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Rediscovering the Goodness of Creation: A Manual for Recovering Gnostics
Is this world important to God, or are His purposes entirely focused on a heavenly hereafter? Do our physical experiences on earth matter, or are we “just passing through”? Phillips takes up these and other related questions in this explosive book. His answers may surprise from the beginning of Creation and through the twists and turns of redemption history, God has maintained a consistent plan for the earth. That plan is to bring the world to perfection under the loving stewardship of men and women. Thus, the material world is not evil, as the heresy of Gnosticism taught―nor will the earth be destroyed, as so much of modern Christianity teaches. Rather, the Orthodox Christian hope is that this earth, like our physical bodies, will one day be resurrected. Phillips shows that understanding God’s purposes for the material world gives meaning to our present-day engagement with ecology, culture, art, worship, social justice, and asceticism. Moreover, through the author’s exploration of his own spiritual biography, you’ll also see how incipient Gnosticism can show up in our lives, and you’ll learn how to recover from your own Gnostic tendencies through the spiritual practices of ancient Christianity.
400 pages, Paperback
Published February 13, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 28, 2023
“Can a hug convey grace? What about sharing the peace or making the sign of the cross? Can putting the bones of a saint under the Communion table create spiritual potency? Can things convey God's grace to us? For many modern Christians, the answer is no. Yet the early Christians believed that activities and things do indeed convey divine grace to us. When God works through the things of cre-ation, theologians refer to this as God working through "means." Just as sunshine, rain, and soil number among the God-ordained means for plants to grow, so He has established a variety of means through which His grace reaches our hearts and bodies.
Many of us converts come from Protestant backgrounds who were given a Gnostic foundation without us knowing it. One of the questions the author addresses in this book is to answer what my daily work has to do with “my call” or “my ministry.” Separating the two, the material and the spiritual, is due to the influence of a Gnostic worldview. So how are these two connected?
When a king or deity marks a territory as his, his image is constructed in some way usually in the form of a statue, likened to how we see a flag. God, in His Creation, created mankind in His image. His image is made known in all of creation, marking it as His dominion. Through Christ, Second Adam Who restores all of Creation back into its intended beauty, we are now to reunite creation - man, beast, tree - with its Creator. We participate in this now through the Eucharist, through our marriages and celibacy, and through literally every act we make in our lives.
There’s a lot more to digest in this book. In the beginning, the author gives his own history navigating the theological landscape in search of Truth. Most of us can identify with pieces of his experience, and I think that helps us more readily grasp the information he shares on our Gnostic-tendency backgrounds.
I read this during Lent and into Pascha which I think was a perfect time to contemplate his writing. With Pentecost coming up, I’d say it’s an even better time to read about Christ’s restoration of humanity and creation because of His Ascension!
Many of us converts come from Protestant backgrounds who were given a Gnostic foundation without us knowing it. One of the questions the author addresses in this book is to answer what my daily work has to do with “my call” or “my ministry.” Separating the two, the material and the spiritual, is due to the influence of a Gnostic worldview. So how are these two connected?
When a king or deity marks a territory as his, his image is constructed in some way usually in the form of a statue, likened to how we see a flag. God, in His Creation, created mankind in His image. His image is made known in all of creation, marking it as His dominion. Through Christ, Second Adam Who restores all of Creation back into its intended beauty, we are now to reunite creation - man, beast, tree - with its Creator. We participate in this now through the Eucharist, through our marriages and celibacy, and through literally every act we make in our lives.
There’s a lot more to digest in this book. In the beginning, the author gives his own history navigating the theological landscape in search of Truth. Most of us can identify with pieces of his experience, and I think that helps us more readily grasp the information he shares on our Gnostic-tendency backgrounds.
I read this during Lent and into Pascha which I think was a perfect time to contemplate his writing. With Pentecost coming up, I’d say it’s an even better time to read about Christ’s restoration of humanity and creation because of His Ascension!
March 18, 2023
Part of common American “folk religion” is the disregard or even hostility toward that which is material or physical, and being an American myself, I have read Rediscovering the Goodness of Creation and found that the influences of American folk religion have influenced me in hidden ways. To be sure, I confess with my mouth the physical resurrection, but I often find myself failing to see the imprint of God, or the logoi, in the creation that surrounds me. It is easy to look around you and just see what is around you without seeing how they are meant to direct your gaze to God.
Phillips’ book offers to teach the reader how to see all of creation in a very different, non-secular, and enchanted light. At 346 pages, it is an in-depth analysis of how we often view creation (like Gnostics) and how the Scriptures direct us to see creation. This is not to say that I feel that everything about the book was perfect.
For instance, he borrows very heavily from Protestant theology, more specifically N.T. Wright or those influenced by Kuyper. This is most especially the case for the biblical theology section of the book. That is not inherently bad, but I would have preferred to see more references to the Fathers and Orthodox teachers in general. In addition to this, he gives his major premise very clearly in the beginning (creation is good), but he often stated his premise in a way that made me uncomfortable because I was waiting for qualifiers to that premise, and he didn’t get to those qualifiers until the latter half of the book (creation is good, but that doesn’t mean we should be hedonists and see creation as an end in itself). Creation being good, and chiefly because it points us to God, is something I wish that would have been emphasized earlier on in the book.
