The Thoughtful Guide to God [Paperback]

While I have read much of the material presented in this book over the years, I have never seen it all tied together in such a clear and informative manner as Dr. Jones has done. He has taken things that were bits and pieces of history to me and woven them together so that I now see the complete warp and woof of the fabric.

He covers the whole gamut, beginning with the nature of God based on scriptures from various religions on through the ideas of medieval philosophers, and then on to post-Renaissance thought and scientific investigations concerning the nature of the soul. "This book has been written to try to reconcile world-view derived rationally from science and philosophy with those originating from mystical insights to develop a coherent approach to the concept of the divine," he explains in the Preface, noting that while scientists have mainly involved themselves to explain Creation without invoking the notion of God.

"Three great systems of thought - religious, philosophical and scientific - converge in portraying the physical world as simply our conscious sensory experience of it, Jones offers, going on to say that our sensory impressions are simply mental impressions or images, the exact nature of which we can never know.

Jones' discussion of religious concepts offered a number of things I was not aware of but also served as a reminder and refresher of things I had read but which had been buried deep in my subconscious. For example, he tells us that the preparation of the new Latin version of the Bible by Jerome was primarily an attempt to convert the pagans who still made up the majority of the population of Rome. He goes on to explain that political rivalry between the Greek and Latin theological empires in the years after 1054 ensured that the break between the Greek and Roman churches was maintained. There is a discussion of newer religions, such as the Church of Latter Day Saints, Adventism, Christian Science, and the Baha'I faith.

In the Epilogue, Jones mentions how he was raised in a nonconformist Christian family and confirmed in the Church of England before drifting away from orthodoxy while training as a physical scientist. "I effectively became an atheist as defined by Western religious belief, though still obliged to attend church services with my wife at the time," he says. It was through "mystical enchantment" that he was first brought back to a belief in God, even if it was a belief much different from his earlier belief.

"I have now become totally convinced of a spiritual reality that is part of our everyday existence," he ends. "...I feel reassured in my belief by the fact that thre is now scientific theory that, again for me, underpins and rationalizes that which would be otherwise a plausible but unsubstantiated theological hypotheses to account for those psychical and mystical events that are usually described as paranormal or supernatural."

As the subtitle suggests, Jones makes sense of the world's biggest idea - God.

There's not an awful lot I can add to the review above which is clear and comprehensive. Howard Jones is always reasonable, rational, sensible and his books are mines of information on all the possible angles of a given subject. He writes clearly and concisely and, appealingly, is always up-to-date with quantum physics and the understanding of the "New Age." Highly recommended.

Most rational humans thirst for something with more authority to inspire and guide us than our leaders could ever hope to possess. This thirst is present in humans worldwide, rich and poor, educated and illiterate. Anthropologists studying human tribes free from visits by missionaries find the same common thirst along with rituals testifying to its existence. In the distant past, humans isolated from each other by mountain ranges and oceans created different rituals for the same purpose.

More recently, when travel and communication brought formerly isolated people in contact with each other, differences in rituals became obvious. Some rituals seemed inferior to others and died out. The surviving rituals became deeply ingrained and bureaucratized, then evolved into our present religions.

When human overpopulation caused people indoctrinated in one religion to invade the territory of people indoctrinated in a different religion, clashes were unavoidable. People who feel they know something is true find it difficult to deal with people who laugh at them and insist something much different is true.

Humans who clash over alternative explanations of what they can see, touch and measure are much more likely to live in peace than those who clash over alternative views of religion. Scientists can translate alternative explanations of natural phenomena into hypotheses, then use theory in concert with experiment to reject invalid hypotheses.

If only one hypothesis remains standing and scientists can convince their colleagues and nonscientists that the only remaining hypothesis is valid, this becomes known as the truth (even though all scientists know their methods can lead to imperfect results). Often, more than one hypothesis remains standing. For example, scientists find that river runoff, winds, unstable density patterns and tide height changes all move ocean currents forward.

Can scientists use their methods to discover which of several alternative religions offer true pathways to spiritual enlightenment? We do not know what the future will hold. At this point, scientists do not have a realistic enough grasp on the variables involved to create the theories, experimental designs and instruments they would need for testing alternative spiritual hypotheses. Science also is expensive and it is doubtful that scientists could find enough financial support to carry out experiments based on shaky foundations.

Nevertheless, humans worldwide still intuitively believe there is something more to life than body parts and holistic outlooks. They are uncertain of what this something is, but would like to learn something about it and draw comfort, strength and guidance from it. We refer to our intuitively driven wishes of this kind as our need for a spiritual life.

Millions of people worldwide try to satisfy their spiritual needs through prayer, by communing with nature or joining in with others in religious services. For some of them, one, two or all three of these are enough to make them believe they have a rich spiritual life.

For many of us, all these attempts suffer from undercurrents of pretense, doubt and disbelief. No one alive today has seen God. Prayer could consist of programming our own subconscious minds to give us the results we want. Communing with nature can expose us to beauty that physiologically overwhelms our senses, but has nothing to do with the spiritual world. We can explain the joy we experience when we leave church services as driven by the afterglow of social excitement or the relief that a massive dose of boredom is over.

It seems obvious that if we humans are to have spiritual lives, we must find ways to deepen our beliefs that a God or at least some form of spiritual world exists. Can we decide anything is true without rational thinking? If a computer sales and service person suggests it would cost more to repair your computer than it would to buy a new one, do you believe it without rational thinking? Some people believe claims like this without any need for thought. Others need to think before they can believe.

Where do these others turn when they yearn for a spiritual life? What if they pray and nothing happens? What if they commune with nature and they appreciate its beauty, but only like they appreciate the beauty of a flower? Why don't they turn to religious services for help?

Some people have wonderful experiences during religious services and believe this is the best pathway to a rewarding spiritual life. Others have less wonderful experiences and either stop attending services or jump from one religion to another while searching for answers.

Changing religions often fails to yield the wished for results. What alternative remains? Can people think their way to a rich spiritual life? Howard Jones believes this is possible because he did it, although it did not come easily. He went from passive churchgoer to atheist to scientist with a passion for the truth. To believe he could have a spiritual life, he had to believe a source of spiritual enrichment existed. He had to have the truth.

His search for the truth was not easy. His progress was like that of a man stumbling up a steep incline strewn with boulders. He read and digested the contents of 534 of the world's most important primary documents in psychology, sociology, philosophy and theology. He went into deep thought eased by meditation in a tranquil environment. The effort spanned most of his adult life.

He came to believe that a spiritual world exists, not necessarily as a God that looks like himself, but possibly as an energy field that permeates the lives of all living creatures. He wanted to share his experiences with others, but did not want them to suffer in their pilgrimage the way he did. He decided to condense his experiences into "The Thoughtful Guide to God," the book that is the subject of this review.

This book undergoes a gear-shifting change of character that divides it into two parts on page 146. The first part ranging from page vii to page 145 provides the reader with a fundamental background explaining how we got where we are today in spiritualism and religion.

The first three chapter titles in the first part are "The Nature of God: What the Scriptures Tell Us," "Some Ideas of the Ancient Greek Philosophers and Their Influence on Post-Renaissance Thought," and "Some Ideas of the Medieval Philosophers of Religion." The last chapter title in the first part provides a transition into the second part. It's title is "The Beginnings of Science and Its Influence on Post-Renaissance Thought."

The second part ranging from page 147 through 379 provides what many readers will view as the most interesting, thought-provoking and exciting material in the book. The first three chapter titles in the second part are "The Nature of Soul," "Manifestations of Soul," and "Philosophy and the Concept of a Universal Spirit." The last two chapter titles in the second part are "A Scientific Exploration of Mind and Soul" and "Epilogue - A Personal Journey." A list of references and a detailed index complete the book.

Some readers will want the background offered by the first part before progressing through the second part. Other readers will leap to page 147 to get to the most interesting, thought-provoking and exciting material in the book as quickly as possible.

This book is not one entity. One person might think of it as a guide to the spiritual belief they long for. A second person might think of it as a source of ideas they might use to build their own model of the spiritual world.

A third person might think of it as a lead-up to practical applications. Examples might include spiritual healing and efforts to choose between alternative pathways to a spiritual life. A fourth person might think of it as a practical reference book for leading researchers from clearly defined topics to primary references.

It is easy to understand how reading "The Thoughtful Guide to God" might trigger ideas useful in creating or improving practical applications. It is equally easy to understand how the same book can reveal the wisdom behind preexisting practical applications.

Practical examples of the former include the PANRU description appearing on pages 166 and 167 of the Complete War Book on the Rolling Wave Insights website. Practical examples of the latter include spiritual healing and other facets presented on the Spirit of Oneness website.

"The Thoughtful Guide to God" is a companion volume to "The Tao of Holism," also by Howard Jones. Readers wanting a strong background for facing problems newly rising to prominence would profit from reading both books. Both include many observations that could change a person's life. The author of both books also provides readers with sources of uplift by including many short poems and references to inspiring music.

Students enrolled in institutions demanding writing assignments based on primary references would find both books eminently helpful. Instead of doing the tedious work of identifying and checking references listed in bibliographies, students using these books can go directly from an index to a topical explanation loaded with primary references.

Financially solvent parents would find these two books ideal as gifts to their student offspring. Students also could profit from using these books at low cost or no cost. They can do this by sharing costs with friends who take turns using them, or by convincing librarians to buy these books for their collections.

My review of "The Tao of Holism" appears on both the Amazon UK and Amazon US websites.