cover image TOMORROW'S GOD: Our Greatest Spiritual Challenge

TOMORROW'S GOD: Our Greatest Spiritual Challenge

Neale Donald Walsch, . . Atria, $25 (416pp) ISBN 978-0-7434-5695-1

The author of the Conversations with God series writes another "dialogue" between two voices on the subject of who God is and how the human understanding of God makes a difference in choices and behavior. Walsch writes candidly that "very little here cannot be found, cumulatively, in the sacred writings of all the world's wisdom traditions," as he retells the life story of the Buddha and insists on the divinity of Jesus Christ. Yet, he continues, in much the same way a more traditional theologian would, humans "have not been listening." His objection is to a God made in the image of humanity that has justified violence and exclusivity. The alternative he proposes is an immanent process rather than a super being who demands allegiance. For Walsch, this "expanded view" of God and spirituality engenders improvements in human institutions. The second half of the book imagines practical applications based on a utopian world in which this new spirituality reigns. Chapters envision changed relationships, sex, politics and education, and Walsch even speculates about a cash-free future society in which there will be no mandatory taxation. Walsch is consistent in the concerns throughout his dozen-plus books and speaks simply—some would say too simply—about great questions of purpose, peace and happiness that haunt humanity. (Mar. 2)

Forecast: In addition to the books that have made Walsch virtually a franchise, the author and this new title will have visibility from a seven-city tour and a print run of 135,000 copies.