[EKJ]∎ PDF Everywhere Present Christianity in a Oney Universe Stephen Freeman 9781936270101 Books

Everywhere Present Christianity in a Oney Universe Stephen Freeman 9781936270101 Books

Download As PDF : Everywhere Present Christianity in a Oney Universe Stephen Freeman 9781936270101 Books

Everywhere Present Christianity in a Oney Universe Stephen Freeman 9781936270101 Books

I like this book. A lot. I'll finish the last chapter this morning. My big take away is that this book showed me why I hate Religion. I know the word comes from religio which means connection and that is cool. But religious people turn me off; sounds self righteous and it is. But here's the point that Fr. Freeman brings home. ALL is religious stuff; we are talking about a God who walks and talks "in all places and fills all things". The picture he gives is what happens to us when we make God stay where He belongs; the Man Upstairs. How we keep Him separated and in his religious corner. This book reminded me why I'm Orthodox., why I converted from Protestant Evangelicalism decades back.

Are you are "a doorman/doorwoman for God" who doesn't quite fit in? One who dresses funny, stays out in the cold at the curb? One who helps people into the church? Helps those who bolt out of the church to go back in and take a second look before giving up? One who sees God as much inside as outside church? Then you'll like this book.


Tags : Everywhere Present: Christianity in a One-Storey Universe [Stephen Freeman] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Have you ever referred to God as the Man upstairs ? Most Christians living in a secular society have unwittingly relegated God and all things spiritual to the second storey of the universe: a realm we cannot reach except through death. The effect of this is to banish God,Stephen Freeman,Everywhere Present: Christianity in a One-Storey Universe,Conciliar Press,1936270102,Religion & Spirituality Christianity

Everywhere Present Christianity in a Oney Universe Stephen Freeman 9781936270101 Books Reviews

This book is an effective antidote to the notion that God is "up there." It makes understandable the presence of God right here, with us. I used it as a textbook with high school students in an Eastern Christian formation class. Highly recommended for that purpose or for your own edification. Father Stephen also has an excellent blog, "Glory to God."
Excellent book. For me it was a paradigm shift in my spiritual life.
I understand so many things much more clearly now. It's as though the missing piece(s) of the puzzle came from Freeman's hand, and the picture I had expected to be completed wasn't even close to what did appear...and thank God I was wrong. God in two storeys is an absolute travesty. God in one storey is reality. I pray this reality becomes clear to all who trust in God. Read this book.
A great account of the core spiritual teaching that God is present in the here and now. We cannot experience God fully in the past or in the future - rather, He is found Now. Fr. Freeman explores the importance of growing in Christ by recognizing this ancient fact while addressing the problems of our time (particularly addressing the problem of secularism in the true understanding of God's presence in the moment.) While Orthodox driven, this is a good book for any Christian to read.
My book club read this, and every one of us loved it. Fr. Stephen has a special way ot expressing ideas to make them really sink in. Although when I read this I had been Orthodox 23 years and was familiar with a large number of Orthodox writings, this gave me much food for thought.
I really like Fr Stephen's perspective on the Orthodox Christian faith, and on all the different ways we perceive and experience it. And I say this as one who has followed many of his publications and podcasts. The version of this book has all the usual perks of its kind; and as usual, I have marked it up with many highlights and comments.

In this book, Fr Stephen uses laymen terms to describe how an authentic Orthodox Christian perceives God's presence in the world -- i.e. "Everywhere Present" (a quote appearing in many places in the broader scope of Orthodox Liturgy). He explains what Orthodoxy means by "Everywhere Present" by way of an over-arching theme, where he variously contrasts two different word-pictures one where we and God live or inhabit the same one-story universe and another where we live or exist in a two-story universe (i.e. separated by floors, with God on the second floor, above us).

Overall, I really like what Fr Freeman has done with this book, as it is very accessible, easy to read, and easy to relate to. He does a good job of using the contrast in word-pictures to make clear what "Everywhere Present" actually means on a practical and personal level. That said, I think the book falters to some degree in two ways. First, which is common among many converts to Orthodoxy (including me), he unfortunately suggests that the two-story idea about us and God began in somewhere during Reformation/Renaissance times (whereas I think it's quite easy to identify the two-story theme even in the Pentateuch accounts). And secondly, I think he presses the word-picture distinctions almost to the exclusion of how the Church leans on St John of Damascus' distinction between Divine Essence and Divine Energia (or Grace) in relation to Holy Icons and Holy Tradition.

But don't let these perceived faults of mine dissuade you from reading this book. The gist of the book has many practical applications, and I think Fr Stephen has done a good job in describing how the Orthodox understands Who God Is, and how this differs from agnostic and secular thought.
A clear and concise treatise that deconstructs some of the patently bad theology and doctrine we all were taught in the Western Church and replaces it with the ancient Christian view of the universe that is compatible with the immanence of the Word in creation, the indwelling presence of the Spirit in us, and the reality of the "cloud of witnesses" surrounding us all.
I like this book. A lot. I'll finish the last chapter this morning. My big take away is that this book showed me why I hate Religion. I know the word comes from religio which means connection and that is cool. But religious people turn me off; sounds self righteous and it is. But here's the point that Fr. Freeman brings home. ALL is religious stuff; we are talking about a God who walks and talks "in all places and fills all things". The picture he gives is what happens to us when we make God stay where He belongs; the Man Upstairs. How we keep Him separated and in his religious corner. This book reminded me why I'm Orthodox., why I converted from Protestant Evangelicalism decades back.

Are you are "a doorman/doorwoman for God" who doesn't quite fit in? One who dresses funny, stays out in the cold at the curb? One who helps people into the church? Helps those who bolt out of the church to go back in and take a second look before giving up? One who sees God as much inside as outside church? Then you'll like this book.