God of Surprises

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I had a Christian education (Anglican, not Roman Catholic)but Christianity never really 'caught' for me. False images we may have of God, constructs of our upbringing, experiences or ideas can disturb and stifle us. Definitely a book to read slowly and probably one to be re-read multiple times to get the full effect. Hughes' premise, that `Our treasure lies in our inner life', may cause eye-rolling suspicion of New Ageism to some readers.

It's a great book for people who dismiss spirituality out of hand because of prominent religious extremists and lumping most of the world in with them. Hughes' premise in this book is that all people, as God's cherished creation, have a treasure hidden inside them, which is their unique identity and relationship with God, through the Holy Spirit.In this chapter the author expresses his inner feelings regarding nuclear war and beautifully presents the Christian approach to nuclear weaponry and warfare. The use of the imagination and emotions in encountering what God has to say to you from his word is gently and easily put. I think that Gerard Hughes' railing against the church in which he serves, a little intriguing as I wonder what else he would have done.

This may sound trite and simplistic, but it the writing and exercises are full of good advice about developing your relationship with God. One of the most widely read and highly acclaimed religious books, God of Surprises takes us on the inner journey, convinced that the treasure is hidden within.I'm sure some of the more conservative Catholics would say he is way off, but, well, he's a priest too and views like his will do a lot more to help people and the Church.

This book took apart what I thought I knew, challenged my apathy, correctly anticipated most of my doubts and areas of weakness, and gave me a new way to explore my faith.

This truth is illustrated in a letter written by an imaginary parish priest complaining of the disruptive behaviour of one of his parishioners. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. Embracing mystical styles of reflection and prayer such as Ignatian contemplative prayer, he encourages the reader to identify and counter whatever desires are not oriented towards God.

As I have not read the original I cannot comment on it's updatedness but I am informed that any new material is minimal. The author presents von Hügel’s analysis of the three main stages of human development-infancy, adolescence and adulthood-describing the predominant needs and activities which characterize each stage.I don't have a lot of patience for the "coolness" in dissing people for believing in something bigger but that's my own problem to get over. This is problematic for me, because I am also a scientist and more inclined to accept things according to the evidence supporting them than on a premise of faith. Gerard Hughes goes back to the basics on how faith/our relationship with God and our spirituality should be. This book has only one purpose: to suggest ways of finding the treasure in what we may consider a most unlikely field - ourselves.