The New Revelations: A Conversation with God

Several years and several best-selling books after their first conversation, God and Neale Donald Walsch are still at it. And I for one still benefit hugely from the SANITY AND CLARITY of this writing, especially after September 11th. After so many books in the Conversations With God series, thoughts of "re-hash for a bit more money in the bank" almost inevitably cross one's mind, but this is inappropriate and unnecessarily cynical. Yes the message is always basically the same, but as I am a big big fan of all the books I am completely biased in their favour!In The New Revelations the dialogue with God revolves around the crisis of humanity on Earth today, with the underlying main theme being that a spiritual crisis is the fundamental cause of our individual and collective problems. God and Neale suggest that our deepest beliefs must be changed before our behaviour can change. Organized religion takes a bit of a hammering here, although as always in the CWG books there is an embracing of the best of traditional religion while suggesting some fundamental shifts that need to be made if humanity is to survive and prosper. Virtually all the Big Religious Books (Bible, Qur'an etc.) are quoted to demonstrate how man has created God in his own image, a creation which is then used to justify condemning or killing others who hold different beliefs to one's own.

Don't let the pastel-colored cover fool you. This is probably one of the more subversive publishing events of the last century. If you're willing to accept the premise of the series -- that the author is channeling the voice of God and transcribing the conversation -- then you'll appreciate the significance of the fact that the premise of this book is that organized religion is the source of almost all the world's problems.I've read the entire Conversations series, and found all the books to be moving, fresh and thought-provoking. This one is unique in its decisive and specific relevance to current events, and I mean very current events, i.e. the war in Iraq, the Israel-Palestine conflict, American tension between the liberal left and the religious right, questions about abortion, the rights of women, etc., etc.What is consistent with the other books is the incredible wisdom, compassion, good humor and pure love that glow on the pages, even while delivering such a controversial message. Highly recommended.

I loved Conversations with God books 1, 2, and 3. I have done a ton of reading and I've never found such a broad, advanced, and relatively accessible cosmology. Neale's last book, Communion with God, is a philosophical masterpiece that explains our confused world at its deepest levels. I've read a lot of philosophy, metaphysics and theological books. The Conversation with God books contain some of the purest truths you can find anywhere and this new book is every bit as good as the others.In The New Revelations, Neale and God continue to deliver amazingly valuable insights. This book is the most practical and the most challenging of the Conversatons with God series. It asks us to act, to become spiritual activists, to help change the world, and potentially to save it. God says that the difficulties we are experiencing with our world right now are not simply political, or religious. Our fundamental beliefs are out of wack. God is diligently non-judgemental here and asks us to drop the concept of right and wrong. Righteousness is part of the problem. God asks us to look at things pragmatically. Instead of my beliefs being right, and your's being wrong, God suggests that we simply look at the results we're getting compared to the results we want.I just returned from a weekend seminar with Neale at the Omega Institute in NY state which centered on the messages in this book. Neale asked us to become Spiritual Activists, to help others to examine their beliefs. He wants you to post the 9 New Revelations and the 5 Steps to Peace everywhere, like a modern day Martin Luther - challenge the status quo.There is no question, this is DEFINITELY great stuff. If we all do as it suggests, it WILL change the world for the better. The only problem I have is that Neale plays dumb and hands God a lot of questions that are obviously setups. Neale is much more advanced than he pretends to be here. I suppose he does this to make the material more accessible to a wider range of readers but I know he's more advanced than that. The philosophical side of me wishes Neale would raise the level of the dialog, but I'm sure that would make this less interesting to the average potential reader.

In his book Freedom from the Known, Krishnamurti writes, "For centuries we have been spoon-fed by our teachers, by our authorities, by our books, our saints. We say, 'Tell me all about it-what lies beyond the hills and the mountains and the earth?' and we are satisfied with their descriptions, which means that we live on words and our life is shallow and empty. We are second-hand people." One of the things I think is so wonderful about this book is that it offers a place to start while still emphasizing and offering a way to discover the truth for ourselves; it is a signpost to truth. Do not overlook this, especially if you have read other CWG books and find yourself saying, "I have heard all this 'God is communicating with everyone all the time' stuff before." This book repeats a lot of the material presented in earlier CWG books, and although some points are simply reiterated, plain and simple, others are made more accessible, and the last few chapters really get good. The explanation of how to receive God's communication was presented in such a way that I was able to get closer to God than I had been before.If you realize that humanity is facing a crisis right now, the way I see it you have two options: you can say you "want" to do something about it but don't have the power, because you can't control everyone else, or you can claim the power to change the world as your own. You can choose not to take responsibility for the environmental destruction and warfare on our planet, or you can see the plight of the world as your own, and act on the enormous opportunity there is right now to change the entire course of history by becoming the "first domino" in your circle of influence. Yet do not do it because you are afraid of death (life never ends) but because you love life. If you are willing to step up to this task, know that lasting change cannot be achieved on the level of behavior alone; you must change many of your beliefs. Do not wait on this: your mind will ALWAYS need more time, but your soul screams, "NOW!" Do not forget who you are.

When I first heard about the Conversations with God books I was very resistant to the title. I hated what people had done in the name of god. I saw god as one of the most destructive forces in history. Most wars and evil actions in history can be linked to a justification in god. This book is about a god that explains how we have misused and abused the name of god to justify the most ungodly acts. It is a guide of how to change the prevailing notion that god is a vengeful force that needs to be pacified. The god of new revelations is a god that is inspiring and powerful and loving and does not condone people killing in (his/hers/its) name. The New revelations is the best book he has ever written. You do not have to have read any other book by him to read and get a lot out of this book. Where as his other books are more abstract this is very hands on. It talks about today's issues and problems and how to deal with them. For those new to spirituality it is a good place to start if a little challenging. It takes on headfirst the major problem in today's world and that is our belief structure. I can not say enough great things about this book and recommend it to all.