Healing the Divide

Healing the Divide is a bold call to understand Jesus according to the earliest lineage of Christian Mystics--a call to transform our dualistic minds and heal a divided Church. This book is a must-read if you find yourself . frustrated by the fundamentalist and new age polarization of twenty-first-century Christianity; . bewildered by religious pluralism; . searching for Christianity's elusive mystic core. Twenty-first century Christianity is in crisis, careening toward fundamentalism on the one hand and a rootless new age Christianity on the other. Twenty-first century Christianity is also reeling from the maze of religious pluralism. Smith addresses and tempers these extremes by passionately and succinctly revealing Jesus as understood by the Alexandrian mystics. The Alexandrian mystics are the most long standing lineage of early Christian mystics. Their perspective on Jesus celebrates creative tensions, tempers extremes, and reveals Christian mysticism's definitive core. "In Healing the Divide, Amos Smith's fresh perspective preserves the integrity of the Christian mystical epicenter from contamination from both the Christian hard right and the sometimes rudderless new age." --Cynthia Bourgeault, author of The Wisdom Jesus "This is a foundational work written in a style that will be respected by scholars--yet easily accessible to ordinary Christians and would-be seekers. The Jesus Paradox revealed in Healing the Divide is needed for the foundational reform and reformulation of the Christian message." --From the Afterword by Richard Rohr "Read Healing the Divide and eat the mystery. It's a check-up call to your identity and mission." --From the Foreword by Leonard Sweet, author of I Am a Follower "This is the most balanced treatment of Jesus I have ever seen. Maybe this book can alleviate the polarizing madness afflicting Western Christianity today." --Ken Barnes, UCC Pastor "Amos Smith writes about the incarnation with great enthusiasm. His work is commendable!" --William Meninger, Benedictine Monk and author of Julian of Norwich "This is the clearest and most accessible treatment of Oriental Orthodox Christology I have seen by a Western author." --Abba Yohannes, Ethiopian Orthodox Monk "This book is written by a Contemplative Mainline Protestant, foreworded by an Evangelical, with an afterword by a Progressive Catholic. And it's about Oriental Orthodox Mysticism! That's a new breed of ecumenism!" --Sandra Casey-Martus, Episcopal Priest Amos Smith (DMin, Chicago Theological Seminary) is a pastor in the United Church of Christ (UCC). Visit the author at www.amossmith.org.