Living Without a Why - by Ingram (Paperback)

About the Book

An exploration of the meaning of divine grace in a post-Christian world, drawing on Buddhist thought and process theology as well as the author's Lutheran background.

Book Synopsis

An exploration of the meaning of divine grace in a post-Christian world, drawing on Buddhist thought, process theology and the author's Lutheran background.

In this book Paul O. Ingram adds his voice to a long list of writers seeking to relate Christian tradition to the hard realities of this post-Christian age of religious and secular pluralism. As a Lutheran, Ingram thinks grace flows over this universe like a waterfall. So he brings Christian mystical theology into a discussion of the meaning of grace.

Alfred North Whitehead's philosophical vision provides a language that serves as a hermeneutical bridge by which historians of religions can interpret the teachings and practices of religious Ways other than their own without falsification, and by which theologians can appropriate history-of-religions research as a means of helping Christians advance in their own faith journeys.

The purpose of the journey of faith is what Whitehead called "creative transformation." The contemporary theological tradition that has most systematically and coherently followed Whitehead's lead in its reflection on non-Christian Ways is process theology, which is perhaps the only liberal or progressive theological movement now active in the twenty-first century.

Review Quotes

The book is broad in scope (touching the realms of history of religions, theology, inter-religious dialogue and neuroscience), and written in a clear style clear which is very accessible to general readers or undergraduates keen to gain an introduction to the phenomenon of mysticism. Ingham writes with personal conviction, and his broad book is sure to inspire readers to probe in further depth the message of the mystics.--Declan Anthony Lawell "Theological Book Review, Vol. 27 No.1, 2016"