Odyssey on the Sea of Faith: The Life & Writings of Don Cupitt

by Nigel Leaves

In Odyssey on the Sea of Faith, Nigel Leaves maps the ways in which the ideas of Don Cupitt have developed, evolved, and changed--from mildly evangelical to liberal, to leading exponent of the view that there is not God out there and that we must create new religious ways of being. This book makes sense of Cupitt. For those interested in the ideas of Don Cupitt, it will be the authoritative resource for many years to come.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0944344623
• ISBN13: 9780944344620
• Release Date: April 2004
• Publisher: Polebridge Press
• Length: 140 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.1" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

An indispensable volume

Of all the well-known promoters of radical (Christian) theology, I find Don Cupitt and Lloyd Geering the most impressive. Yet I have read only a few of Cupitt's books because many titles are not readily available and because I am less than eager to track down earlier works, inasmuch as Cupitt is continually changing his positions on key issues. It is time-consuming to study the writings of a protean thinker who has long been churning out a book a year. The bibliography in "Odyssey on the Sea of Faith" indicates thirty-six! Thus this book has special value as a compact source for understanding Cupitt's "faith journey." Leaves shows how his ideas have evolved from mildly evangelical to liberal to the view that in the absence of any God "out there" we must create new religious ways of be-ing. According to Leaves, Cupitt is concerned with two main areas:the nature of God and that of human consciousness -- in short, what we moderns might derive from experience and thought after we have given up the the notion of an external God or even a liberal "God within." Cupitt has also stressed the matter of ethics, stating that the outward-loooking dimension of the best Christian practice continues to link him to his Christian roots rather than place further reliance on Buddhism. Still, I am not alone in feeling some uneasiness with his conclusions in this matter, for as much may be gained by trusting in the Kingdom of God as by seeing this life as all we have and making the most of it. Will this latter view generate compassionate action towards others? Does it not require self-sacrifice -- externally or internally motivated -- to create a better world? Replacing Jesus' injunction "Love God" with "Celebrate life" is one thing; but can we do without "Love thy neighbor as thyself"? Fortunately, Leaves points out how Cupitt has sought to deal with these concerns. Several years ago Cupit noted that Leaves probably knew more about his writings than he did himself, and he all but confirms as much in the foreword to this book. Lloyd Geering puts it in a nutshell: "Nigel Leaves' in-depth study of Don Cupit's theology is of such quality that it may be rgarded as definitive." Anyone who wishes to understand Cupitt must read this book.

Insightful introduction to Cupitt's thought

In the mid-1930s, French existentialist Albert Camus developed an imaginative picture of a `saint without religion', an atheist who would heroically struggle against the evil of the world for the good of others. This struggle would be based upon authenticity and engagement with the present moment. Later, as part of the French Resistance, Camus saw many `saints without religion' in action in occupied France, and drew on these real life heroes in his 1946 novel, The Plague. In this story, the Algerian city of Oran is besieged for five years by a plague. Two heroes arise: Father Paneloux, the parish priest, and the municipal doctor, Rieux. Camus draws both these characters with generous respect. The priest preaches two powerful sermons exploring the nature of evil. But Rieux, the atheist, is the saint. Rieux spends himself in working with the plague victims. Rieux gives himself for others because that is the only way in which he can authentically be himself. As I read Nigel Leaves' account of the thought of controversial theologian Don Cupitt, I was reminded of Camus' concept of a saint. Where Camus' saint is a doctor imprisoned by plague in his city, Cupitt's post modern saint is a médecin sans frontières; where Camus' saint becomes well-known to his patients, Cupitt's UN peace-keeper and aid-worker saints are `unidentities', but the cores of these two saints have much in common. Two similarities in particular stand out. Both Camus' saint without God and Cupitt's solar ethics draw sharp criticism from conventional Christians. People recoil from any idea that heroic goodness could arise without God and so dismiss all that these writers have to say. Paradoxically, the same conventional Christians are often the first to point out how close Camus and Cupitt are to orthodox Christianity. One hopeful Christian wrote after Camus' death in a car accident in 1958 "If only he had lived a little longer, because he was moving towards Christianity..." This ambivalence may derive from the recognition of the honesty of these two writers.. Both welcome the possibility of living for the good that comes from Christianity, but both are too honest to be content with lazy depictions of truth in Christianity. Nigel Leaves - as he confesses in the very last line of the book - wants to draw our attention to the ways in which Don Cupitt's religious writings are "of some use" (as Cupitt modestly puts it) and "much too valuable to go unrecognized." Dr Leaves is an exemplary interpreter of Cupitt. He guides us authoritatively but gently through the `seven stages' of Don Cupitt's thought. He packs Odyssey with lucidly presented information. Leaves' prose is a model both of clarity and enthusiasm. I found it an enticing book: I read it in one weekend and was greatly enlightened, not only about Cupitt's constantly transforming theological project, but also about philosophical theology in general. It sounds an abstruse subject, but Nigel's enthusiasm for the task carries t

A bracing voyage

Nigel Leaves' "Odyssey on the Sea of Faith" is a remarkable book - a scholarly critique of all Cupitt's books published over the last 30 years, a sympathetic introduction for those who have never read Cupitt, an excellent foray into radical theology. That Leaves manages to do all this in under 150 pages is quire remarkable. I read this book in 2 sittings - an devoured it like an engaging novel. The writing is direct and simple whilst never being simplistic. The glimpses into the life-story of Don Cupitt set his writings in fascinating context. I highly recommend this book.