Good Goats: Healing Our Image of God

A great book to sit down with your kids and read before they go to sleep.

This book has some good points. God loves us. He loves us while we are still sinners. However, the book has at least one dangerous idea which is entirelly contrary to Catholic Teaching.The book leads the reader to believe that 1) Jesus truly descends to hell and 2) He will continue to seek us out and "by going there anyway, Jesus refuses to accept that choice [us choosing hell]."When the creed states that Jesus descended into hell it uses the word Hades or Sheol, which refers to a place of the underworld. Jesus refers to the "hellfires" as Gehenna. While true many interpretations for 1 Pet 3:18-20 exist, ranging from speaking to spirits (not human souls, but angelic/demonic spirits, both in an 'underworld' or in the 'lower heavens,' to readers of Peter's being led to see that Jesus was victorious over evil not in spite of His death, but rather because of it. He defeats death by demonstrating precisely that death has no power. How do you defeat death? With death, the crucifixion of our own wills to conform them to God's will.God does respect the free choices of persons. If we choose His will, we will enter into eternal life. If we choose our own will in vehement opposition to His saving mercy and love, then we won't enter into eternal life.When we die we will face what the church calls the particular judgment. Heaven or Hell end of list. We don't get second chances to get out of hell and that certainly is not what the Catholic Church teaches. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches in paragraph 1022:Each man receives his eternal retribution in his immortal soul at the very moment of his death, in a particular judgment that refers his life to Christ: either entrance into the blessedness of heaven-through a purification or immediately, -- or immediate and everlasting damnation. At the evening of life, we shall be judged on our love.The church teaches this damnation happens at the very moment of death, is immediate and is everlasting. That is what the Church teaches.This doesn't make God un-loving it actually demonstrates his true love. My wife and I freely choose to be married and to share our love with one another. If I held my wife at gunpoint and told her to love me or else it wouldn't be true love. It would be coercion and that isn't love at all.So hell is in a sense a necessity of the love of God. Not that He wants people to go there but it exists for those who will choose not to return and share the love God has richly given to them.But why not a second chance? Wouldn't a loving God give people a second chance? It doesn't seem fair that a God would enact eternal punishment for temporal disobedience.This is a very tough question but is easily understood in light of the Gospel story of Lazarus and the rich man. The rich man asks Father Abraham to allow him to go back and tell his brothers what has happened to him that someone back from the dead to tell them will cause them to repent. Father Abraham says, no, not even someone raised from the dead will do that because they have Moses and the prophets.In other words, they already have everything they need to make their choice of Heaven or Hell here on earth in this lifetime.My experience has demonstrated to me that those who choose to deny the reality of persons in hell do so for one of two reasons.1) They truly love Christ and desire the good of all and wish to have no one reject the great love of God.2) They do so to attempt to justify their personal immorality or dissent from God's Word.One is noble and just. The other is dangerous.

This is an outstanding book. I have purchased many copies. I have given this book to both my family and friends for them to read and reflect on its content. Our image of God dictates how we approach God as well as it determines the relationship building process we choose to experience God while on this planet. A couple of highlights from the book: 1) God is not an 'off planet' God to worship. God is present and is being manifested in the here and now. Our relationship to one another and to all of creation is what we mirror through that ongoing and growing relationship. 2) Heaven and hell are not geographic places but states of conscious awareness of God's absolute presence being revealed in and through each of us (in creation, too). The last half of this book uses scripture to reflect and support these two understandings.

This book lovingly and insistently reveals the fatal flaws--and the societal dangers--associated with the the all too popular notion among many Christians that God is love, and God is good. . . and yet God will banish most of humankind to eternal damnation.The book is written from a Roman Catholic perspective, but it also provides a wonderful antidote to the vengeful God of Protestant Fundamentalism.The book is simple and direct, and it provides solid scriptural and contextual bases for its thesis that God loves each one of us immeasurably and will never give up on any of us. What a concept!Although the authors' views are well grounded in scripture and are supported by highly respected scholars, they seem to remain largely hidden from mainstream popular Christianity. This will be a wonderful book to share with people who are sincerely struggling with these issues !

This book is a delightful, yet insightful look into our humanity and the authors' interpretation of God's mercy and our human struggle to be more than human. I used this book many times (and even gave a few as gifts) in my work as a Pastoral Associate at a Parish. We all have this image of God that we have created based on our own life experiences - often a very harsh one of a judgemental God. The book helps surprise those who have a rigid view of judgement. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who knows people who have been hurt by judgemental or narrow minded people - clergy and religious alike. Some people that I have given the book to were brought to tears and told me that this thin book has changed their lives and their view of God. Good books don't have to be volumes thick to make a profound difference!

My associate pastor recommended this book to the parish during a recent homily. I found many of its claims challenging. Many of its sources came from people who are often at odds with Church teaching and from times (1960s, 70s, and 80s) not known for its spiritual fruit. However, it asks many important questions that need to be confronted. The most compelling aspect of the book is its use of real-life examples to show that we ascribe things to God which are not consistent with love. I recommend the book to those who want to grow in faith and who are not afraid to ask themselves difficult questions.

This book's message frees guilt-ridden people to accept God's love. In my 30 years of parish ministry I have found that almost everyone is secretly worried about whether they're good enough. When they raise the question, even obliquely, I give them this book. Many, many people have come back to tell me how welcome and freeing its message was.Increasingly, people outside the church seem to see Christianity as punitive and rigid. This book would be a good corrective for that attitude.Because of the book's illustrations, short sections, and large font, some people fear that it will be shallow. When they read the text, however, they find quite the opposite. Those very factors make it appealing and clear.

From the off, and particularly from the question/answer section, it is clear that this book is advocating Universalism - that everyone will experience salvation whether or not they have rejected God and His ways. Why would someone who has rejected God be forced to spend eternity in His presence?I believe in God's unconditional love and acceptance, but they can only BOTH be experienced after someone has accepted Christ and appropriated His sacrifice for themselves.I found their book "Don't forgive too soon" to be much better...

A first class read. Don't be fooled by the cover. This is a very good book tackling complex issues and is aimed at adults, although it could be used for children. The piece on the Prodigal Son is a good example, although I'm not sure I fully agree with their interpretation, it definitely gives anew perspective and a lot of food for thought and reflection

A most excellent book on rediscovering the true dynamic of being a Christian

The book was in good order, some notes were written in pencil, nice to see someone else's thoughts! Came in good time and was a great price

Great book, simple vision but effective lessons. This book shows that less is more, and that there are no need for extravagant words or long winded sentences in order to talk about faith. Great, I liked it.