All My Bones Shake: Seeking a Progressive Path to the Prophetic Voice

I'm already in the choir to which Jensen may or may not be preaching, but that makes no difference. His view and voice provided me with new insight and alternate ways to think about issues of spirituality, religion, and responsibility. I left organized religion in my early 20s and now that I'm in my late 30s I've been wondering whether there's a path to organized spirituality. And, if so, what does it look like? Jensen has given me some possible answers and definitely generated a vibrant internal conversation. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in discovering a path to rational, balanced, humanistic spirituality.

Robert Jensen has written an excellent narrative of his struggle, in middle age, to find a place in his life for religious faith. Jensen was raised in the Presbyterian church, but seems to have hated every minute of it, and was alienated from organized religion for at least 20 years. But he is drawn back to religion when the pastor of a Presbyterian church in Austin, TX (where he lives) invites him to attend a service and deliver a sermon. Jensen finds himself transformed by the experience, and realizes that being a member of a religious congregation brings a sense of transcendence to his life that had been missing. I would recommend this book highly to two audiences: those for whom religion has not been part of their life, but might be thinking about establishing some connection to a faith community; and members of faith communities who are looking to recruit new members, and want to understand the ways that a "seeker" wants to understand (and may be intimidated by) aspects of their religion's established dogma. One other possible "caveat" to readers: Jensen is a writer with decidedly left-of-center political views (which was no surprise to me, as I've been reading his other books and essays for years). His politics -- which he discusses at some length -- may not be yours, but I think that even if you disagree with some of his views, you will still find "All My Bones Shake" an illuminating narrative of how one thoughtful, committed person works to find a place for religious faith in his life.

This book is a compelling summary of the present challenges we face, both as individuals and as a society. In spite of Jensen's vision being logically rooted in his experience as an American citizen, I think his critics and rationale can be easily extrtapolated to every established person living in the so called First World countries. Although not cited in the book, I see clear connections with the Latinamerican Catholic "Theology of Liberation". I enjoyed reading it and have been particullarly moved towards a deeper personal and social/ecological commitment. Highly recommended for anyone with a minimum qualm for the type of world we live in.

Robert Jensen, one of my intellectual heroes, has done the near impossible: an atheist, has now commandeered Christianity to further promote his humanistic causes: And why not? Using Christian activism in the same way that President Obama reports in his second book that he did in joining Rev Wright's Chicago church (but without the required belief in God, of course), is nothing new. Jensen has hitched his progressive wagon to the humanist aspect of those Christian churches who "put their actions where their preacher's mouths are." And as usual, Jensen is clear headed, committed and will not duck when the flack starts flying. In his usual inimical "take no prisoners" way, he knows where the dead bodies lie and who the real enemy is (in the subtext of American social order and the greedy vampire casino corporate capitalists). And he is relentless in making a case that even a moribund religion such as Christianity must be awaken to help slay this evil bloodsucking dragon. While this Atheist and Christianity shotgun wedding may seem to make for odd bedfellows, Jensen knows that in the end it is only results that really count. And it is the "activist churches" that can embarrass the more moribund ones (that is all the rest of them), enough to reinvigorate American religion to make it rise up on its hind legs again to meet its own ignored humanistic mandate. Thus there is not just deadly logic in Jensen's approach, but as usual a calculated design to achieve the humanistic goals he has always been seeking, but now by entirely different means: And here he remains committed to a clean environment; equality for minorities, an end to racist chauvinism, and a death blow to the head of the bloodsucking casino corporate capitalists. Jensen's mantra is that truth is the best activist program known to man. And here he tells the truth in spades. Not much ground is left unturned here: personal, religious, intellectual, political, and social. This is not just another one of Jensen's hors d'ouevres: this is the main course. Enjoy the feast as I have and five stars (as usual for him).

Robert Jensen believes we in the United States are living in a dead culture, slowly decaying because our consumption of the world's resources is unsustainable and our policies are too often unjust. He also believes that capitalism is incompatible with democracy and leads to a system where the rich get richer and basically control the democratic process for their own selfish and greedy aims. Not a pleasant picture of the United States of America. But Jensen has not just written another book about saving the environment or tempering capitalism with humanism. Jensen attempts to tie his secular views in to a philosophy that is, in his estimation, essentially Christian. Jensen does not come by Christianity in the usual way. He has not taken Jesus as his personal savior and he does not think Jesus rose from the dead. He comes to Christianity, not by way of theology, but by way of a point of view involving social activism. He joined a church because of its activities in support of a more sustainable and tolerant world, because he and the minister were friends who agreed on major social issues. His reasoning was reminiscent, for me, of President Barack Obama's reasons for joining a church, as related in his books. Obama too was attracted by the church's social activism for liberal causes. (Obama, of course, later got a lot of flack because of the radical views of his pastor and ended up resigning from the church). Jensen takes his alternative views even further than Obama (who seems to have accepted Christian theology) in that he does not actually believe in God. At least not in the way most people do. While I found Jensen's desire to be a Christian a bit odd considering his actual beliefs, I also found his reasoning somewhat logical. He points out that we DO live in a mainly Christian society and those of us who grew up with Christianity have a right to claim some of its principles, even if we do not accept all the theology and doctrines promulgated by organized religion. We who doubt also have a right to find the message in Jesus' teachings. At times, Jensen's book seems to be about too many things, with his wide-ranging interests in environmentalism, feminism and civil rights for minorities and gays. But he ties it together with the Christian philosophy, which in his case is far-left leaning (say, considerably left of Michael Moore and Al Sharpton). He claims his right to be a Christian and interpret its meaning in a whole different way from those fundamentalist Christians who take their religion to the far right, those who preach that God hates gays and that the righteous are those with the most material success. In Jensen's view, Christian living involves walking everywhere or riding a bicycle, eating a mainly vegetarian diet, using few power-eating gadgets and living in a small house. He argues that to live in a way that is sustainable for our planet means no one should consume more than would sustain us all if each one consumed that much. He