|
Home | Bio | GraceTalk Messages | Events | Books | Media | Links | Contact Us
Books
by Philip Gulley
NEW BOOK
(In Stores September 17, 2013)
Living the Quaker Way
The long-held priorities of Quakerism--simplicity, peace,
integrity, community, equality--are so universally attractive
and so urgently needed in today's world, it begs the question,
Is there a little bit of Quaker in all of us? As an
antidote to the complexities and challenges of modern life,
award-winning author Philip Gulley offers the opportunity to
participate in a world where the values of the Quaker way bring
equity, peace, healing, and hope. The Quaker Way invites
readers to encounter the defining commitments of the Religious
Society of Friends, and shows how those ideals can be
incorporated in personal and public life to bring renewal and
eliminate the clutter that is keeping us from deeper
spirituality. His audience is a new generation of seekers who
may be disillusioned with religious institutions and strictures
but yet are deeply interested in spiritual matters. In the end,
Gulley's invitation isn't to a centuries old church, but to an
honest, peaceful, and promising way of life.
|
|
"Ever since I "discovered" Quakerism, I've wondered
why Quakers are so quiet about their core
values—simplicity, peace, integrity, community, and
equality—in a world that so clearly needs them. So I
was thrilled to find this book by Phil Gulley, a
great Quaker writer, aimed at making those values
more accessible. Gulley makes no effort to convince
the reader to become a Quaker. He simply says, "If
you've been looking for ways to live out these
values, here's what Quakers have learned over three
and a half centuries of dedicated experimentation."
His book is a treasure trove of practical wisdom
about what it means to bear witness to our hope for
a better world.
—Parker J. Palmer author of HEALING THE HEART OF
DEMOCRACY
|
The Evolution of Faith
What if God wanted
us to grow and change, both our theology and our beliefs? In The Evolution of Faith, Philip Gulley invites us to discard
slavish obedience to antiquated faith claims and worldviews and
discover our true beliefs, re-examining and re-interpreting
Christianity for today’s complex world. Gulley encourages us to
seek answers within and develop our own apologetics, a belief
system that evolves as new ideas and realities are introduced.
As we un-tether ourselves from those tenets that no longer
further the faith, we can open ourselves to a Christianity we
can believe in—one that brings out the best in us; a
Christianity comfortable with people of other faiths; a
Christianity grateful for scientific knowledge; a Christianity
rooted in God’s grace and informed by Jesus’s example. This book
is Gulley’s ongoing effort to build a Christianity many of us
long for, but haven’t yet found.
|
 |
"In our ever-changing
world, Gulley's book is much needed. An important book
for any person of faith."
- Archbishop Desmond Tutu, author of MADE FOR GOODNESS
"Whether
you agree with all of
Philip Gulley’s theology-and in several places I
don’t-there is no question about the fact that he has
defined here more clearly than perhaps any other
contemporary commentator the current truth about the
Church. Every serious Christian ought to read this
book, ponder it, wrestle with it, but above all, be
grateful for its’ presence in today’s urgent
conversation about what we are and are becoming as a
people of God.”
- Phyllis Tickle, author of THE GREAT EMERGENCE
"The
faith that writer and Quaker pastor Gulley sees as
evolving is personal as well as historical. A cradle
Catholic who as a teenager traded Mass for Friends
worship, he was something of a fundamentalist by the
time he reached adulthood. He hasn’t stayed that way,
largely because of his now long pastoral experience. In
each chapter of a book more somber than usual for the
author of the warm, funny stories set in Harmony,
Indiana, Gulley assays a particular subject—revelation,
God, suffering and evil, salvation, prayer, the
afterlife, and others—about which he has moderated his
views because of his continued learning about Christian
and religious history and his experience with good
people, Christians and others. He’s now a progressive
Christian, he concludes, as long as that means one
devoted to helping make the world new, as Jesus—though
not only Jesus and not only Christianity, he
stresses—promised. Because of the gentle intelligence
of his storytelling as much as his homely, experiential
theology, he may convince many that they are progressive
Christians, too.
- Ray Olson, BOOKLIST
"The verve and clarity of
Gulley’s writing underscore the welcome nature of his
message to many thoughtful “unchurched” or alienated
Christians; Gulley gives focus to the liberal movement
of many denominations and believers, and his book should
be of interest to individuals and church study groups."
