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The Wisdom Jesus: Transforming Heart and Mind
s/t: A New Perspective on Christ & His Message
If you put aside what you think you know about Jesus & approach the Gospels as tho for the first time, something remarkable happens: Jesus emerges as a teacher of the transformation of consciousness. Cynthia Bourgeault is a masterful guide to Jesus's vision & to the traditional contemplative practices you can use to experience the heart of his teachings for yourself.
If you put aside what you think you know about Jesus & approach the Gospels as tho for the first time, something remarkable happens: Jesus emerges as a teacher of the transformation of consciousness. Cynthia Bourgeault is a masterful guide to Jesus's vision & to the traditional contemplative practices you can use to experience the heart of his teachings for yourself.
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First published January 1, 2008
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About the author
Cynthia Bourgeault
55 books357 followersModern day mystic, Episcopal priest, writer, and internationally known retreat leader, Cynthia Bourgeault divides her time between solitude at her seaside hermitage in Maine, and a demanding schedule traveling globally to teach and spread the recovery of the Christian contemplative and Wisdom path.
She has been a long-time advocate of the meditative practice of Centering Prayer and has worked closely with fellow teachers and colleagues including Thomas Keating, Bruno Barnhart, and Richard Rohr. Cynthia has actively participated in numerous inter-spiritual dialogues and events with luminaries and leaders such as A.H. Almaas, Kabir Helminski, Swami Atmarupananda, and Rami Shapiro.
Cynthia is a member of the GPIW (Global Peace Initiative for Women) Contemplative Council and recipient of the 2014 Contemplative Voices award from Shalem Institute. She is a founding Director of both The Contemplative Society and the Aspen Wisdom School. She continues to contribute to The Contemplative Society in her role as Principal Teacher and advisor.
Cynthia is the author of eight books: The Holy Trinity and the Law of Three, The Meaning of Mary Magdalene, The Wisdom Jesus, Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening, Mystical Hope, The Wisdom Way of Knowing, Chanting the Psalms, and Love is Stronger than Death. She has also authored or contributed to numerous articles on the Christian Wisdom path in publications such as Parabola Magazine, Gnosis Magazine, and Sewanee Theological Review.
Cynthia Bourgeault is currently one of the core faculty members at The Living School for Action and Contemplation.
from http://www.contemplative.org/cynthia-...
She has been a long-time advocate of the meditative practice of Centering Prayer and has worked closely with fellow teachers and colleagues including Thomas Keating, Bruno Barnhart, and Richard Rohr. Cynthia has actively participated in numerous inter-spiritual dialogues and events with luminaries and leaders such as A.H. Almaas, Kabir Helminski, Swami Atmarupananda, and Rami Shapiro.
Cynthia is a member of the GPIW (Global Peace Initiative for Women) Contemplative Council and recipient of the 2014 Contemplative Voices award from Shalem Institute. She is a founding Director of both The Contemplative Society and the Aspen Wisdom School. She continues to contribute to The Contemplative Society in her role as Principal Teacher and advisor.
Cynthia is the author of eight books: The Holy Trinity and the Law of Three, The Meaning of Mary Magdalene, The Wisdom Jesus, Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening, Mystical Hope, The Wisdom Way of Knowing, Chanting the Psalms, and Love is Stronger than Death. She has also authored or contributed to numerous articles on the Christian Wisdom path in publications such as Parabola Magazine, Gnosis Magazine, and Sewanee Theological Review.
Cynthia Bourgeault is currently one of the core faculty members at The Living School for Action and Contemplation.
from http://www.contemplative.org/cynthia-...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 204 reviews
November 13, 2012
What is wrong with modern Christianity? Did Christianity get off on the wrong foot almost from its inception? That is the thesis of this thought provoking and challenging book, a fascinating new take on the Jesus Christ we thought we were familiar with.
The starting point of the book is the Gospel of Thomas, restored to us when it was found among the Nag Hammadi scrolls in the Egyptian desert in 1945. These scrolls date back to early Christianity, being at least as old as the four canonical gospels, now widely regarded as the authentic teachings of Jesus, and give us a radical new take on Jesus and the metaphysics of his teaching.
I loved this book. I have already read it twice! As a Christian who has thought much and written something myself about the possible interface between new ideas on consciousness and the spirituality within religion, especially Christianity, (in Why Religions Work), this book is a breath of fresh air. Mainstream Christianity is losing ground, losing sight of the real gospel message of Jesus, the Jesus who came first and foremost as a teacher of the path of inner transformation, the deep level of consciousness he was trying to tell us about, a spiritual path that is found through self-emptying kenosis.