For me, where the book really shined was the last section where he goes in detail on how to not be a Gnostic. He gives some very practical and thoughtful steps that can change our outlook on the world. It has helped me to see things beyond having just a worldview, as if the world is neutral, and any and all views are possible, but that the world is by no means neutral and actually labors to be seen as good and as pointing to the Lord God.
Read the book. We’re all Gnostics that need help, especially those of us who don’t think we are Gnostic, and this book can really help us in our recovery process.
Phillips’ book offers to teach the reader how to see all of creation in a very different, non-secular, and enchanted light. At 346 pages, it is an in-depth analysis of how we often view creation (like Gnostics) and how the Scriptures direct us to see creation. This is not to say that I feel that everything about the book was perfect.
For instance, he borrows very heavily from Protestant theology, more specifically N.T. Wright or those influenced by Kuyper. This is most especially the case for the biblical theology section of the book. That is not inherently bad, but I would have preferred to see more references to the Fathers and Orthodox teachers in general. In addition to this, he gives his major premise very clearly in the beginning (creation is good), but he often stated his premise in a way that made me uncomfortable because I was waiting for qualifiers to that premise, and he didn’t get to those qualifiers until the latter half of the book (creation is good, but that doesn’t mean we should be hedonists and see creation as an end in itself). Creation being good, and chiefly because it points us to God, is something I wish that would have been emphasized earlier on in the book.
For me, where the book really shined was the last section where he goes in detail on how to not be a Gnostic. He gives some very practical and thoughtful steps that can change our outlook on the world. It has helped me to see things beyond having just a worldview, as if the world is neutral, and any and all views are possible, but that the world is by no means neutral and actually labors to be seen as good and as pointing to the Lord God.
Read the book. We’re all Gnostics that need help, especially those of us who don’t think we are Gnostic, and this book can really help us in our recovery process.
April 7, 2023
When I first received the book "Rediscovering the Goodness of Creation" and looked at the subtitle "A Manual for Recovering Gnostics," I had a chuckle and thought to myself "this is not me" but still looked forward to a book about the inherent goodness of creation. Yeah, wrong. Although I was partially raised in a conservative, liturgically-minded Episcopal Church, and despite being an Orthodox Christian for nearly 15 years, I was quite surprised at how I saw shadows of myself in some of the Gnostic viewpoints against creation.
This realization was brought about so quickly by Robin Phillips' ease with bringing the reader into his world. By openly sharing his background and journey to Orthodoxy, the path to subtle Gnosticism when it comes to creation was made clear to me. This is not just a memoir, though. Mr. Phillips navigates the viewpoints on a created Earth that is either worshipped or vilified, and brings focus to its purpose through our Creator.
Creation is no easy subject to discuss - it can quickly become a Socratic debate between ultra-secular scientists and fundamentalist Protestants. Frankly, I have zero interest in these types of arguments and was hoping for something deeper when I received this book. I was not disappointed. Mr. Phillips is very well-researched and draws from a wealth of theologians, authors, philosophers, and historians across the centuries.
Although I would like to have seen more references to the Church Fathers and other Orthodox authors and theologians, I don't feel as if Mr. Phillips' overall argument was tarnished by this shortcoming. Creation IS good, it WILL be restored; this central theme brought an inexpressible joy and peace as I contemplated each page.
As I began to approach the end of the book, I was thrilled to see the "manual" part of the subtitle live up to its meaning! We all sometimes need instruction, a practical application, for the big principles and ideas that drive our faith. Mr. Phillips delivered that advice as only someone who needed it himself could. These steps toward not being Gnostic are all relatable and useful no matter where you are in your journey toward rediscovering the goodness of creation.
This realization was brought about so quickly by Robin Phillips' ease with bringing the reader into his world. By openly sharing his background and journey to Orthodoxy, the path to subtle Gnosticism when it comes to creation was made clear to me. This is not just a memoir, though. Mr. Phillips navigates the viewpoints on a created Earth that is either worshipped or vilified, and brings focus to its purpose through our Creator.
Creation is no easy subject to discuss - it can quickly become a Socratic debate between ultra-secular scientists and fundamentalist Protestants. Frankly, I have zero interest in these types of arguments and was hoping for something deeper when I received this book. I was not disappointed. Mr. Phillips is very well-researched and draws from a wealth of theologians, authors, philosophers, and historians across the centuries.
Although I would like to have seen more references to the Church Fathers and other Orthodox authors and theologians, I don't feel as if Mr. Phillips' overall argument was tarnished by this shortcoming. Creation IS good, it WILL be restored; this central theme brought an inexpressible joy and peace as I contemplated each page.
As I began to approach the end of the book, I was thrilled to see the "manual" part of the subtitle live up to its meaning! We all sometimes need instruction, a practical application, for the big principles and ideas that drive our faith. Mr. Phillips delivered that advice as only someone who needed it himself could. These steps toward not being Gnostic are all relatable and useful no matter where you are in your journey toward rediscovering the goodness of creation.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews