Liberating the Holy Name: A Free-Thinker Grapples with the Meaning of Divinity

In an increasingly polarized world atheists and religious fundamentalists still agree on one thing: how God must be defined. Both dogmatically claim that God can only refer to the supernatural Lord of Scripture. In Liberating the Holy Name Daniel Spiro takes square aim at this attempt to assert a monopoly over the meaning of divinity. He explains how his Jewish-atheist upbringing and later exposure to Orthodox Judaism set him on a lifelong search for truth and meaning through the annals of modern Jewish philosophy, Christian theology, and Islam. He then reveals how this search has led to a highly original theology in which God can be conceived in the third person, embraced in the second person, and recognized in the first person. Liberating the Holy Name leads the reader on a voyage through some of our species' most influential and profound perspectives on divinity. Spiro models how this search for divinity can be our greatest privilege, while arguing that in order to appreciate this privilege, we must liberate the Name itself from those who wish to monopolize it. If successful, he contends, we will improve religion's standing in the world and unleash a powerful force for social unity. For the back cover: Daniel Spiro's Liberating the Holy Name is an exciting and fresh new approach to understanding God. Neither believer nor atheist will be let off the hook as Spiro, ruthlessly honest about his own struggle with the contradictions of conventional theology, does not allow the reader to fall into easy skepticism either. As he reveals his own process of seeking to make sense of God without being constrained by orthodoxies of any sort, Spiro challenges the reader to rethink our own easy assumptions about God's existence or non-existence. --Rabbi Michael Lerner, chair of the Network of Spiritual Progressives, Berkeley, CA Clearly the result of many years of reflection, Liberating the Holy Name is a refreshing read for both theists and atheists. This insightful, thought-provoking, and philosophical piece is an exciting addition to God discourse in times when God has mostly become irrelevant to modern man and culture. The penetrating and masterful work is a welcome voice to interfaith dialogue and scholarship. It liberates the holy name from indulgences of traditionalists as well as secularists. --Zulfiqar Ali Shah, Secretary General, Islamic Fiqh Council of North America, North America Dan Spiro ventures where too few ever do for an honest search in an area that most consider . . . untouchable. This gutsy book seeks to broaden our understanding of God, to go beyond the usual vague, incoherent, and off-putting theological observations, and to really wrestle with what it is we each think. In the process, the book honors God, honors us, and honors the others with whom we each interact in the world, no matter what their faith or lack of it. I rejoice, personally, in Spiro's notion of our role in being God's emissaries, reminding us that our actions make a difference and help to make real an ultimate force in the world. --Ruth Messinger, President, American Jewish World Service, New York, NY For the front matter: Daniel Spiro is fascinated by the subject of God and if you join him on his quest, you will soon be too. For the veteran seeker or the merely curious, this book invites you on an intellectual and spiritual journey you will not soon forget. With passion, clarity, and humility, Spiro introduces the joys of theological speculation while mounting a powerful argument for interfaith engagement as the great religious adventure of our time. --Rabbi Nancy Fuchs Kreimer, Director, Multifaith Studies and Initiatives, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, Wyncote, PA This is an extraordinary book. Spiro has provided a feisty account of a spiritual journey that raises a host of fascinating issues. He clearly articulates in a refreshing manner his own hard-won efforts to answer the big questions of theology and philosophy. At on