Integral Christianity: The Spirit's Call to Evolve

by Paul R. Smith

This book presents a model of Christianity that incorporates the insights of a Jesus-centered theology of biblical interpretation, integral philosophy, and over fifty years of pastoral experience in leading evolutionary change in the local church. The perspectives of integral theory and practice, articulated by Ken Wilber, help uncover the integral approach that Jesus advocated and demonstrated in the metaphors of his time – and that traditional Christianity has largely been unable to see.
 


Smith incorporates elements of traditional, modern, and postmodern theological viewpoints, including progressive, New Thought, and emerging/emergent ones. However, he goes beyond all of them and moves to a Christianity that is devoted to following both the historical Jesus and the Risen Christ whose Spirit beckons to us from the future. Smith says, “The oldest thing you can say about God is that God is always doing something new. Jesus pushed his own religion to newness by including the best of its past, and transcending the worst of its present. He calls us to do the same, whatever our religion is today. Jesus continues to be a prototype for all spiritual paths in their task of keeping up with the Spirit’s evolutionary impulse to welcome the next stage.

Genres: Spirituality, Christianity, Religion, Philosophy, Nonfiction

408 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 3, 2011

About the author

Paul Smith is a life-long follower of Jesus, mystic, author, teacher, and retired pastor of Broadway Baptist Church in Kansas City where he served for 49 years.

Reviews

[Clif Hostetler · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is author Paul Smith's attempt to fit Christianity into the framework of Integral Theory as expounded by Ken Wilber. Though he focuses on Christianity in this book, Smith assures the reader that the same general path to enhanced spiritual growth can be achieved within other world religions as well. The following graphic copied from the book illustrates this spiral of development in consciousness and culture.


A substantial part of the book is spent defining what is meant by the labels assigned to the above levels of development. The following is an excerpt from one place in the book where the levels are fitted to the "glass half full" analogy:

The tribalist is fearful that the remaining water will disappear. He prays to appease the spirits who protect this water.

The warrior is ready to fight his neighbors in order to fill his glass. He prays for courage to kill the enemy of his water.

The traditionalist may be either the optimist who sees this as the best of all possible glasses of water, or the pessimist who is afraid that it is. He prays with thanksgiving or dread.

The Modernist is sure that the glass is twice as big as it needs to be. He doesn't pray.

The postmodernist is concerned about the elegance of the glass, the quality of the water, how it feels drinking it, and does everyone have enough. He meditates on all of that.

The integralist ponders the strengths and weaknesses of all these viewpoints, while being grateful to the Great Creative Process that transpired to evolve the water, water systems, the glass, and their nourishing presence here. He is looking for what comes next, after that particular glass of water.

Smith indicates all levels are to be respected, and indeed it is natural for humans to begin at the bottom and advance to the top as they mature.

Every person has a right to be at any stage, because all stations in life are expressions of the Spirit's work in taking us along one step at a time.

Though Smith claims not to be judging the lower levels, the book clearly implies that higher up the spiral is the preferred goal for the enlightened soul. Various subgroups within a belief system may officially strive to plateau at certain levels and discourage members from proceeding further. Nevertheless, individuals within a group may choose to proceed on their own. Smith actually mentions the names of various religious groups while generalizing about their placement among the various stages. You'll have to read the book if you want to know where your group was placed.

For Christians Smith's advice is to place primary emphasis on the teachings of Jesus and less on his death and resurrection. The word "atonement" is mentioned only twice in this book and that is within the section where Smith is describing the beliefs of Christian fundamentalists. Smith suggests that as knowledge and culture change we need to evolve into an understanding of our spiritual selves that fits with our time.

In the description of the integral Christian church Smith emphasizes "the three faces of Christ:"

1. Infinite face of Christ—cosmic Christ (3rd person)
2. Intimate face of Christ—Jesus (2nd person)
3. Inner face of Christ—Christ in you (1st person)

Smith then proceeds to discuss prayer, mystical experiences, and meditation practice.

Toward the end of the book Smith emphasizes that when Jesus said, "You are the light of the world," he wasn't directing his comments to the Disciples in the front row. It was rather directed to everybody in the crowd listening to him preach. Thus correct belief is not required to be a light. Smith suggests that in additional to Jews most likely there were pagans and outcasts of society in the crowd to which he was speaking. In other words, Jesus did not say, "You must become the light of the world." Jesus meant that we were the light of the world exactly like he was the light of the world.

That light is already inside of us. It is always inside of us. It has never left and will never leave. You don't need to get it. It's already there. You can't earn it. It's already there as the real you. You can't lose it, because it's the real you which is part of God. And God never loses any part of God. And God never loses any part of herself anytime or anywhere. This is "the astonishing light of your own being."