Christianity is either destined to change and grow into a proper form to match the consciousness of the twenty first century: or it will disappear as an institution and we shall then be left face to face with the naked presence of Christ.
My full review of this book is up at Amazon.
The starting point of the book is the Gospel of Thomas, restored to us when it was found among the Nag Hammadi scrolls in the Egyptian desert in 1945. These scrolls date back to early Christianity, being at least as old as the four canonical gospels, now widely regarded as the authentic teachings of Jesus, and give us a radical new take on Jesus and the metaphysics of his teaching.
I loved this book. I have already read it twice! As a Christian who has thought much and written something myself about the possible interface between new ideas on consciousness and the spirituality within religion, especially Christianity, (in Why Religions Work), this book is a breath of fresh air. Mainstream Christianity is losing ground, losing sight of the real gospel message of Jesus, the Jesus who came first and foremost as a teacher of the path of inner transformation, the deep level of consciousness he was trying to tell us about, a spiritual path that is found through self-emptying kenosis.
Christianity is either destined to change and grow into a proper form to match the consciousness of the twenty first century: or it will disappear as an institution and we shall then be left face to face with the naked presence of Christ.
My full review of this book is up at Amazon.
March 12, 2015
I didn't consider myself Christian when starting this book. I heard a talk of Cynthia's that made me want to carry on the conversation. I loved this book. There's so much that I need to re-read to understand more fully and I know this has that internal kernel of truth which excites and inspires me. Ultimately it is the idea of oneness with the creator which has jump started me down a new and lovely path. Thank you Cynthia .
January 8, 2009
Wisdom is not what you believe about Jesus or even what know about him. Wisdom is when you encounter him, recognize him, and enter the mind of Christ.
Bourgeault, an Episcopal priest, goes through familiar canonical gospel material, the beatitudes and hard parables, and the “Gnostic” gospel of Thomas to explicate how Jesus asks us to free ourselves from our primitive selfish nature and by emptying the self make room for the divine. It is the path of kenosis, the path of self-emptying love.
“The word metanoia, usually translated as “repentance,” literally means to go “beyond the mind” or into the larger mind.” It means to escape from the orbit of the egoic operating system, which by virtue of its own internal hardwiring is always going to see the world in terms of polarized opposites, and move instead into that nondual knowingness of heart which can see and live from the perspective of wholeness. This is the central message of Jesus. This is what the Kingdom of Heaven is all about.” (page 41)
From this point of view she recounts the significance of his incarnation, passion, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension, and then succinctly describes the Christian wisdom practices of contemplative prayer, Lectio divina (Bible reading), psalm chanting, welcoming or embracing the world, and Eucharist.
Bourgeault, an Episcopal priest, goes through familiar canonical gospel material, the beatitudes and hard parables, and the “Gnostic” gospel of Thomas to explicate how Jesus asks us to free ourselves from our primitive selfish nature and by emptying the self make room for the divine. It is the path of kenosis, the path of self-emptying love.
“The word metanoia, usually translated as “repentance,” literally means to go “beyond the mind” or into the larger mind.” It means to escape from the orbit of the egoic operating system, which by virtue of its own internal hardwiring is always going to see the world in terms of polarized opposites, and move instead into that nondual knowingness of heart which can see and live from the perspective of wholeness. This is the central message of Jesus. This is what the Kingdom of Heaven is all about.” (page 41)
From this point of view she recounts the significance of his incarnation, passion, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension, and then succinctly describes the Christian wisdom practices of contemplative prayer, Lectio divina (Bible reading), psalm chanting, welcoming or embracing the world, and Eucharist.
August 13, 2016
The notional concept behind this book is one with which I largely agree: namely, that Jesus was a teacher of the wisdom tradition. His heavy reliance upon parables and the mystic quality of many of his pronouncements bear witness to this, and the rich history of wisdom teachers in that age makes this a perfectly reasonable and rational assumption.
Where I strongly disagree with Bourgeault, however, is in her casual dismissal of canonical scripture, her elevation of the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas above the accepted Gospels of Christianity, her reliance upon Sufi mystics and Buddhist koans to explain the "true" message of Christ, and the syncretic assumptions behind her explanation of the divine. Most troubling to me was the notion that if we dismiss the Apostolic traditions, the Pauline revisioning of doctrine and the softened version of Jesus's teachings presented in our four Gospels, we can begin to understand what were the real teachings of Jesus. I don't see enough evidence to warrant such a radical reinterpretation as this - even despite my agreement in principle that two millennia of doctrinal revisionism have irreparably damaged the core message of Christianity.
