Reframed re-imagination

“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” John 14.12

Don MacGregor develops Mark Green’s thesis concerning the accessibility of the Kingdom of God. Yet rather than appealing to the insights of a recent theologian (Owen Barfield), MacGregor he employs four recent scientific insights as the springboard for his propositions: quantum reality (consciousness as the ground of all being), epigenetics (the potential which is unleashed), morphic fields (through which all of creation is connected), sea of light (the level at which the most minute and intense interactions occur). In Blue Sky God he offers his interpretation of how these discoveries resonate with the mystical tradition in all religions and how they might lead us back to a more faithful response to Jesus and his calling on our lives. He reckons this will both appeal and make more sense to 21st century westerners, who are giving up on the church as its currently is.

By his own admission the first half of the book is more demanding on account of its technical detail. Nevertheless, it is more convincing than the second half in which MacGregor explores the potential impact of his convictions on our understanding of Jesus and our life as Christians. Perhaps he felt surer dealing with the science than extrapolating the theological implications, which came across as repetitive and contradictory? In a nutshell, I felt that he was over-eager to downplay the transcendence of God and to deny the uniqueness of Jesus - both in Jesus’ essence and in relation to other faiths. But, in the updated liturgies he proposes for ceremonies of healing and communion, he continues to accord God and Jesus their traditional – transcendental and unique - status. Nevertheless he disturbed and stimulated me, as a reader, which I am sure were his intentions so, in that sense, Blue Sky God hits its mark!

Perhaps, as one of the commentators suggests, the book’s shortcomings and the impact of the series (includingVernon’s Secret History) would be amended and extended were a study guide to be offered?