Leaving God for God: One Pastor’s Spiritual Path Beyond the Church
Do you feel betrayed by your religion?
After twenty-four years in the Evangelical movement, Phil Davis decided to leave his “first faith.” It was not a decision he took lightly. Feeling sick of the institutional church, tired of the manipulative “voice of God” drummed into his head, and trusting that the real God was somewhere beyond the theology he was taught, the author deconstructed and then reconstructed his view of the Divine Presence. In Leaving God for God, Davis takes us on his journey to de-program himself and open himself to the God beyond any one religion.
Along the way, he asked himself some hard questions:
- How much of our faith is based upon a set of church “doctrines” that we are told to believe?
- Is God just a theological construct?
- Wouldn’t a truly divine Superior Being be above and beyond our
- religious beliefs?
- Is it possible that religion can be a major obstacle to discovering the truth about the Divine?
In the end, Davis wound up taking a wrecking ball to his old theological house of cards. Is that a dangerous proposition? Perhaps so. But the journey was worth the drama, the surprises were worth the risk, and the rewards were quite beyond expectations. Leaving God for God is one seeker’s story of leaving the parochial “god” of one faith for the God over all faiths. Reading it will make you ask some hard questions, too. Read Leaving God for God today, and join Phil Davis on a journey out of organized religion into the truth of a God bigger than any human faith.
Reviews
Who is this for? I think this book would primarily interest those who struggle with the Evangelical Church now. This is not a book about sordid abuse or leaving religion altogether. It could be fortifying to some who feel their church has gone too far in the wrong direction and want to be part of the growth in the Christian faith or find the courage to leave and make their path. However, I recommend this book to anyone interested in a modern spiritual memoir. It’s divided into breezy chapters, unfolding a story of one man’s journey from youth to the hard-won wisdom of age. – S. Liskey
The title of the book “Leaving God for God” intrigued me — what exactly did it mean? I found out rather quickly that it’s the story of one man’s struggle with his faith. Not necessarily LEAVING God, but breaking away from God as he knew him. Author Phil Davis relays his issues with the traditional religious teachings and how he found the way to much more. Very inspirational for those of us who have ever questioned what we were taught! – Georgia Turner
What a great read. After 24 years of dedicating himself to the evangelical movement, he walks away. Not an easy decision. Why? Leaving God for God takes us on his spiritual journey, taking a sometimes wild ride against everything he was taught to believe in. Ups and downs and twists and turns, Walt Whitman, LSD, The 60’s, The bible, San Pedro, Jesus and Father Walsh and someone actually had the audacity to tell him he has no SALSA !!!! It’s a deep read about one person’s struggle to find his own path beyond the church and organized religion, and I highly recommend this read !!!!!! – Glenn
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PHIL DAVIS was an Airman in the US Air Force when he had a conversion experience that changed his life. Feeling called to ministry, he went to Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, IL, where he earned a Master’s Degree in Divinity. After twenty-four years in the Evangelical movement, he walked away. Phil is now co-owner of a multimedia company. He has three grown children and eight grandchildren.
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