Synopses & Reviews
In the spring of 2008, Forrest Church wrote what he believed would be his final work,
Love & Death. But when an experimental cancer treatment gave him a temporary new lease on life, Church saw he had a chance to tie up the one loose end in his remarkable oeuvre: his vocation as a liberal theologian.
The Cathedral of the World offers the culmination of a lifetime of thought and lived theology from one who has been called the leading universalist philosopher of his generation. Here Church draws from the entire span of his lifes work to hammer out a clear statement of his universalist theology, gathering his thoughts on religion, faith, and God in a single volume and definitively framing his theological teachings.
After opening with a liberal interpretation of the divine, Church compellingly argues that our country was founded on universalist principles, laying out a firm grounding for his theology. Providing a taste of universalism in action, Churchs faith next becomes the inspiration and support for a lifetime of community activism and social justice. Bringing the arc to an end is a systematic unpacking of Churchs theologythe universalist good news that beats near the heart of almost every faith tradition.
In a society in which religion has been hijacked by the religious right and ridiculed by the secular left, Forrest Church gives new voice to the power of liberal religion, openhearted and open-minded, humble and awestruck. In answer to the divisive global trend toward competing fundamentalisms and the dangerous spread of neighborly hate, Church invites all seekers to enter the Cathedral of the World, where there are many windows but only one light.
Review
"Certain of the love . . . that endures beyond our own lives, [Church] criticizes fundamentalisms of both the right and the left."
Christian Century "Forrest Church is a perfect guide through the oceans of belief." Diane Ackerman "One can only be grateful that Forrest Church has chosen to revise and re-imagine the major themes of his writing and preaching career. I am nourished by his passion and his eloquence."
Rabbi Harold S. Kushner, author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People
"How we depend on Forrest Church for guidance, instruction, and inspiration, and this book does not disappoint. He is at his best. He makes theology interesting, relevant, and even fun."
Peter J. Gomes, author of The Scandalous Gospel of Jesus
"Forrest Church is a towering public intellectual and the leading universalist philosopher of his generation. This last testament to his prophetic thought and witness is a gift of faith, hope, and love to us all!"
Cornel West, author of Race Matters "The Cathedral of the World sums up in a dramatic and powerful way the work of one of Americas most gifted clergymen. Forrest Church has lived his theology as well as proclaimed it. Ours is a better world because he did."
Bishop John Shelby Spong, author of Jesus for the Non-Religious "Forrest Church, a leading pastor and American religious historian, is also the leading Unitarian Universalist theologian of our time. But he has never pulled together the pieces of his luminous universalist theology, until the gift of this book. The Cathedral of the World is a jewel of theological and grace-filled imagination."
Gary Dorrien, author of The Making of American Liberal Theology
Synopsis
Described by Cornel West as “a towering public intellectual and the leading universalist philosopher of his generation,” Forrest Church was one of the preeminent liberal theologians of our time. His final gift,
The Cathedral of the World, draws from the entire span of Church’s life’s work to leave behind a clear statement of his universalist theology and liberal faith. Giving new voice to the power of liberal religion, Church invites all seekers to enter the Cathedral of the World, home to many windows but only one Light.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
About the Author
Forrest Church (1948–2009) served for almost three decades as senior minister and was minister of public theology at All Souls Unitarian Church in New York City. He wrote or edited twenty-five books, including
Love & Death.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Invocation: The Cathedral of the World
Book I: God and other Famous Liberals
1. The Greatest Liberal of Them All
2. Mother God
Book II: The American Creed
3. The Role of Religion in American Democracy
4. The American Creed
5. What Would Jefferson Do?
6. America’s Promise
7. From Nationalism to Patriotism
Book III: A Liberal Pulpit
8. The Presidential Pulpit and Religious Politics
9. The Commonwealth of God
10. Fear and Terror
11. Shall We Overcome?
12. World Peace 2000
13. Choose Life
14. Evil and Sin
15. Religion and the Body Politic
Book IV: Universalism for the Twenty-first Century
16. The Search for Meaning
17. The Church of the Future in Light of the Past
18. Universalism for the Twenty-first Century
19. Emerson’s Shadow
20. There Is No Hell
21. The Seven Deadly Virtues
22. Home After Dark
23. At Home in the Universe
Book V: Love After Death
24. Love and Death
25. Love’s Tribunal
Benediction: Where Did We Come From? Where Are We Going?
Acknowledgments
Credits