While there were indeed a handful of gems that I gleaned from my reading, I took issue with too many assumptions to make this a meaningful experience. I may well change my position on the matter in the years ahead, but at this point in my life Bourgeault's book strikes a loud, discordant note rather than the gentle and harmonious melody which she obviously intended.
Where I strongly disagree with Bourgeault, however, is in her casual dismissal of canonical scripture, her elevation of the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas above the accepted Gospels of Christianity, her reliance upon Sufi mystics and Buddhist koans to explain the "true" message of Christ, and the syncretic assumptions behind her explanation of the divine. Most troubling to me was the notion that if we dismiss the Apostolic traditions, the Pauline revisioning of doctrine and the softened version of Jesus's teachings presented in our four Gospels, we can begin to understand what were the real teachings of Jesus. I don't see enough evidence to warrant such a radical reinterpretation as this - even despite my agreement in principle that two millennia of doctrinal revisionism have irreparably damaged the core message of Christianity.
While there were indeed a handful of gems that I gleaned from my reading, I took issue with too many assumptions to make this a meaningful experience. I may well change my position on the matter in the years ahead, but at this point in my life Bourgeault's book strikes a loud, discordant note rather than the gentle and harmonious melody which she obviously intended.
March 3, 2013
I found this a very heavy book that takes a lot of concentration, mainly for me because there was so much brand new material in it. The author, an Episcopal priest and mystic, knows her subjects and has a fine intellect, so is not just a "touchy-feely" New Ager.
She uses the latest discovered, ancient texts, the history of Christian mysticism, recent psychological theory and Eastern thought to promote her hypothesis and make her case.
To me this is a book that needs to be read more than once for the material to be fully digested.
The final section of the book deals with practical disciplines to deepen spiritual awareness. She recommends centering prayer, spiritual readings in what is called Lectio Divina, chanting (preferably psalms), learning to relax during personal crises, accepting unavoidable suffering, and experiencing the Eucharist.
Each chapter could be the subject of ten sermons in my opinion. I'm so glad a dear friend recommended this book to me.
She uses the latest discovered, ancient texts, the history of Christian mysticism, recent psychological theory and Eastern thought to promote her hypothesis and make her case.
To me this is a book that needs to be read more than once for the material to be fully digested.
The final section of the book deals with practical disciplines to deepen spiritual awareness. She recommends centering prayer, spiritual readings in what is called Lectio Divina, chanting (preferably psalms), learning to relax during personal crises, accepting unavoidable suffering, and experiencing the Eucharist.
Each chapter could be the subject of ten sermons in my opinion. I'm so glad a dear friend recommended this book to me.
February 6, 2010
I absolutely loved this book. Cynthia Bourgeault has incredible insight into the deep meanings of Jesus' teachings that go far beyond the literal (and superficial, in my opinion) interpretations of his teachings. She is an Episcopal priest who has a deep intimate relationship with her spirituality which is not limited by concepts and dogma. After reading this book, I became increasingly interested in the Gospel of Thomas (which she quotes quite often). I feel like I have been renewed to the wisdom and truth that is within the Christian tradition and the truth of the teachings of Jesus which point to a unitive and self-transformation spirituality instead of the literalistic portait of Jesus. I highly recommend this book, if you let it, it can point toward a much deeper and meaningful wisdom which is like the jewel hidden in the scriptures.
July 18, 2011
I read this last week with a dear friend. Its reading made a mini retreat for bothh of us.
The author is an Episcopal Priest. The basis of her book is Kenoia (being in the mind and heart of Jesus) as opposed to the duality and conflict,dogmatism and doctrinal teaching (some of which are not really doctrine) that most of us have grown up with in our religious training.
Each chapter presents very thoughtful insight (I will read the book again) enough to munch on and meditate upon.
Ms. Bourgeault uses Scripture as most of us know it and uses many Catholic authors as sources as well as the Gospels of Thomas and Mary Magdela.
The disconcerting quality is that Ms Bourgeault uses so much vocabulary that is not in our normal lexicon, though she does define each word. We wished she would have just kept it simple. The text is deep and thought provoking enough.
The author is an Episcopal Priest. The basis of her book is Kenoia (being in the mind and heart of Jesus) as opposed to the duality and conflict,dogmatism and doctrinal teaching (some of which are not really doctrine) that most of us have grown up with in our religious training.
Each chapter presents very thoughtful insight (I will read the book again) enough to munch on and meditate upon.
Ms. Bourgeault uses Scripture as most of us know it and uses many Catholic authors as sources as well as the Gospels of Thomas and Mary Magdela.
The disconcerting quality is that Ms Bourgeault uses so much vocabulary that is not in our normal lexicon, though she does define each word. We wished she would have just kept it simple. The text is deep and thought provoking enough.
November 17, 2014
I reluctantly accepted the loan of this book from a friend who inscribed it, "Please return this to me so I can share it with others." Now I know why. I am getting my own copy, and giving copies to my meditation group. Cynthia's intellect and insight have "saved" Christianity for me. One of the reviews said it so well, "Cynthia Bourgeault needs to be read by everyone trying to make sense of a Christianity that has been tainted over the centuries. She returns us home. Her wisdom gives me great hope for my faith and my world."
September 17, 2012
Cynthia is a gift and one of the few modern theologians - that I have read - who can bring Christ and his teachings to life and relevance 2,000 years later. I thank her for continuing to breath fresh air into the life of Jesus and revive the true mysticism of his teachings and his ways. There is no forcing of belief with this work...rather a presentation that captures the soul's own yearning to believe and entices the relief of surrender.
November 7, 2025
This one took a while for me to work through, but it was so worth it! And since I borrowed it from the library I’ll now be looking to own my own copy so I can work through it again. I love the exploration from history to mystery to praxis.
March 3, 2015
Mixed feelings about this one. I almost gave it a three, but I did appreciate a lot of what she's trying to do--re-imagine Christianity in light of the Nag Hammadi scriptures. Christianity, as traditionally imagined in the Western mind, is in trouble. Bourgeault is attempting to bring us back to these early texts that were only recently discovered and even more recently researched by scholars. They indicate a much more mystical understanding of the faith--one that appeals to me greatly. But she sorta gums it up with references to Ken Wilbur and his nine levels of spiritual transformation and other new age pseudo-evolutionary concepts. That's where it goes off the rails for me. After working so hard to release ourselves from dualities and such, she dives right back into a schema which suggests that some people are more realized than others, and, not only that, but we have nine levels of spiritual evolution by which to evaluate ourselves--and each other. I think, sometimes, she misses her own point. Another thing that rather bothers me about this book is the idea that we are all one. While in one sense I agree, I also think there is a place for boundaries and a sense of individuality. As a feminist, I think that's valuable, and something that is often missing in the gospel when it comes to women, who often need a bit of egoism--not less egoism. Aside from these complaints, I did appreciate much of her work.
December 31, 2015
I picked up this book because it came with an endorsement by Richard Rohr, the Franciscan monk who has meant so much to me in my growth as a person and as a Christian. This book by Cynthia Bourgeault may well be one of my favorite books of the 2015 reading year. I don't agree with everything to be found here, but the meat of the book is so extraordinary and so helpful for those with eyes to see and ears to hear that I didn't even mind. Early in the book she declares that Jesus had no interest at all in the political fate of Israel, and quite frankly there is no excuse for penning such words after the work of N. T. Wright. Nevertheless, she does an excellent job exegeting Jesus as a teacher of wisdom and paradox rather than as a political teacher, and there is much to gained. This is a book to savor for anyone on the contemplative path.
July 11, 2013
This is a remarkable book which changes and enhances what you were ever taught about Jesus and Christianity. Jesus did not come to start a church - he came to share his wisdom via a path of inner transformation. Who knew the "New Age" started so long ago!? Challenging and transformative - seeing the Kingdom of Heaven as a state of consciousness....shifting our perception from our minds to our hearts. The end of the book describes Christian Wisdom Practices: centering prayer meditation, sacred reading, chanting, and the welcoming practice of focusing, welcoming, and letting go. A great book for anyone wanting to bring together religion and spirituality into a cohesive whole.
June 5, 2015
This is a thoughtful and scholarly theory about Jesus and his teachings. It provides answers and perspective to someone like me — a follower of Jesus who has always felt that there was more to his ministry and mission than what was written in the scripture stories that became the New Testament. Especially helpful was the review of the Christian wisdom practices: centering prayer; lectio divina; Tazie chant; welcome; and Eucharist.
August 24, 2015
This will be the text for an online course I will be taking beginning September 15. The instructor is the author, Cynthia Bourgeault. I am looking forward to reading it again at a slower pace and savoring it. I hope to incorporate the practice of centering prayer as part of my daily routine. That is an audacious goal. Even if I do not attain it, I will gain from encountering this expansive understanding of Jesus and his teachings.
March 28, 2015
Outstanding new look at Christ. Helpful to me in both my practice but also with scripture interpretation (especially Gospel)Interesting take on Paul and the Christian Church. Bonus chapter with practical suggestions for Centering Prayer/meditation that in some ways seemed more helpful than her "Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening."
