Igniting the Holy Flame

Building Communities of Love from the Ashes of Negative Religious Culture

De: Steven Hitz

Narrado por: Steven A. Hitz

The role of organized religion in our society is undergoing monumental changes. Church attendance is decreasing at unprecedented rates. At the same time, there is an increase in the number of people who identify as “spiritual but not religious.” Clearly, the need for religion remains as strong as ever, yet more and more, people are seeking spirituality elsewhere. Why? What accounts for these trends? Can organized religion still play a valuable role in today’s world?

Affirming that organized religion does indeed have the potential to be a uniquely powerful force for good, Igniting the Holy Flame argues that organized religions too often fall into a trap of their own making, inadvertently fixating on a punitive rule-keeping culture that alienates believers and encourages conformity over an honest pursuit of spirituality. The antidote is “authentic fellowship”—pursuing deep and meaningful connections with oneself, others, and the divine.

Ultimately, this book argues that organized religion can bless lives and build a better world for all of us when religions focus on helping individuals understand their truest inner selves, learn to follow the gentle guidance of the spirit, and pursue a life driven by authenticity rather than blind obedience.

©2024 Steven A. Hitz and Hitz Financial Group, LLC (P)2024 Steven A. Hitz and Hitz Financial Group, LLC

Authenticity rings true

This was a thought provoking find for me. You can tell the author has wrestled with what religion is, does and should be. In a world that divides because of the differences, this preaches (no pun intended) of the need to look for common ground and focus on light and truth for all.
I love when authors read their own work as well because that authenticity comes through. They hit home the points that really should be paid attention to. Overall, this is a FAITH builder, without feeling like I need to fit into a particular box.

Hard to listen to

I was excited to read/listen to this book. The flow of the reading is pretty terrible. All the pausing and strange stop and go made this very difficult to listen to and process. It became very distracting. Speeding it way up only helped a tiny bit. Maybe one day I will read it in paper form, but for now the audio has really put me off.