What Is God?

by Jacob Needleman

Book Overview

In his most intimate and revealing work, religious scholar Needleman cuts a clear path through today's clamorous debates over the existence of God, bringing an entirely new way of approaching the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1585428477
• Release Date: December 2010
• Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.59 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.1" x 0.8" x 5.0"

Customer Reviews

Needleman's book addresses our ultimate questions

This is a great book for anyone who is asking the ultimate questions - not just the question: What is God? But also the questions: Who am I? How can I find the truth? Why is there all this suffering in the world? How can I be free? And especially: What is my purpose in life? By sharing important experiences of his own life, Jacob Needleman, philosopher and teacher of religious studies, leads us through the exploration of these and other questions and to some of the answers philosophers and major religions haven given us. And he brings us further to the realization that these questions cannot be answered by our ordinary thinking mechanisms alone; he makes it clear - as suggested by his teacher G. I. Gurdjieff - that in order to find these answers in ourselves and in order to find our own purpose in this life, the very nature of our human experience must change. It is by means of practical "work" on ourselves and with the help of a "specific influence that could at one and the same moment be physically sensed, emotionally perceived, and mentally acknowledged" that we may come to a new quality of Being. And Needleman has concluded that in our modern world this influence can come about only through "the intentions and actions of inwardly developed people" - people "who are inhabited by and who manifest God." Thus, in answer to the question about God, Needleman implies that in the existence of these kinds of people, we might see proof for the existence of God.

Stirring Memoir from an Interfaith Pioneer Who Himself Was Spiritually Stirred Up

You may recognize Jacob Needleman from PBS' Bill Moyers specials. If you're a follower of religious movements, you may have Needleman's landmark 1970 book, "The New Religions (Tarcher Cornerstone Editions)," on your shelf already. Now, many books later, Tarcher/Penguin adds "What Is God?"--a 250-page memoir-and-plea from Needleman for all of us to keep searching for God, even as that journey becomes more urgent and challenging. When Needleman set out to write this new book about the nature of God, he quickly decided that the most fitting format for this subject matter would be--memoir. The best way to convey the human experience of the Divine, he found, is to write honestly about the often-surprising and sometimes-frustrating human pursuit of God. Finally, he wound up telling the story of his own life-long search. In this book, you will encounter many famous names, but the nature of God in each generation ultimately depends on individual encounters, he tells us. That's why it's such a compelling book. All you have to do is read the first chapter, "My Father's God," describing his boyhood experience of sitting on the front porch late one night in Philadelphia with his father, to discover that you simply can't put down the book. In addition to the wonderment little Jacob finds in the starry night sky, he soon begins to sift through unresolved childhood memories from the death of an aunt--and we find ourselves completely wrapped up in his spiritual journey. Because, of course, it is our journey, too. How many of us were curious children? How many of us had puzzlingly distant relatives? How many of us looked at stars? How many of us wondered about Heaven? About God? As a young man who migrates to California, Needleman takes us into the heart of his academic work as a fledgling college instructor. At first, he considers himself a religious skeptic but he must prepare to teach his first comparative-religion classes. At first, he has an actual revulsion toward some of the historic religious texts he is preparing to "teach" in his class. However, like the night on the front porch, the cosmos seem to open in unexpected ways. As Needleman begins to study the sacred texts in preparation for his lectures, they surprise him with their timeless power. These texts, some of which he once rejected, take him farther and deeper than he ever expects. His book ends with a plea for the future of faith and humanity that will leave you nodding as you close the book.

At the feet of a master...

