Getting Oriented

I have had the pleasure of reading Paul Alan Laughlin's "Getting Oriented: What Every Christian Should Know about Eastern Religions and Probably Doesn't." I have been searching for many years for just such an overview of the major Eastern religions while I have also been looking for a concise critique of traditional orthodox Christian doctrines. In Laughlin's book, I found both under the same cover. I designed a five-week course of study, which I helped to teach, at my local United Methodist Church . We more than doubled our usual enrollment for the entire series. Dr. Laughlin's analysis of both of the areas I mentioned is not only thorough, it is positively 'enlightening,' as he hit the nail on the head for nearly all of my previous theological concerns. Apparently, he also helped many of the participants in our study to find meaningful answers. If any potential readers have not yet had this experience, I heartily recommend this book. Mike Nicolson Pleasant Hill, California

Please, don't be put off by the cartoon-like cover, a reflection of the author's sense of humor and its intended use as a college textbook. This book is a very important one. It is two-fold. First, it is an excellent and lucidly written introduction and summary of the major religions of the East, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. I agree with another reviewer that the treatment of Hinduism is the strongest and of the Chinese religions, Taoism and Confucianism, the weakest. But it is more than adequate for the general reader -- and written in a very understandable manner. Second, and more important, it is a proposal for a new look at Christianity, its Scriptures and doctrines, and even the person of Jesus, in the light of the religions of the East. While I might disagree with some of the particulars of Laughlin's proposed "enlightened Christianity," I am in basic agreement with the general thrust of his efforts to re-vision Christianity in a way that makes sense of the Christian tradition for the 21st Century believer. I have generally been proposing the same thing in my own books such as "Putting on the Mind of Christ, The Inner Work of Christian Spirituality." Both Laughlin and I would like Christianity to explicitly recognize the divinity of all humans, not just of Jesus, and to urge Christians towards a mystical Christianity whereby they will consciously realize and act upon that inner divinity. I highly recommend the book to all Christians, particularly to those who have become disaffected with the traditional theological wineskins in which the message of Jesus has been contained. Jim Marion

Several years ago, I read _Remedial Christianity_, and was literally stunned that I was so ignorant about my own professed faith. Dr. Laughlin woke me up with his wonderful book, which all Christians should read and savor; in fact,it should be used in church and Sunday schools across the country, heads unburied by dogmatic and literalist sands. Since I personally believe that religious fundamentalism is the most dangerous belief system in the world today, i.e., "ONLY WE HAVE THE ANSWER, AND IF YOU DON'T AGREE WITH US, WE MIGHT HAVE TO KILL YOU", Laughlin offers another way. And that means realizing that nobody should make exclusivistic truth claims but that we should honor ALL religions as valid paths to the ineffable. In his great new book, _Getting Oriented_, he shows how an integral philosophy between East and West might emerge. And he rightly points out that we Christians might well be better off staying within our own, redefined faith than jumping ship totally for a culture we don't understand. Here's an excerpt from his chapter on Hinduism, classic Laughlin: "Let's think of Hinduism today as a slowly cooking stew, in which the oldest ingredients from the era have long since settled to thge bottom of the pot. Those of the Vedantic period are suspended in the middle, leaving the most recent and still prevailing devotional emphasis of the millenium-old sectarian period close to the surface. All of these constitute and flavor the stew, though what is on the surface is most visible and probably provides most of the flavor to those who sample it" These delicious tidbits permeate the book. The best is saved for last, where you will find suggestions for a new paradigm, still respectful, but bold. People are fleeing dogmatic religion in huge numbers. There are those who will argue that books like this will destroy Christianity, but I say that it's our only chance to survive, and thrive.

This book is a must for forward thinking Christians and for those who have become disillusioned with the faith and are willing to take a different view. I think the book demonstrates that there is an alternate to abandoning your faith by showing how it can be reinterpreted. A rare book to be written by a minister but written by one who is well qualified to do so. Equally as good as his first book "Remedial Christianity"