A Secret History of Christianity: Jesus, the Last Inkling, and the Evolution of Consciousness

De: Mark Vernon

Narrado por: Mark Vernon

Christianity is in crisis in the West. The Inkling friend of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, Owen Barfield, analysed why. He developed an account of our spiritual predicament that is radical and illuminating.

Barfield realized that the human experience of life shifts fundamentally over periods of cultural time. Our perception of nature, the cosmos, and the divine changes dramatically across history.

Mark Vernon uses this startling insight to tell the inner story of 3000 years of Christianity, beginning from the earliest biblical times. Drawing, too, on the latest scholarship and spiritual questions of our day, he presents a gripping account of how Christianity constellated a new perception of what it is to be human. For 1500 years, this sense of things informed many lives, though it fell into crisis with the Reformation, Scientific Revolution, and Enlightenment.

But the story does not stop there. Barfield realised that there is meaning in the disenchantment and alienation experienced by many people today. It is part of a process that is remaking our sense of participation in the life of nature, the cosmos, and the divine. It's a new stage in the evolution of human consciousness.

©2019 Mark Vernon (P)2019 Mark Vernon

An exceptional read.

This book changed my entire paradigm on how I see the teachings of Jesus, the evolution of how they came to be , and the genius practicality of use in everyday life. His definition of Love transformed the way I read, say, and think about that word. Truly an exceptional book.

Listen With New Ears

After listening to Mark Vernon give a talk,via The Fintry Trust, I am listening to this book for the second time. The listener is invited to consider that some of what we were taught could use a review. Perhaps we are different beings from the ones who first heard the words of Christ two thousand years ago. His words have not changed but our ability to grasp their meaning has. Mark’s book is refreshing and kind of exciting. Mark gives permission to try Christianity anew and is an excellent guide.

Excellent

Using this to lean into Barfield. Learned much that expanded my understanding of God's truth emerging through the mess of human living.

Exactly the book I needed

This put words and research to the journey I’ve been on towards “oneness” with God rather than simply a belief in creedal statements. Well articulated journey through the development of consciousness within the Christian faith.

Interesting but unconvincing view Christianity

I enjoyed and learned a lot from discussion of Barfield’s philosophy. I have read Barfield in the past and found him difficult to penetrate. Vernon does a good job making difficult concepts easy to understand. He is less successful in translating these ideas to Christianity. Still, his views are interesting and worthy of consideration.