I Am a Thinking Christian

by Kim Michaels

A unique perspective on the challenges faced by modern Christians

NOTE: This book was written with the goal of reaching a broad audience, and many mainstream Christians will find the book to be non-provocative and supportive of their faith. Consequently, if you are looking for a way to introduce someone to a more spiritual perspective on Christianity, this book is the perfect gift.

Many Christians feel like their faith in God and Jesus is under attack from science and secularism, yet they also find it difficult to ignore scientific discoveries. As a result, some feel like they have to stop asking certain questions or check their brain in at the church door. A new book, I AM a Thinking Christian, addresses how to keep, and even strengthen, your faith in an increasingly rational world.

The author, Kim Michaels, claims that you can use scientific discoveries to expand your understanding of Jesus’ inner message and thereby internalize spiritual principles.

The book explains the fundamental difference between the fear-based approach to life taken by most people and the love-based approach demonstrated by Jesus. By adopting Jesus’ approach, you can overcome the fear of losing your faith and find real answers to your questions about the spiritual side of life. Instead of spending your life defending certain “mental holy cows,” you can move toward becoming a self-actualized person. The author argues that this is what Jesus wanted to see for all people, and that is why he stressed the importance of love.

The author explains how some of the latest scientific discoveries have raised serious questions about the validity of scientific materialism. He outlines a new world view based on a skillful blend of scientific findings and spiritual principles. For example, Einstein’s theory of relativity created a place for God in the scientific universe, and even the Big Bang theory and the theory of evolution can be reconciled with a love-based understanding of the Bible.

The author uses the new world view to explain a deeper meaning behind many of the more baffling statements made by Jesus and his disciples, including Paul’s call to “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” If you are open to a fresh perspective on Christianity and its potential fate in the new millennium, this book delivers much food for thought.

Title: I AM a Thinking Christian. Author: Kim Michaels. Publisher: More to Life Publishing. ISBN: 0-9632564-2-4. Pages: 286, paperback. Price: $16.99. Order at: www.askrealjesus.com or from your local bookstore. -30-

From the back cover:

Can you be a Christian and still be a thinking person?

This amazing book demonstrates with stunning clarity that you can reconcile scientific discoveries with a belief in God and Christ. By killing some of the mental holy cows bred by orthodox Christianity and scientific materialism, you can use science to expand your understanding of Jesus’ hidden, inner message. You can develop a deeper relationship with Jesus and help revolutionize Christianity.

Stop being a casualty of the ongoing war between Christianity and science! Overcome the fear-based approach to life and God by adopting the love-based approach demonstrated by Jesus! Find answers to life’s deeper questions, attain peace of mind and become a self-actualized person—like Jesus.

Moving from fear into love is the key to bringing Christianity into the new millennium and creating a modern religion that can meet people’s spiritual needs in this age. If you feel that your faith in Jesus is being challenged by the times, this penetrating book will show you how to overcome all fear, enrich your spiritual life and put on the mind of Christ.

Become a Thinking Christian—today!

Table of Contents

Introduction
Is It Possible to Be a Thinking Christian? 11

Chapter 1
Turning Doubts into Assets 15
Holy cow! 17
Constructive and destructive doubt 20
The need for security 21
The most basic human need 25
Soul maturity 27
The maturing identity 31
The fear of losing your identity 32
The all-or-nothing approach 33
The no-fear approach 35

Chapter 2
There Are No Final Answers—and That’s Final! 39
Can Christianity give us final answers? 40
How could God tell us everything? 43
Can science give us final answers? 46
Can we ever find final answers? 49
Why do we seek final answers? 51
A better approach to life’s questions 53

Chapter 3
From Fear to Love 57
The winners write history 59
A fear-based approach to religion 60
The outer and the inner approach to religion 64
Fear versus love 66
Should Christianity be a love-based religion? 68
How to find useful answers 70
The value of intuition 72
Beyond the intellect 74

Chapter 4
The Bridge Between Christianity and Science 79
How the war started 80
Power versus truth 83
How Christianity and science lost truth 85
The psychological cause of war 88
An inner experience of truth 92
Bridging the gap 95
Chapter 5
Does Science Have Room for God? 99
More than meets the eye 99
It’s all energy 101
Crossing over—from matter to energy 102
Seeing the light 104
Material effects and spiritual causes 108

Chapter 6
The Origins of the Universe 113
Order out of chaos 114
Killing more holy cows 117
Genesis and science 119

Chapter 7
The Origins of Life 123
Objections from molecular biology 124
The missing link is still missing 127
The oxygen mystery 129
Conscious evolution? 133
The chicken and the egg 136

Chapter 8
Chance Versus Design 139
Could God make mistakes? 143

Chapter 9
Consciousness and Science 147
Objectivity must exclude consciousness 149
Is the universe there when no one is looking? 151
Scientific infallibility is dead! 155
Use scientific tools to study religious experiences 156
Humans aren’t the only ones looking 159
Is Christianity the only true religion? 162

Chapter 10
The Divine Uncertainty 165
The uncertainty principle 166
Does God play dice with the universe? 170
Free will 171
Uncertainty within limits 172
The planetary schoolroom 174

Chapter 11
Did God Create Our Misery? 177
Why is there evil in the world? 178
Free will and suffering 179
Is evolution a one-way street? 182
The transformation of consciousness 184
From fear to love 187

Chapter 12
The High Road or the Low Road 189
The iceberg of the soul 191
The body computer 192
To be or not to be 194
The radio of the mind 196
Let this mind be in you... 199
Spiritual and material laws 201
Spiritual union 203

Chapter 13
From Carnal to Christ 205
Everything is done with energy 206
Original sin 209
Let this mind be in you 214

Chapter 14
How to Put on the Mind of Christ 219
Where to begin? 222
Planning for Christhood 223
The path to Christhood 227
Why seek Christ consciousness? 231
Putting on the new man 233
I am the way 237
A personal relationship with Jesus 244

Chapter 15
Taking Christianity into the 21st Century 247
Christianity must become a love-based religion 249
Christianity as a vehicle for self-actualization 251
Christianity must become an open community 254
Christianity as a participatory religion 256
Christianity as a tool for transcending conflict 257
Resolving the conflict between science and religion 258
Resolving religious conflicts 260
Christianity must become a universal religion 264
Bring Jesus back into Christianity 266
Bringing the Christ mind into all areas of life 268

Parting Words 271
Open spiritual discussion groups 274

Appendix
Exercise for Attunement with the Inner Christ 277

Copyright © 2004 by Kim Michaels