September 24, 2022
Claiming to have a “new perspective” on Jesus, as the sub-title suggests, is pretty bold. At first glance, what Cynthia presents here falls short of that claim. Jesus’ preaching is clearly in the same tradition of the wisdom literature of the Hebrew Bible, but Cynthia is pushing the claim of Jesus as wisdom teacher much further and broader than that. What is genuinely new about her perspective is greatly informed by the texts found in Nag Hammadi in 1945, what many call the “Gnostic Gospels” (though the texts in this library extend far beyond Gospel accounts). More specifically, Cynthia is unapologetically influenced by the central text of that find: the Gospel of Thomas. The text dates closely to the time the canonical Gospels were written and, if it’s to be believed (and Cynthia does), these are actual sayings of Jesus. I listened to the text alongside listening to this. Unlike the canonical Gospels, it is not a narrative, but simply a collection of the sayings (or logi) of Jesus, half of which are straight out of the cannon, and the other half markedly different. It honestly feels similar to the sutras in Buddha’s Dhammapada or in Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching. Drawing from this source, Cynthia presents Jesus as non-dualistic, awakener of a new consciousness.
She presents the reader with a simple but big question: what did Jesus teach? We don’t often ask this like we might about the two gentlemen I mentioned above. Instead, the Church has more often focused on who Jesus is. Cynthia emphasizes the Church’s mad dash in the first few centuries to nail down exactly what Jesus’ nature is and to put these things down in concrete through creeds and confessions, all the while drifting from his actual teachings and allowing these to guide us into wisdom. She’s certainly onto something there, though the lengths she goes to prove it begin to feel unnecessarily dismissive of the important work of such creeds and confessions. It doesn’t have to be either or. Take this quote:
“That’s what Christian orthodoxy is really about. It’s not about right belief, it’s about right practice.”
That strikes me as stubbornly unbalanced. I’d say right practice flows out from right belief. The two cyclically feed into one another and ought to be tended to with equal consideration.
Here’s how Cynthia might proclaim the Gospel message: Jesus has come to deliver us from our ingrained Egoic Operating System and false self and to lead us into a non-dualistic, divine consciousness. That don’t preach super well huh? Not quite the “simple Gospel” that anyone could grasp and recognize as good news. Hers is a mysticism which often levitates into a nebulous transcendence.
Let’s take the non-dualism first. Broadly this would refer to the inter-connectedness of all things, but (I think!) she is using this as a counter to mind-body split which most Christian streams would hold to (which is arguably more an inheritance from Plato and Greek philosophy than the Bible). She is saying Jesus is a unifier of mind, body, spirit.
Then there’s the “new consciousness.” She draws upon Luke’s words “the Kingdom of heaven is within you” and Paul’s words about having “the mind of Christ” to say Jesus brings about a new, unified operating system (NT Wright would call this Jesus showing us how to be truly human). She says we naturally run on a Egoic Operating System, one that is most concerned with self, and that being in Christ shifts us into a new kind of being, one that is bent towards self-emptying love. As esoteric as some of these terms are, I think this is ultimately a true way of speaking about what Jesus’ wisdom brings about in us. It just can’t be isolated to this description! She seems to dismiss the Kingdom coming as a transforming of human society or of an overthrowing of spiritual corruption and sin. Doing so would tend towards Gnosticism — the Kingdom births in us an inner transformation, but that transformation doesn’t then go on to redeem the world or counter the powers of darkness at work in the world (which just seems individualistic). That ends up being my main problem with this book. To argue her valid point she dismisses or disputes sound doctrine (even saying things like “that was Paul’s theology, not Jesus’s,” as if what Paul had received wasn’t from Christ, as if the Word could contradict itself in fundamental ways). Her language can be incorporated into a way of speaking about spiritual formation, but just not in isolation as she would seem to have it be.
The book began to feel hopelessly impractical until part 3, where she introduces the practices of Centering Prayer, chanting the Psalms, “Welcoming” (a verbal exercise when encountering tension of amicably greeting emotions like anger or anxiety, giving them their place, and then letting go the false desires fueling them), and finally the Eucharist. This section was really good and thankfully put some meat on the bones of this book. I’ll be looking into these practices more.
All in all, this book challenged me intellectually in a way no book has for awhile (even if that’s not quite goal) and I appreciate how much it exposed me to that stretched me beyond comfort. As the Gospel of Thomas says:
“Those who seek should not stop seeking until they find. When they find, they will be disturbed. When they are disturbed, they will marvel, and will rule over all."
Thank you Bethany for putting this on my radar when you marked it to-read!
