Saving God

Name: Saving God
ISBN: 9780691143941

religion after idolatry

By Mark Johnston

In this provocative exploration of faith and reason, philosopher Mark Johnston challenges readers to reconsider their most fundamental assumptions about the divine. Rather than defending traditional religious beliefs against modern skeptics, Johnston takes an unexpected path, arguing that God requires rescue from both atheistic critics and the very religions that claim to serve the divine.

Johnston contends that each major monotheistic tradition has fallen into the trap of domesticating God, reshaping divine truth to accommodate human comfort and self-interest. This process of spiritual taming, he suggests, ultimately betrays the radical nature of authentic religious experience. By applying the monotheistic critique of idolatry to monotheism itself, Johnston reveals how religious institutions often create false images of the divine that serve human ego rather than genuine spiritual transformation.

The book's most striking claim positions supernaturalism itself as a form of idolatry. Working within this framework, Johnston demonstrates how core spiritual concepts like the Fall and salvation can be understood through a naturalistic lens, freed from ancient cosmological assumptions that may hinder rather than help contemporary seekers.

This philosophical journey offers readers a path toward understanding divinity that honors both rigorous intellectual inquiry and authentic spiritual longing. Johnston presents a vision of God that resists human manipulation while remaining fully compatible with scientific understanding, inviting readers to discover what genuine reverence might look like in our modern world.

What You'll Discover