Honest To Goodness: An Ethical and Spiritual Odyssey
Ebook
Honest to Goodness proposes a new Christian presence that is free of dogmatism, exclusivism, and biblicism. It charts a way back to the spiritual and ethical revolution begun by Jesus of Nazareth, one that can make a vital difference to needless evils such as bigotry, environmental destruction, poverty, and violence. The book reveals the author's experience of living under, against, and after apartheid, insisting that a faith that does not confront this world's evils is no faith at all, but a dangerous betrayal of all that is good, beautiful, and true. Honest to Goodness unflinchingly identifies the grave moral shortcomings that are embedded in traditional Christian beliefs and practices, and proposes ways of transforming them into harmony with the divine goodness that the author discerns everywhere. Embracing a world of religious diversity, science, and creative philosophy, the book describes a new way of experiencing and expressing the divine. It defends faith by moving beyond both theism and atheism.
“The twentieth century was one in which deconstruction held
sway. Some Christians held ever more tightly to earlier ideas. Many
saw Christianity as irrelevant or worse. Some modified Christianity
to disconnect it from what was being deconstructed and relate it to
the new situation. Prozesky insightfully and movingly recounts his
own path through these options and beyond them to calling all to a
total commitment to the good, which in his case is deeply inspired
by the historical Jesus. Conservative and liberal Christians,
atheists and those who are spiritual but not religious, and members
of other faith communities will all profit from his appreciative
analysis and sensitive criticisms. Following his journey is a
moving and even gripping experience. Learn from his journey and
think for yourself.”
—John B. Cobb Jr., Center for Process Studies and Process &
Faith
“Martin Prozesky invites us
in Honest to Goodness to join him on his
amazing ‘ethically spiritual and spiritually ethical’ journey. He
navigates the worlds of conservative, liberal, and progressive
Christianity. These worlds are reimagined and refashioned through
the lens of ‘good’ or ‘goodness.’ We do well to hitch a
ride with him and alight enlivened and enlightened to continue
our own journey.”
—Cornel Barnett, pastor, Presbyterian Church (USA), retired
“The title of Martin Prozesky’s stimulating book, like that earlier
theological blockbuster, John Robinson’s Honest to God, is
honest and about God, not as the ground of our being but as
ultimate goodness. In an era of fake news and religion, honesty is
a rare commodity, and God a much abused concept. If religion is
dishonest it needs to be cast away, and if God is not goodness then
God is unworthy of worship or trust. That is why Honest to
Goodness needs to be read and why I commend it to you. You may
not agree with everything Prozesky says, and he does not expect you
will, but you should be more honest in both your faith and doubt,
and hopefully have a deeper knowledge of who God is and why this
God can be trusted.”
—John W. de Gruchy., Emeritus Professor, University of Cape Town,
Extraordinary Professor of Theology, Stellenbosch University
“Honest to Goodness is the culmination of Martin Prozesky’s
spiritual, ethical, and intellectual pilgrimage. Finding
conservative and liberal versions of Christianity wanting on
ethical grounds, he proposes an alternative—a progressive
Christianity. Not only does he argue for a return to Jesus and his
revolution, but also for a move beyond the traditional concept of
God to Ultimate Goodness as organizing principle of life.
Prozesky’s odyssey and vision are deeply touching and provocative
and warrant careful attention.
—Rian Venter. Head of the Department of Historical and Constructive
Theology, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South
Africa
Product Details
- Title : Honest To Goodness: An Ethical and Spiritual Odyssey
- Authors:
- Prozesky, Martin
- Bluck, John
- Publisher: Resource Publications
- Publication Date: 2019
- ISBN: 9781532665387
Martin Prozesky is a research fellow on the faculty of theology
and religion at the University of the Free State in South Africa.
He studied theology at Rhodes and Oxford Universities and at the
former Episcopal Theological School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He
did his doctorate on Friedrich Schleiermacher, and has been a
visiting scholar at universities in South Africa, the United
States, Trinity College, Oxford, and Australia. The author of six
books, he is currently researching Jesus as ethical
revolutionary.