Challenge our common images of God by
blowing the lid off
conventional God-descriptors.
“We do not have to let go of one
sense of God to take up another. Neither do we need to go about
challenging old metaphors. What is crucial is to find a
metaphor—or two, or six—that creatively point
toward what we believe.” —from Chapter 1
Let Carolyn Jane Bohler inspire you to
consider a wide range of images of God in order to refine
how you imagine God to have and use power, and how God wills
and makes divine will happen—or not. By tapping into your
God-given ability to re-imagine God, you will have a better
understanding of your own beliefs and how you, God, and the
world relate to each other.
Wonderfully fresh and down to earth,
Bohler uses playful images, moving stories, and solid
scholarship to empower you to break free of old habits and
assumptions, whatever your faith tradition. She encourages you
to explore new names for God that are not only more consistent
with what you believe, but will also deepen and expand your
experience of God. Think about…
• God the Choreographer of Chaos
• God the Nursing Mother
• God the Jazz Band Leader
• God the Divine Blacksmith
• God the Divine Physical Therapist
• God the Team Transformer
• … and more
“No book can be more helpful than
this one in guiding pastors and lay people to come to greater
clarity about what they really believe about God. Guides us in
critical reflection in a way in which all can participate. At
once genuinely popular and genuinely theological.”
—John B.
Cobb, Jr., professor emeritus,
Claremont School of Theology
“Titillating ... an adventure in
‘metaphor wondering’ and in multidimensional
faith.”
—Rev. Dr.
Jeanne Stevenson-Moessner, professor
of pastoral care,
Perkins School of Theology, Southern
Methodist University
“A treasure house of word pictures,
some conventional and some outrageously original. A testimony
to the inveterate need, on the part of humanity, to connect
with God.”
—Rabbi
Neil Gillman, professor of Jewish
thought,
The Jewish Theological Seminary of America
“Lays out the implications of our
choices of metaphors for the Divine and expands our minds with
practiced and practical suggestions. A must for all who wish to
leave parochial worlds!”
—Nancy
Corcoran, CSJ, Catholic chaplain at
Wellesley College; author, Secrets
of Prayer: A Multifaith Guide to Creating Personal Prayer in
Your Life
“Scholarly and accessible …
will help seminarians and seekers, professors and pastors
explore new ways to talk about the Divine. Deftly compels the
reader to continually nuance the mystery and complexity of our
God—no matter what our faith tradition. A book
we’ve been waiting for!”
—Marsha
Foster Boyd, president,
Ecumenical Theological Seminary in Detroit
Carolyn Jane Bohler is lead pastor at First United Methodist Church in
Redlands, California, and former senior pastor at Aldersgate
United Methodist Church in Tustin, California. For twenty-one
years she was the Emma Sanborn Toussaint Professor of Pastoral
Theology and Counseling at United Theological Seminary in
Dayton, Ohio, and has also served as editor of the Journal of Pastoral Theology. She is author of Opening to
God: Guided Imagery Meditations on Scripture (published under the name Carolyn Stahl); When You Need to Take a Stand; and the children’s book God Is Like a Mother Hen and
Much, Much More.
