Writing in the Sand: Jesus and the Soul of the Gospels - Softcover

In his latest book, Writing in the Sand, Thomas Moore finds striking new meaning in the rich stories and imagery of the Gospels, recasting Jesus not as a teacher of morals and beliefs but as a spiritual visionary with a radical vision for humanity. This highly original take on the Gospels offers a fresh, new way of imagining human life and society. It presents Jesus not as the founder of a religion but as a world reformer offering a spiritual path to everyone, from every background. It offers a personal spirituality fit for the twenty-first century, where the individual bears responsibility for meaning and for a creative, convivial way of life. In his examination of the original Greek texts, Moore dismisses the cautionary voice of tradition and explores the deeper significance of language, stressing the origins of words and the many levels of meaning in stories and imagery. Through his study, Moore shows that the teachings of Jesus are challenging in a far different way than the moralism often associated with them. Based on being open to life, deepening your understanding, and giving up all defensiveness around your convictions, the Gospels can be the source of a new kind of certainty and stability that cannot be codified and enshrined in a list of rules. Writing in the Sand presents the essence of Jesus’ teachings and offers a way of understanding them intelligently and devotedly in the twenty-first century.

Thomas Moore is the author of Care of the Soul, which spent forty-six weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, and fifteen other books on deepening spirituality and cultivating the soul in every aspect of life. He has been a monk, a musician, a university professor, and a psychotherapist, and today he lectures widely on holistic medicine, spirituality, psychotherapy, and ecology. He also writes fiction and music and often works with his wife, artist and yoga instructor Joan Hanley. He writes regular columns for Resurgence, Spirituality & Health, and Beliefnet.com. He has two children and lives in New England.