Black Sheep and Prodigals: An Antidote to Black and White Religion

by Dave Tomlinson

'Very interesting, it's all about not alienating people before they even think about crossing the threshold of where you worship.' Chris Evans, BBC Radio 2

Do you feel more at home on the edges of faith than at the centre? Would you call yourself a bit of a black sheep? Too often Christian spirituality has been associated with conformity, or a subculture where people don't feel able to ask questions. But Dave Tomlinson, author of How to be a bad Christian , doesn't think it has to be like this; instead, our spiritual communities can be 'laboratories of the Spirit' - places where we can explore issues of faith and spirit with openness, imagination and creativity. Welcome to black sheep spirituality - where doubts and questions are an essential part of faith; where difference of opinion is a sign of a secure community; where divine revelation is embraced wherever it is found - in the arts, science and the natural world as well as religious tradition; and where faith is something that is lived and practised rather than embalmed in beliefs or ritual. 'Theology for anyone and everyone' BBC Radio 2

Genres: Spirituality, Religion

256 pages, Hardcover

Published June 27, 2017

Reviews

[Caroline A Leveaux · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful and - for me - important book which has reset my spiritual compass and made me feel much more hopeful, less weary and overwhelmed. It is a book for grown ups of all faiths and none. A practical, clear call to look not always to formal religion but to Jesus and what he did, in all his radical love of others and his world. And that, that means not always conforming - 'Such faith will not focus on creeds and doctrines, but on a way to be in the world. It will be about compassion, justice and peace, about spiritual evolution, community and transformation, not dogma'.

Yet there is nothing either ponderous nor strident in this book - quite the reverse, it is upbeat in tone, it is hopeful and has moved me away from feeling so overwhelmed by the problems of the world .... and is easy to read. Which was a relief - I often find books on faith impossibly dense or, worse, patronisingly simple. Not this one.

There are many take aways for me here, but the best is Easter - at last a clear narrative around why Christ died without it feeling like God using sons as currency. Not he died to pay for our sins, but he died and yet forgives us - and what that means for the rest of us. I will ask my church this Easter to consider the St Luke's service where there is an additional focus on the the world now and a recommitment - it feels like anyway - to our role and potential as humans - Christian or not. Or I think that is what it is about and will reread it I am sure many times.

So, I would say this is a book for you - wherever you are in your spiritual journey or none. This will help me in my daily life and has restored my hope. I hope it will do the same for you.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a refreshing reminder that following Jesus and seeking to help bring God's kingdom to reign on Earth is not about being an orthodox Christian who has all the doctrines sorted out but about loving others with compassion and empathy. Dave Tomlinson is very honest and open about his own faith journey and how he has tried to live as a follower of Jesus, indeed an Anglican priest, without holding closely to all the doctrines of the church. I have been greatly encouraged by reading this book and I believe others will be as well. I also feel all people can get a lot from reading this book, whether they agree with all Dave has to say or not, if they are open minded enough to at least reflect on what Dave has written here.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who moved away from the established church after being a member for 35 years including being a lay reader for 20+ years, but also as someone who still is a committed Christian, I find Dave Tomlinson's writings very helpful. In this book he looks at a number of topics, including many doctrines and gives us a different and thought provoking take on them. I agreed with much he said, but the greatest benefits came from those areas when I didn't immediately agree as they made me look at what I did actually believe.

[Hattie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this in the charity book stall at St David’s cathedral - I later realised it is both signed and looked pretty unread, which made me wonder whether the author himself had stealthily deposited it there - if so thank you.

This was a very refreshing take. Possibly a few counts of oversimplifying the opposing side to make it sound silly.

Selection of quotes:
But it doesn't much matter whether we are model religious sheep or model secular sheep, a sheep (in these terms) is a sheep: someone trapped in a 'sheepfold' of unquestioned assumptions, meekly heading in the same direction, maybe very bright or intellectual, yet spiritually unawakened, seldom applying themselves to the big questions.

we have different doctrines and beliefs about God that can't simply be set aside, but this may simply express the impossibility of any human words or categories to define or contain God. Surely it is time to stop stating categorically what we cannot possibly know for certain. In a world torn apart by black and white religious assertions about God and the will of God, surely we need the humility to stick with what we can be sure of: that love always trumps beliefs.

Jesus took a different approach. He called people to a way of life, not a creed. He said that the whole of religion could be summed up with these two basic requirements: to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love our neighbour as our self. The vast majority of his teaching can be read as an explanation of what these two requirements mean in practice.

embracing divine revelation wherever it may be found - in art and science and the natural world as well as in religious traditions; in the universal human experience of friendship, compassion and justice

A purely rational, verbalised faith is a miserably impoverished one….Without a sense of the mysterious, art degenerates into chocolate-box romanticism, or propaganda; religion becomes hollow ritual, or dogmatic fundamentalism.

an emphasis on the afterlife distorts the message of christianity - surely Jesus calls us primarily to a way of life,… Do we really need the prospect of punishment or reward to make good decisions in life? … What we can know for sure is that there is life before death.

For Jesus, the kingdom of God wasn't an insurance policy for heaven when you die; it wasn't a religious system or an exclusive society. It was a clarion call to change the world by the power of God through compassion, healing, reconciliation and social justice.

Apart from anything else, how could eternal torment and eternal bliss co-exist? Surely, the one obliterates the other. What sort of people could party for ever while others suffered interminable misery? The God of Jesus christ would surely rescue the tormented even if it took all eternity.

For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of stars makes me dream - Vincent Van Gogh

[Lucy Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

First non fiction book to make me nearly cry - every Christian should be required to read this, especially if they think they have all the answers about religion.

"Then, finally, we will be able to greet our own self, arriving at our own door, and, smiling, stand tall on the inside to declare: This is me! This is who I am! I have arrived. I am home."

[Kathy S · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is *EVERYTHING*. It is incredibly rare when you find yourself agreeing with every single page and sentence.
You consider yourself agnostic, humanist, spiritual, questioning or (ESPECIALLY) christian?! Go read this book. I know of so many people whose minds would be blown by the poignancy, honesty and truth contained in this book.
The bottom line? Deeds, not Creeds.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thought provoking book. Wish there were more vicars like Dave Tomlinson concentrating on the essence of religion which is to ‘love thy neighbour as thyself’. A wonderful reassuring read.

[Anna Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought provoking. Well worth a read.

[Kath · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am grateful to Dave Tomlinson for his ability to express the difficulties involved in subscribing to any black and white religion. I recognise a lot in his description of the way he was brought up in a strict church and how he needs freedom from those restraints. He is pastorally sensitive and his conclusion that 'faith is a passionate inner conversation...an internal argument between belief and doubt...but the important thing is to keep the conversation going' is one that resonates with me. However there were times when I was left dissatisfied. Maybe the foundations became too watery; the phrase 'don't throw the baby out with the bath water' comes to mind. I'm not quite sure why he continues to believe in Jesus as such a strong inspiration and why he would choose Christianity over anything else. He must have to recite the Creed in his job but that seems odd considering it appears he doesn't believe in most of it. Perhaps I am still taking the black and white approach so that is my fault not his! My question is really 'Where do you draw the line?' and that must be down to individual integrity if the salient facts cannot be proved.

[Mark Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is not a word in this book that I do not agree with.