[Sverre · Rating 4 out of 5]

== A serious attempt at universalistic Christian integration ==

For decades I have tried to convince avowed atheists and anti-religionists that Christianity is a work in progress; it is evolving; it is a moving force that cannot be pigeonholed, nailed down or discarded as a carcass of past tyrannies or superstitious pie-in-the-sky fanaticism. But, oh no: they would usually insist on equating any form of Christianity, past or present, with the murderous incursions of the Crusaders, the atrocities of the Inquisition, the witch hunts, the restriction of scientific exploration, papal suppression of women’s rights, the hegemony of the privileged elite over the unwashed, and, generally the source of most evils ever known to civilized society. OK, maybe I am exaggerating, but I have long remained pessimistic that either secular anti-religionists or religious traditionalists would be able to open their eyes to the evolutionary progress which has taken place and is being made to set Christianity free of suffocating institutions and conventions.

The book at hand is exemplary of that progressive impetus. Paul R Smith has managed to put together a book that has the potential to help unite Christians, Spirit-seekers and metaphysical philosophers of various descriptions and persuasions to find common purpose with the help of some simple but profoundly navigable concepts that can help them to fly freely in new formations above the murky turbulence of outmoded decrees, dogmas and doctrines.

But even though I agreed with much of what Smith has written in this book, I did not enjoy continuously reading much of it. I often felt distracted, feeling hard pressed to tie too many things together. Sections of the book seem to go off on tangents which are redundant or superfluous to the main “integral Christianity” proposition. Some of the thoughts I had as I was reading were ‘this should have been at the beginning of the book instead of in the middle’ or ‘this is the same mannequin dressed up in yet another outfit’ or ‘life is not that linear or chronological’ or ‘we have ploughed this row already’ or ‘if you try to please everyone you may please no-one.’ Smith manages to have provocative ideas but desperately avoids getting stuck in a corner. Like a greased pig he scoots around bumping into traditions and ideologies whose defenders fail to grasp and hold on to him long enough to look him in the eye!

I can’t help but think that this book would have been so much better with a good (even ruthless) editor. It could have been reduced in size by a third or a half without losing the significance of its stirring message. And its message is of significant importance. It is a message that all Christians should have an opportunity to know and ponder. No doubt, most would reject the full extent of its mystical universalistic “gospel.” But many would be stirred to discover themselves in new meaningful inspirational relationships with God, Jesus and the inner Christ. Let me quote the author from the conclusion of the book:

“I understand integral Christianity to be the most inclusive version of following Jesus yet seen. As I have stated in various ways philosophically, it includes:
• All people—not just Christians, or white straight males
• All authentic spiritual paths—not just Christianity
• All stages of development
• All states of consciousness
• All of life—not just the “spiritual” part
• All Three Faces of God—not just one or two
• All Three Faces of Christ—not just one or two
• An inclusive Jesus as a blueprint for all of us
pp 326-327

Despite its faults—in presentation and style, not in content—this book deserves to receive serious scrutiny by all churchgoing Christians and the spiritual-but-not-religious crowd. Paul R Smith deserves credit and praise for having written this book and for having dedicated his life to foster a more open inclusivistic theology.

[Gerry Kirk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Transformative. I'm so grateful for this book. Integral Christianity showed me I have a place on the Christian path, at a time when I felt out of place. Better still, I understand and empathize better with each person's journey, that there is a place for everyone. The book also points the way forward. to a deeper experience of Christ consciousness. Highly recommended

[Marjorie Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been studying Integral Theory, and this book does a very good job applying it to Christianity. This book explains a lot about what I've been struggling with for about 3 years; guess I was ready to hear.

[Another · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply amazing. What a beautiful expanded view of the Bible, Jesus, God, the church. Recommended for anyone who grew up Christian be has outgrown the traditional view of God as a spiteful, angry, violent superman.

[Ben Yosua-davis · Rating 1 out of 5]

Before I get to my concerns, first one word of appreciation. What Paul Smith lays out in this book is a clear, holistic, and joyful way to follow Jesus if you're also very progressive. I appreciate his commitment to the Way of Jesus, his focus on mystic experience (including Pentecostal ones), and his own clear commitment to his faith.

Unfortunately, this is not the book's scope. Instead, it boldly constructs a hierarchical meta-narrative that rates people's faith via their theology, on what is literally a ladder (p.7) If you're a conservative (even if you love your neighbors, are open to change, and seek to follow in Jesus' way), you are dismissed as unevolved, needing to shed your theology in order to spiritually progress up Smith's spiritual hierarchy.