She presents the reader with a simple but big question: what did Jesus teach? We don’t often ask this like we might about the two gentlemen I mentioned above. Instead, the Church has more often focused on who Jesus is. Cynthia emphasizes the Church’s mad dash in the first few centuries to nail down exactly what Jesus’ nature is and to put these things down in concrete through creeds and confessions, all the while drifting from his actual teachings and allowing these to guide us into wisdom. She’s certainly onto something there, though the lengths she goes to prove it begin to feel unnecessarily dismissive of the important work of such creeds and confessions. It doesn’t have to be either or. Take this quote:
“That’s what Christian orthodoxy is really about. It’s not about right belief, it’s about right practice.”
That strikes me as stubbornly unbalanced. I’d say right practice flows out from right belief. The two cyclically feed into one another and ought to be tended to with equal consideration.
Here’s how Cynthia might proclaim the Gospel message: Jesus has come to deliver us from our ingrained Egoic Operating System and false self and to lead us into a non-dualistic, divine consciousness. That don’t preach super well huh? Not quite the “simple Gospel” that anyone could grasp and recognize as good news. Hers is a mysticism which often levitates into a nebulous transcendence.
Let’s take the non-dualism first. Broadly this would refer to the inter-connectedness of all things, but (I think!) she is using this as a counter to mind-body split which most Christian streams would hold to (which is arguably more an inheritance from Plato and Greek philosophy than the Bible). She is saying Jesus is a unifier of mind, body, spirit.
Then there’s the “new consciousness.” She draws upon Luke’s words “the Kingdom of heaven is within you” and Paul’s words about having “the mind of Christ” to say Jesus brings about a new, unified operating system (NT Wright would call this Jesus showing us how to be truly human). She says we naturally run on a Egoic Operating System, one that is most concerned with self, and that being in Christ shifts us into a new kind of being, one that is bent towards self-emptying love. As esoteric as some of these terms are, I think this is ultimately a true way of speaking about what Jesus’ wisdom brings about in us. It just can’t be isolated to this description! She seems to dismiss the Kingdom coming as a transforming of human society or of an overthrowing of spiritual corruption and sin. Doing so would tend towards Gnosticism — the Kingdom births in us an inner transformation, but that transformation doesn’t then go on to redeem the world or counter the powers of darkness at work in the world (which just seems individualistic). That ends up being my main problem with this book. To argue her valid point she dismisses or disputes sound doctrine (even saying things like “that was Paul’s theology, not Jesus’s,” as if what Paul had received wasn’t from Christ, as if the Word could contradict itself in fundamental ways). Her language can be incorporated into a way of speaking about spiritual formation, but just not in isolation as she would seem to have it be.
The book began to feel hopelessly impractical until part 3, where she introduces the practices of Centering Prayer, chanting the Psalms, “Welcoming” (a verbal exercise when encountering tension of amicably greeting emotions like anger or anxiety, giving them their place, and then letting go the false desires fueling them), and finally the Eucharist. This section was really good and thankfully put some meat on the bones of this book. I’ll be looking into these practices more.
All in all, this book challenged me intellectually in a way no book has for awhile (even if that’s not quite goal) and I appreciate how much it exposed me to that stretched me beyond comfort. As the Gospel of Thomas says:
“Those who seek should not stop seeking until they find. When they find, they will be disturbed. When they are disturbed, they will marvel, and will rule over all."
Thank you Bethany for putting this on my radar when you marked it to-read!
April 11, 2025
Some great (Episcopalian?) ideas, but ran out of steam towards the end.
February 7, 2020
Cynthia Bourgeault is without a doubt a spiritually sensitive, exceptionally bright and articulate writer. Her Wisdom Jesus contains more than a few nuggets of deep wisdom indeed and helps us to develop an ear to some deep insights into Jesus' words and deeds. But she might have overdone her 'pushing the metaphysical envelope' and overturning of the traditions way too far. I am rather surprised at several points in the book where she not only attempts to subvert creedal formulations, she seems to stand above the canonical interpretations of Jesus as well (including those of the apostles Paul and John!). So I wonder what vantage point does she stand on that enables her to critique the canonical writers and opt for non-canonical sources instead as the more reliable authority for showing us who the real Jesus is.
Then I realize that it has to do with what she calls 'the inner certainty and sovereignty that comes out of direct knowingness'(paraphrased). While it may well be true that there probably are vestiges of the 'imago dei' within us after the Fall that are capable of apprehending the numinous, the author has not quite grappled with what the prophet Jeremiah calls 'the deceitfulness of the human heart'. Certainly, the doctrine of 'total depravity' and 'original sin' may have hardened into harsh dogmas in some fundamentalist circles, however, the reactionary swing to an almost unquestioning acceptance of one's inner (mystical) authority is equally unwise.
Christian readers may get past the anachronistic and extraneous terminology such as 'Jesus the tantric master', 'binary/egoic operating system', 'ihidaya' in relation to the very Jewish Jesus, etc with a fair amount of generous orthodoxy, but her assertion that 'Jesus came first and foremost as a wisdom teacher that sought to transform human consciousness' is way over the top. Such a wisdom teacher would hardly need to be put away by the political powers, much less crucified. In her reading 'the Kingdom of God' is reduced to what goes on in the interior consciousness of an individual and thus stripped of any political and cosmic overtone, which a careful reading of the NT texts would actually bear out.
There are solid gems of wisdom no doubt in her writing as we would also find in other religions that one can benefit from, but it is likely that the author has drunk too deeply into the mixed streams of Eastern religions as well as the non-canonical 'Christian' sources (Nag Hammadi) for her reading of Jesus to fairly represent the Jesus of Nazareth. This is another example of how Jesus can be made to fit into any mold we construct when the cultural, historical context - especially the Jewishness - of the Christ event is not taken seriously enough.
Perhaps, hers is an attempt at reading what mystics call the 'anagogical sense' of Scriptures which in itself can be a profitable enterprise, but let's not call it 'Jesus in context' by any means as she does. A healthy dose of a serious historical study of Jesus such as 'Jesus Quest' and 'Jesus the Sage' by Ben Witherington or 'The Challenge of Jesus' and 'Jesus and the Victory of God' by Tom Wright would be a needed corrective.
Then I realize that it has to do with what she calls 'the inner certainty and sovereignty that comes out of direct knowingness'(paraphrased). While it may well be true that there probably are vestiges of the 'imago dei' within us after the Fall that are capable of apprehending the numinous, the author has not quite grappled with what the prophet Jeremiah calls 'the deceitfulness of the human heart'. Certainly, the doctrine of 'total depravity' and 'original sin' may have hardened into harsh dogmas in some fundamentalist circles, however, the reactionary swing to an almost unquestioning acceptance of one's inner (mystical) authority is equally unwise.
Christian readers may get past the anachronistic and extraneous terminology such as 'Jesus the tantric master', 'binary/egoic operating system', 'ihidaya' in relation to the very Jewish Jesus, etc with a fair amount of generous orthodoxy, but her assertion that 'Jesus came first and foremost as a wisdom teacher that sought to transform human consciousness' is way over the top. Such a wisdom teacher would hardly need to be put away by the political powers, much less crucified. In her reading 'the Kingdom of God' is reduced to what goes on in the interior consciousness of an individual and thus stripped of any political and cosmic overtone, which a careful reading of the NT texts would actually bear out.
There are solid gems of wisdom no doubt in her writing as we would also find in other religions that one can benefit from, but it is likely that the author has drunk too deeply into the mixed streams of Eastern religions as well as the non-canonical 'Christian' sources (Nag Hammadi) for her reading of Jesus to fairly represent the Jesus of Nazareth. This is another example of how Jesus can be made to fit into any mold we construct when the cultural, historical context - especially the Jewishness - of the Christ event is not taken seriously enough.
Perhaps, hers is an attempt at reading what mystics call the 'anagogical sense' of Scriptures which in itself can be a profitable enterprise, but let's not call it 'Jesus in context' by any means as she does. A healthy dose of a serious historical study of Jesus such as 'Jesus Quest' and 'Jesus the Sage' by Ben Witherington or 'The Challenge of Jesus' and 'Jesus and the Victory of God' by Tom Wright would be a needed corrective.
September 8, 2017
Cynthia Bourgeault's The Wisdom of Jesus is not for the theologically faint of heart. It will challenge you. Beginning with Bourgeault's suggesting that when Jesus used the word "repent," he was asking us to change our mindset from a binary to a non-dual system. ("Repent," from the Greek word meranoia, literally meaning "beyond the mind.") Implying a movement from dual thinking to a perspective of wholeness.
I appreciated her take on The Beatitudes. Specifically "blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness sake..." Bourgeault says that most often we think of righteousness in terms of deeds. But she suggests what Jesus had in mind was connecting deeper with God's presence. And "blessed are the pure in heart," is alluding not to purity of thought and action, but rather Jesus is encouraging us to have an undivided heart towards God.
To sum up her take on The Beatitudes, Bourgeault says Jesus is talking about "a radical transformation of consciousness."
The whole idea, says Bourgeault is that Jesus is inviting us to stop thinking with our egoic (single, binary system) and start perceiving with our heart (the seat of wisdom).
