Books

Neo-Calvinism and Christian Theosophy: Franz von Baader, Abraham Kuyper, Herman Dooyeweerd

A Christian worldview, the idea of sphere sovereignty, opposition to the autonomy of thought, a Free University, our supratemporal selfhood–these and other key ideas of neo-Calvinism all find their source in the Christian theosophy of Franz von Baader. This book traces the history of these ideas from Baader to Chantepie de la Saussaye to Gunning to Kuyper and to Dooyeweerd.

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Abhishiktananda (Henri Le Saux): Christian Nondualism and Hindu Advaita

Abhishiktananda (Henri Le Saux) was a French Benedictine monk who went to India to establish an Indian Christian monasticism. He and Jules Monchanin founded the ashram Shantivanam. Abhishiktananda tried to emulate the advaitic(nondual) experience of the Hindu sage Ramana Maharshi. As a result, many of his Christian beliefs were changed. This book explores his nondual experience and its interpretation.What does nonduality mean for our perception, our thinking, our ethics, our experience of reality, and our relation to God?

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Ramana Maharshi: Interpretations of his Enlightenment

Ramana Maharshi’s story of enlightenment is much more complex than his devotees have assumed. Ramana’s own inter-pretation of his experience was influenced by non-traditional Hindu ideas of living liberation (Jivanmukti), and Western ideas such as Blavatsky’s theosophy and even Christian sources. His early disciple Ganapati Muni and Ramana’s biographers Frank H. Humphreys, B.V. Narasimha Iyer and Paul Brunton all contributed to these influences. Brunton admitted he used Ramana as a “peg” for his own previous ideas.
What does this mean for our understanding of Ramana Maharshi and his Teachings? Available at Amazon and other bookstores.

 

 

Christian Nondualism in Jewish Historical Context
Many people are interested in exploring nondualistic interpretations of the experience of Jesus. But all too often, nondualism is understood in only a vague way, without specifying the dualisms that are sought to be overcome. There is often an emphasis on an experience of oneness with God. But how does such an experience relate to the historical Jesus? How does it relate to his understanding of himself as the Messiah/Son of Man/Son of God? What do these terms and ideas mean in the Jewish context of his time, and what can we say about their origin, and how these ideas relate to other cultures and religions? In this highly personal study, Dr. Friesen examines current scholarly research related to these issues, including archaeological evidence, textual criticism, philosophy, theology, and recent research on the Dead Sea Scrolls and other inter-testamental literature (e.g.1 Enoch). Dr. Friesen relates these findings to our search for spirituality today.

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