A review of Conversations with God by Neale Donald Walsch
I first became aware of this book while I was befriending parents in the oncology ward at the Children's Hospital. During the long hours waiting for treatments to complete, a favourite topic is what people are reading. One Mum told me she was reading Conversations with God. "It's written by a Christian," she said.
I must have looked dubious; I admit the title seemed a little out there. "How can you be sure?" I asked.
"Oh my brother-in-law is a Uniting Church minister, and he's been basing a sermon series on it," she said confidently.
Within 12 months her brother-in-law had left the church.
Now a gift edition of Book One has been released in time for Christmas. It is described as "Life-Changing" on the cover, and I am sure it is. It stayed on the New York Times Bestsellers List for three years first time round.
So what is so attractive yet dangerous about this book? Its message is one we long to hear. We are all God, we just have to realise it. We weren't born sinful, we were born good. With our thoughts we can control our destiny. All pain and suffering can be removed by getting our thinking right. Our bodies were designed to live forever.
How does Walsch know this? God told him.
Walsch had been spiritually searching for much of his 49 years, and had reached a real low point in his life, when he decided to write a letter to God detailing his frustrations… and God started writing back. God explained that he actually wants to talk to us, but things get in the way… such as our refusal to listen to his voice, and our reliance on the church and priests/pastors/ministers.
God does quote from the Bible in his conversation with Walsch, but quite out of context of the original text. He explains that all communication from God is holy, and this conversation with Walsch is just as holy as the Bible. In fact God mostly wants to communicate with us through our experiences, if we would just listen to him, and experience him.
I find it hard to read this book as a serious spiritual text, but it is evident that many millions of people do.
There are some red flags for me:
"¢ God's willingness to communicate so openly through Walsch and correct all the bad press God's been getting through his alleged representatives. "You will know these words are from Me because you, of your own accord, have never spoken so clearly," God
"¢ The mixing together of many strands of religions. God tells Walsch he has had 647 past lives, and refers to Buddha and other enlightened leaders.
"¢ The focus on the self as the highest good. What would love do? not what is best for others; "the highest choice is that which produces the highest good for you," God
"¢ The promise that nothing is wrong or evil: enjoy sex and our possessions. "My joy is your freedom, not your compliance," God
"¢ The fact that success, money and relationships are just a positive thought away. There is plenty available for everyone. "Do you choose success in worldly terms? Do you choose more money? Then choose it. Really. Fully. Not half-heartedly."
"¢ The idea that we will our own suffering by negative thinking ("Suffering is an unnecessary element of the human experience," God); or feel pain because of our failure to reach a higher spiritual reality. "You are learning how to love without pain… have pain without pain," God
"¢ The minimising of Jesus. "So who said Jesus was perfect?" God
Much of the material deals with the way the church has misrepresented God. There is some detail on how the Bible is actually quite ad hoc in how it was brought together, according to God. An apparently compelling argument against the Gospel is presented:
You are saying that I, God, made inherently imperfect beings, then have demanded of them to be perfect or face damnation.
You are saying then that, somewhere several thousand years into the world's experience, I relented, saying that from then on you didn't necessarily have to be good, you simply had to feel bad when you were not being good, and accept as your saviour the One Being who could always be perfect, thus satisfying My hunger for perfection…
In other words, God's Son has saved you from what His Father did.
God
[Walsch explains that God speaks in colloquial and ungrammatical ways to better communicate with his audience.]
The problem with the argument is that God didn't make human beings imperfect; he made them good but with free will. Human beings chose to sin, and ever since have had a tendency toward sinfulness and self-delusion.
This is why the concept that we are all gods, and self is the highest choice, is so dangerous. Left to ourselves we humans tend to make lousy choices, we hurt others, we hurt ourselves, we hurt the world, and we turn our back on God.
Yet in his great grace and compassion he continues to reach out to us; not through Walsch, an imperfect being, but through his Son, Jesus, the only perfect being. He offers us true relationship, not by honouring ourselves, but by honouring him.
It is a path that requires far more self-sacrifice, humility, courage, patience and perseverance than Walsch would advocate. However, I suspect the journey and destination are far better than he can imagine.
