western mind has limited my understanding of the Christ. Rohr tells a story about how the Western and Eastern churches view Jesus differently. The Western Church views Christ as Jesus’ last name while the Eastern Church views the Christ as the spirit of God that existed before it incarnated in the physical embodiment of Jesus. Rohr makes the argument that the Western church should come back to the mindset of the Eastern Church so that it can be less individualistic and more communal.
What I like about Rohr’s book is that he turns everything you think you know on its head. Growing up I was always taught that if you love your neighbor then you love God (i.e. 1 John 4:20). Rohr turns it around by saying in order to love God you must first love nature, animals, humans, and then loving God comes naturally. I’m not much of a nature person but this revelation has caused me to look at these things in a new light. Loving nature and animals should be much easier than loving humans, which is more of a process.
Rohr’s explanation of how the two church’s viewed Jesus’ resurrection is also eye-opening. The Western church focuses solely on Jesus rising from the dead, while the Eastern church puts emphasis on Jesus pulling souls out of hell. The view that the Western church has that Jesus sends people to hell is wrong, Jesus leads a corporate exodus out of hell.
This is a book that will stay with me, it has caused me to try to see the Christ in the things and people I would least expect. That’s hard to do but the more I do it the more “Christian” I’ll become. I also learned that God speaks to us in our thoughts. I think I knew that but it was reinforced here, especially that the harsh thoughts are not of God they come from within. God speaks to us through grace.
If you are looking for a powerful book that will challenge your thoughts, look no further than Richard Rohr’s The Universal Christ.
Favorite Quotes:
“Faith at its essential core is accepting that you are accepted! We cannot deeply know ourselves without also knowing the One who made us, and we cannot fully accept ourselves without accepting God’s radical acceptance of every part of us.” -Rohr
“Remember, the only thing that separates you from God is the thought that you are separate from God!” -Rohr
“If any thought feels too harsh, shaming, or diminishing of yourself or others, it is not likely the voice of God…That is simply your voice.” -Rohr
“Christians are meant to be the visible compassion of God on earth more than ‘those who are going to heaven’.” -Rohr
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