"Anyone who is willing to take up the much more difficult task - not the manageable complexity of rules and regulations - but the unimaginable simplicity of being present to your life in love, that person is walking the path of Jesus."
I appreciated her take on The Beatitudes. Specifically "blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness sake..." Bourgeault says that most often we think of righteousness in terms of deeds. But she suggests what Jesus had in mind was connecting deeper with God's presence. And "blessed are the pure in heart," is alluding not to purity of thought and action, but rather Jesus is encouraging us to have an undivided heart towards God.
To sum up her take on The Beatitudes, Bourgeault says Jesus is talking about "a radical transformation of consciousness."
The whole idea, says Bourgeault is that Jesus is inviting us to stop thinking with our egoic (single, binary system) and start perceiving with our heart (the seat of wisdom).
"Anyone who is willing to take up the much more difficult task - not the manageable complexity of rules and regulations - but the unimaginable simplicity of being present to your life in love, that person is walking the path of Jesus."
November 14, 2017
Really excellent. There is so much that is wonderful in this book, but I particularly appreciated (this time around) Bourgeault's examination of traditional Christian doctrine in the light of contemplative relationship with Christ.
For example, from the chapter on Incarnation: "I have often suspected that the most profound product of this world is tears. I don't mean that to be morbid. Rather, I mean that tears express that vulnerability in which we can endure having our hearts broken and go right on loving. In the tears flows a sweetness not of our own making, which has been known in the tradition as the Divine Mercy. Our jagged and hard-edged earth plane is the realm in which this mercy is most deeply, excruciatingly, and beautifully released. That's our business down here. That's what we're here for." (p. 100)
For example, from the chapter on Incarnation: "I have often suspected that the most profound product of this world is tears. I don't mean that to be morbid. Rather, I mean that tears express that vulnerability in which we can endure having our hearts broken and go right on loving. In the tears flows a sweetness not of our own making, which has been known in the tradition as the Divine Mercy. Our jagged and hard-edged earth plane is the realm in which this mercy is most deeply, excruciatingly, and beautifully released. That's our business down here. That's what we're here for." (p. 100)
January 1, 2021
I picked up this book before I took Bourgeault’s Introductory Wisdom School through the Center for Action and Contemplation as it was suggested that students become familiar with her thinking ahead of class. The class and the book often flowed deeper than my own waters currently reach, but this a journey and that is just fine. At the end of this book are chapters on spiritual practices that will be helpful to me as I go into 2021 seeking to stay awake, present, open to what is going on around me. For the most part, these practices are not new to me but reading about them here renews them for me (centering prayer, lectio divina, eucharist). Two are new and I will be exploring them in the new year (chanting, welcoming). I am thankful to end this year (it is nearly 11:30 pm on 12/31) and its focus on wisdom with this work.
November 2, 2018
Cynthia Bourgeault manages to navigate complex physical, cosmological, and spiritual spheres with eloquence and grace. Her tone is easy and approachable, and her methods of teaching are both abstract and grounded, with theories and higher-level concepts, as well as everyday application instructions. She had me looking at the crucifixion, resurrection, and other foundation beliefs from entirely new perspectives (as in, standing on my head, sideways, from another planet reorientations), and her vast knowledge of spiritual and mystical wisdom practices, particularly in the East, was valuable. I greatly appreciated her placing Jesus and the stories of the Bible in a Near Eastern historical and sociocultural context.
February 26, 2016
Outstanding summary of the spirituality of Jesus and Christianity, using the Wisdom tradition. She depends a bit too much on the Gospel of Thomas and occasionally quotes without footnotes common misinformation about the early church. However, this book is a tour de force showing Jesus as a revolutionary, non-dual thinker. It is well-written, and opens up a whole new understanding of Jesus' mission and ours as disciples. Highly, highly recommended.
April 11, 2014
I like to challenge myself to read books about Jesus that don't necessarily fit with my beliefs. There are points in The Wisdom Jesus, such as Bourgeault's explication of the beatitudes which was brilliant. But most of the time her "all roads" and "zen" laden conversation about Christ got a bit too off the narrow road...at least for me.
December 23, 2009
We used this book as a study class at my church - it was transformational for many - especially those who have a hard time with traditional church. The traditional truths are still there, but perhaps viewed through a different lens so more people can see it.
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February 16, 2010GREEAATTT Book!!
July 2, 2014
This has got to be the most mind blowing book on Jesus I've ever read; I took notes and go back to them frequently. I want to memorize them!
January 4, 2015
This book completely shifted my understanding of Christianity and Jesus. Powerful.
May 7, 2015
This was a life changer for me. Love this book.
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