One of the bigger regrets of my life is having missed the opportunity to attend one of Jacob Needleman's university classes. World-renowned philosopher and theologian, Dr. Needleman is above all else, a teacher, an imparter of wisdom who enables us to see things in new ways, and does so with an eloquence that is both engaging and compelling. Fortunately, I have his books to turn to, so my loss is far from complete. His latest offering, "What is God?", is the author's description of his spiritual journey from the wonderment of early childhood, the cynicism of his undergraduate life at Harvard, and the awakening of his spiritual awareness as a participant in "the work," which is the embodiment of Gurdjieff's teachings that have been handed down by Gurdjieff's devoted disciples. If I take anything away from this book, it is the extremely important notion that when we ask for evidence of the existence of God, we are usually looking for a kind of evidence that cannot possibly be provided. Instead, it is of the utmost importance that we develop something Dr. Needleman refers to as "inner empiricism," a sense of the infinite compassion within us, without which a spiritual awakening is impossible. There is much more to be gained from this book than I can relate here in a few short paragraphs. It is the kind of book I will re-read on a regular basis, because it's fairly dense with ideas, and there's something to be garnered from each and every sentence. This book has my highest recommendation, not just to people looking for a theological text, but for those interested in the spiritual and philosophical development of one of the great minds of our contemporary world.

Personal Growth We Can All Relate To

I came away from this book feeling that if we can truly muster the courage to See ourselves, we really can see God. And it's okay that we are flawed, and it's even okay if inside us there is still the "cave" of the atheist. Dr. Jacob Needleman has found a way to give credence to every spiritual path, but at the same time pulls no punches with people who call it a "search" when they do little more than superficially pick and choose what they like from an assortment of paths. This leads not only to unfocused people, but since we are all connected, to a splintered and weakened planet. Needleman writes honestly, personally & professionally about his lifelong exploration of "the question." He relates stories of self-discovery in his exchanges with both his students & teachers and often it's his recognition of the flaws in his own character that offer the most intense moments of consciousness.

Saying what cannot be said.

I have read several of Professor Needleman's earlier books, including The Heart of Philosophy and Lost Christianity, two of my favorite books. I can now add What Is GOD? to that favorites list. Starting with that but to add that I can understand the criticism of two of first three reviewers. Maybe What Is GOD? is an inappropriate title for the book? What GOD Is cannot be put into words. Maybe the title is leading the reader to expect more than Needleman can possibly deliver? While reading I kept thinking, this is good, this is good (until arriving at page 209, which I found to be misleading, only partially cleared up into page 210). But at the same time, I wondered how Needleman could 'wrap things up' knowing there were only a few pages left. I deliberately set the book aside last weekend with the last chapter remaining, about 12 pages. I picked it up again today. I was disappointed, upon first reading. Then I read the three reviews, understood, but at the same time felt two of them unfair. I just read the last chapter again. I will only say to two reviewers, read the last chapter again. What Jerry has done is not explain what God is, but show a real way to "taste" the meal instead of merely read the menu. Is the title of the book misleading? Maybe, but that's our fault if we expect that what we should already know can't be put into words, will be. I was shocked to read one admission of Jerry's in the chapter called The Atheist. It seemed an unbelievable admission at the time (from my own viewpoint). Later I understood, if that's not too strong a word. What was admitted, belonged to Jerry's personality (if I can suggest). The deeper realization that came later, was nourished in what Jerry called "The Cave of Absence". This passage can only be attributed to the effectiveness of the practices of the work. What Is GOD? is the best introduction to the Work ideas I've come across in over 30 years, excepting ISM, Fragments of an Unknown Teaching, of course. It's Fragments on training wheels, an introduction to the introduction. I'd say the book is finely crafted, without seeming so. All in all, an excellent read, philosophically and personally, a journey within a journey, highly recommended. I could add much more. The Coda quotes, a perfect ending. Maybe at any particular time in our journey it is enough to know, to have faith even, that there is always something higher. If this were not the case, we would have nowhere to go, no reason to make effort. And don't we all know that the next something higher leads to God in the end? But, God is who we must see we cannot know, without giving up what we think we know. Maybe What Is GOD? is the perfect title, that asking the question, again and again, is enough. Enough for us to see that Professor Needleman has shared with us the beginning of the Way, a plumb line which goes straight up through our being, into God. stardustpilgrim