Thoreau's God

by Richard Higgins

Meditative reflections on the great spiritual seeker’s deeply felt experience of the divine.



Henry David Thoreau’s spiritual life is a riddle. Thoreau’s passionate critique of formal religion is matched only by his rapturous descriptions of encounters with the divine in nature. He fled the church only to pursue a deeper communion with a presence he felt at the heart of the universe. He called this illimitable presence many names, but he often called it God.



In Thoreau’s God, Richard Higgins invites seekers—religious or otherwise—to walk with the great Transcendentalist through a series of meditations on his spiritual life. Thoreau offers us no creed, but his writings encourage reflection on how to live, what to notice, and what to love. Though his quest was deeply personal, Thoreau devoted his life to communicating his experience of an infinite, wild, life-giving God. By recovering this vital thread in Thoreau’s life and work, Thoreau’s God opens the door to a new understanding of an original voice in American religion that speaks to spiritual seekers today.

Genres: Religion, Biography, Philosophy, Spirituality, Nonfiction, Theology

224 pages, Hardcover

Published November 19, 2024

Reviews

[Layla King]

Very well researched perspective that sheds some light on the nuance of Thoreau’s religion. All of the quotes taken from Thoreau were aptly contextualized—especially if they included some clouded biblical reference. Overall an interesting and worthwhile synthesis that provides a well-supported perspective on an unrepresented side of Thoreau.

[Heidi]

4.5 stars for the book itself (super fascinating, Thoreau had some interesting thoughts—though some of them are theologically questionable), 5 million for the performance because Julia Whelan. ❤️

[Renée Silvus]

This invigorating book firmly establishes Thoreau as “religious to the bone (with) a profound sense of the holy.” We tend to classify him as we personally prefer—naturalist, civic rabble-rouser, philosopher, mystic, etc. Higgins offers an informed and nuanced reading of Thoreau as including these identities within a profoundly religious sensibility, that his “habit of attention was simultaneously the basis of his work as a naturalist and his primary spiritual discipline.”

Higgins makes a few things very clear. Thoreau disliked prescriptive theology and anything that resembled church doctrine. He eschewed identifying himself as a Christian. Rather, Higgins argues convincingly for Thoreau’s religion as “eclectic, experiential, and non-institutional spirituality” informed by a voracious and wide reading of global scriptures, his immersion in the natural world as a religious “text,”and his deeply moral civic engagement.

The initial chapters explore Thoreau’s essential qualities of discipline and reverence as developed by his Puritan upbringing, vast reading of religious texts, and personal practices such as solitude and walking. The middle chapters explore his nature-oriented mysticism, his complex relationship to Christianity, and the religious iceberg in his rhetoric. The final chapters consider Thoreau’s reform ethics and evolving spirituality.

Throughout all this, Higgins acknowledges the contradictions and challenges in understanding Thoreau’s religious sentiments. How for someone so contrarian about religious conventions, he “possessed…reverence, devotion, awe, gratitude, and subordination to something larger than himself. In essence, Thoreau’s whole life was a prayer.” Higgins’s insights deepen and expand the ongoing reading and discussion of Thoreau’s oeuvre while keeping it personable and accessible.

[Liam Kenney]

Richard sheds a light on the veiled religious and spiritual life of Thoreau in a remarkably smooth read. His choice of chapters keeps themes focused and draws the reader’s attention to details, that when pieced together, help to illuminate a rich spiritual vision for the world on behalf of Thoreau. Great work, Richard! Maybe the next edition will have a chapter on his relationship with his daemon?

[Rick]

Henry David Thoreau was quite spiritual. Many people tend to forget that. Richard Higgins discusses Thoreau's spiritual life in this very excellent book, using Thoreau's published work with quotations and insights throughout. Thoreau searched for God everywhere and was delighted when he believed he had found him in unexpected places.

[Miranda Vilar Bailey]

A rich exploration of the spirituality of Henry David Thoreau. The source materials are weaved into the text quite well. This is helpful in understanding the historical context behind the evolution of Thoreau's spirituality. Transitions between quotations and interpretations are seamless. Much attention is devoted to several biblical allusions in Thoreau's writings. This is balanced by interesting discussions on Confucian, Hindu, and Greek influences. Despite these influences, there is a notable Protestant streak per Higgins. Thoreau's God presents a mystical, experiential faith rooted in nature defying doctrinal constraints. A faith embracing both the wildness of God and the wisdom of acorns.

[Martha]

Very readable and insightful.

[Lynne]

4.5 Stars

To be read slowly, read repeatedly, let it "sink in"...underline passages and go back to them...