How Big Is Your God? The Freedom to

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Introduction by Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM xi
Author’s Note xv

1 How Big Is Your God? 1
2 Do You Have the Will to Experience a Big God? 3
3 Are You Ready? 8
4 The River of Life Is Free 12
5 God–an Experience, Not a Theology 14
6 Seeking Truth and Freedom 17
7 Can You Be Religious without Knowing God? 20
8 Moving from Charity to Compassion 26
9 Do You Have a Living Relationship with God, or Are You Just Practicing Religion? 29
10 Do You Want Peace . . . without Batting an Eye? 31
11 Four Ways of Relating with God 34
12 Pleasing God–the Priestly Experience 36
13 The God of Brokenness–the Yahwistic Experience 38
14 The God of Perfection–the Elohistic Experience 42
15 The Pathway of the Law–the Experience of Deuteronomy 45
16 Disposable Images of God 48
17 Transcending Your Images of God 51
18 Can You Have a God beyond Names? 56
19 The God Who Is a Projection of Our Father Image 60
20 Prayer, a Pathway to Freedom and Love 64
21 Having a Honeymoon with God 67
22 You Are Mine 73
23 Freedom in the Midst of Suffering 76
24 Can You Experience the Freedom That Is Christ’s Cross? 79
25 Are Your Possessions Enslaving or Freeing? 83
26 Lightening Our Load along the Journey 87
27 Are We Enslaved by Things We Do Not Fully Enjoy? 90
28 A Beginner’s Mind 95
29 The Enslaving Illusion of Love 97
30 Original Sin, Reconsidered 102
31 Confession, Celebration of Divine Presence 105
32 Living in the Here and Now 107
33 Are You Part of a Vertical World or a Horizontal World? 111
34 The “Me” and the “I” 113
35 Our Stolen Search for Meaning 117
36 What Do You Want on Your Tombstone? 120
37 Life Does Not Owe Us Pleasure–It Offers Us Meaning 122
38 Do You React or Respond to Life? 124
39 So What Is a Belief? 127
40 Bible and Land 130
41 I Need the Love and Approval of Everyone–a Damaging Root Belief 132
42 Others Must Be Fair and Kind to Me–Another Root Belief 135
43 Life Must Make Things Easy for Me–a Third Harmful Root Belief 139
44 The Man and the Caterpillar 144
45 God Does Not Interfere 146
46 When Are You Going to Die? 148
47 The Breath of God 152
48 Are You Running for Fun or for Your Life? 154
I Hope You Make It, Kid 157
Acknowledgments 159
About the Author 161

Publisher Marketing:
Do you have a real relationship with God, or do you just have a religion? Do you know God, or do you just know about God? In How Big Is Your God? Paul Coutinho, SJ, challenges us to grow stronger and deeper in our faith and in our relationship with God–a God whose love knows no bounds. To help us on our way, Coutinho introduces us to people in various world religions–from Hindu friends to Buddhist teachers to St. Ignatius of Loyola–who have shaped his spiritual life and made possible his deep, personal relationship with God.