However, what is particularly pernicious is the colonialist racism that pervades this hierarchy. While he does not say this explicitly, one can't read this book without wondering where he would place the *billions* of people in the Global South on his hierarchy of spiritual evolution. His descriptions of "Tribal" and "Warrior" Christianity implicitly dismisses the entire worldview of the global south as unevolved (despite his occasional protests to the contrary, the book very clearly puts the stages of spiritual evolution in a hierarchy).

What does his ideal Christianity look like? In short, it is extremely theologically progressive, extremely Western, and extremely white. Martin Luther King Junior and the heroes of the Civil Rights movement? His argument suggests they are not at the top of this hierarchy, due to Faithful, courageous undocumented workers who come out of the shadows to advocate for justice? Consigned to the lower rungs to their insufficiently progressive theology. Anyone, in fact, who does not fall into a very specific, extremely well-described container of theology/praxis? Unable to participate in spiritual evolution, either for themselves or for the world.

One of the core convictions of Christianity is that God most fully resides among the oppressed and the poor. This means that everyone, including privileged progressives, is supposed to take the experience of the marginalized's experience of God seriously, because they may understand something about God that those in greater positions of power may not.

Instead, this book falls into the common trap of "We love the poor, but we really understand a lot more about God than they do." If that isn't a liberal version of "The White Man's Burden", I don't know what is.

[Jennifer Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had to take this one slow because it felt more radical and “woo woo” than any book I’ve ever read on Christianity. Yet, I kept going because something in the reframing offered me an unparalleled hope, optimism and excitement regarding what Christian spirituality could look like in the church. Applying the model of spiral dynamics to the Bible has been tremendously helpful to me (this was my initial reason for reading this book). Once you see it, you can’t unsee it. It enriches the Bible and has helped me reconcile the disturbing, violent, archaic images of God/his followers with the loving, inclusive, expansive God presented elsewhere. This book left me wanting to explore more. Lots of his recommendations are now in my “to read” pile!

[Sheldon Shalley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great adaptation of Ken Wilber's integral theory to Christianity. It provides a history of the church through tribal, warrior, mythic, modern and postmodern development and looks at its evolving future through the integral lens. The book helps one discover where he or she is on the Christian path, where conflicts might emerge when a person is a one level of development and the church he or she attends is at another level. The author then provides a look at the teachings of Christ through each developmental lens. If you are serious about Christianity as an inner spiritual practice, this is a great guide.

[illesmolnar · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-read for everyone on a Christian Mystical journey, or anyone who loves Jesus but finds traditional churchianity too hard-hearted and narrow-minded. A liberating book, really unique in its kind - Integral Theory and practice on a solid Christian ground. So the book actually doeas what the title promises: offers an Integral Christian spiritual path. Very accessible but in the footnotes you find further reading for years on.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

a call to the “Christian” church and “Christians”to evolve.

I found this book a bit condescending to people and churches who have moved forward in the past 100 years. Writers and
Leaders of new thought were practically ignored and not cited in the bibliography. Where are the Fillmores, Emma Curtis Hopkins, Troward, Holmes? Even Emerson is left out.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was a book I would pick up & read a chapter, then put aside until I felt like another chapter was called for. Very interesting, but not easy to digest. I found so much of the material to be excellent despite the difficulty. This is a keeper to refer back to when questions arise.

[Mason Wren · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful integral map of developmental Christianity, applying Ken Wilber's integral theory to the Christian tradition.

I realize that I often try to find one way, the one right way, of looking at the Christian tradition...but maybe this is not possible, or at least not how it is supposed to be. Smith shows the developmental stages of Christianity and how each stage itself is important, just like infancy on the road to adulthood, though each stage may not have the whole picture. I personally resonate with each stage, and can see different times in my life where I have lived in an through those stages. The developmental map of the Christian tradition that Smith articulated is the most expansive and thorough that I have read about thus far. It is very helpful. It was also very helpful to understand how Biblical authors wrote out of different stars and thus may not have always seen the full picture.

Smith writes in a very easy to understand and easy to follow way. The only downside about his simplicity is that sometimes I wish there was more depth (which is why I gave it 4/5 stars). But for such a sometimes intense/complex theory as integral theory, Smith's approachable simplicity is very helpful too. It is also very practical, and I appreciated Smith sharing his personal experiences and practices. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is open to being stretched and truly desires to know God, in honest and deep ways.

[Barry · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was ok, but for those who aren't ready for a liberal interpretation of christianity it will be a hard read

[Matt Root · Rating 2 out of 5]

There is lots of room for a really interesting and helpful application of integral philosophy to Christianity, but this is not it.

[Mark Wonser · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book in the fashion of Ken Wilbur.