- Graham Christian, LIBRARY JOURNAL
"No one familiar with
Gulley's earlier, controversial nonfiction (If Grace Is
True; If the Church Were Christian) will be surprised to
find that the Quaker pastor has gotten even more
progressive. He argues here, among other things, that
there have been "God-bearers" other than Jesus; a focus
on heaven, hell, and the afterlife is theoretical and
damages the credibility of Christianity; Jesus was not a
means of salvation by his death but an archetype of
salvation--and so on, heretically for many. If Gulley
has any evangelical Christian fans left, their numbers
will again shrink. But the low-key Quaker from Indiana
does not himself shrink from speaking truth--an
essential Quaker practice--derived from well-sifted
pastoral and personal experience. The thoughtful pastor
displays more of a Christian spirit of charity toward
those who disagree with him than do his theological
critics."
- PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY
|
If the Church Were Christian
If the Church Were
Christian focuses on a Christianity that is consistent with
Jesus' teachings and a church that encourages Jesus' example as
a model for living. The book explores those values that Gulley
believes the church should embrace in topics that will include
grace, reconciliation, peace, personal spiritual exploration,
and uplifting of the human spirit.
|
|
"No one
raises provocative questions about Christianity more
kindly than Philip
Gulley. In an age of shouting, Gulley gently
points out the flaws in the church
while opening ways to practice Christian spirituality
with greater integrity.
If the church were as Philip Gulley envisions here
people would be knocking down
our doors to experience God's love."
- Diana Butler Bass, author of Christianity for the Rest of Us.
"Like most realistic
lovers, Gulley knows that as long as churches are
composed
of human beings, churches will be flawed. Yet this
truth does not cloud his central
vision: that Christianity is about following Jesus, not
worshipping him, and that any
body of disciples still willing to make his priorities
their own can find deep springs of
renewal for a credible and dynamic faith. The
chapter titles alone are worth the price
of this book. Whether you pray them by yourself or
discuss them with others, they
chart the distance between two very different ways of
receiving Gods' good news."
- Barbara Brown Taylor
"Why are thousands of
ministers not saying what Philip Gulley says so well!!
His vision
of Christianity is grounded, gripping, and filled with
uncommon sense. He is building
bridges instead of boundaries, and such wisdom is surely needed now."
- Father Richard Rohr “Filled with
memorable, insightful and revealing stories. I recommend
it.”
- Marcus Borg, author of
The First Christmas
“Philip Gulley
separates wheat from chaff, experience from explanation
and purpose from function in this book. He calls the
Jesus message into a new vision - one that has both
power and integrity.”
- John Shelby Spong, author of
Eternal Life: A New Vision
“Gulley
puts the Christ back in Christian. This manifesto is a
call not just to worship Jesus, but to follow him. It
asks the daring question, "What if Christians actually
began to take their Christ seriously?" The answer to
that question could change the world.”
- Shane Claiborne, bestselling author of
The Irresistible Revolution
|
Memoir
I Love You, Miss Huddleston:
And Other Inappropriate Longings of My
Indiana Childhood
is the uproarious story of
Philip's coming-of-age years in
Danville, Indiana. Huddleston placed as a
semi-finalist in the
2010 Thurber Prize for American Humor. The Thurber
Prize is the only recognition of the art of humor writing in the
United States.
"Philip Gulley
gives us the good laugh, the good cry
and a good read of a world still in reach through faith
and family."
-Thomas Lynch, author of
The
Undertaking
"Philip Gulley's
memoir is sweet and funny - funny enough
that you're tempted to read parts aloud just to amuse
yourself further."
- Jay Allison, host and
curator, NPR's "This I Believe"
"Gulley has
illuminated a childhood where risk and frivolity
are combined into one. An engrossing and
propelling story
that never once lets the reader forget that it's our
youth
that makes us all what we are..."
-Doug Crandell, author of Pig Boy's Wicked Bird and
The Flawless Skin of Ugly People
Grace Series
with co-author James Mulholland
If Grace Is True
describes Gulley and Mulholland's conviction that God will save
every person. If God Is Love further explores the
implications of this belief in eternal salvation and how it can
impact every aspect of our lives.
Porch Talk
Series
Tender, moving and
humorous essays that reveal the extraordinary in the ordinary.
Harmony Series
Visit a the fictitious town of Harmony, Indiana and meet the
eccentric and loveable characters who call this small Quaker
community home.
  
 
 
|
