Friendly Freethinker

by Chris Highland

Another dynamic collection of contemporary essays on Humanism, Religion and Nature by former minister and chaplain Chris Highland selected from his weekly "Highland Views" columns in the Asheville Citizen-Times. Friendly Freethinker follows the publication of A Freethinker's Gospel and Broken Bridges, each presenting provocative perspectives on faith and freethought in a fractured world. Positive, incisive, hopeful and helpful, essays include "Can We Talk About Religious Supremacy?," "Having Difficult Conversations without Destroying Relationships," "Battling Bullies in Boyhood and Beliefs," "The Man Who Changed His Name to God," "Why Does the World Still Need Scriptures?," "The Friendship of an Atheist and an Evangelical," "If There is a God in Nature, Which One?," "What I Would Most Like to Believe," "Mature Christians and Grown-up Atheists," "Does Religion Begin and End in Silence?" and many more (50 essays in all). Highland draws from a deep well of experiences in chaplaincy and teaching, exploring the edges of our comfortable communities and congregations, asking the questions that stir us to more rational thinking and practical action. Though he left the ministry--and faith--Highland is happily married to a progressive minister who reads, comments and helps edit his newspaper columns. Together, they model a creative, constructive approach to bridging differences of belief. Highland's writings exemplify a commitment to secular/spiritual communication so greatly needed in our culture today.

153 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 6, 2021

About the author

Author of Broken Bridges (2020), A Freethinker's Gospel (2018) as well as six natural meditation books beginning with Meditations of John Muir (2001); also Life After Faith (2010), My Address is a River (2010), the novel Jesus and John Muir (2010), Nature is Enough (2013) and other web-published works including poetry, essays and a childrens' book.

A former minister and chaplain in the SF Bay Area, he is now a freethinking humanist celebrant who teaches and writes in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.

Chris writes the weekly "Highland Views" column for the Citizen-Times and blogs at www.chighland.com.