Redeemer Presbyterian Church NYC and Monism

Redeemer’s website has a “Recommended Resource” - a book by Henri Nouwen on the web site.

http://www.redeemer.com/learn/resources/cultural_renewal.html (under the “Leadership” tab)

In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership Henri Nouwen wrote: “Many of the people I met in Cancun believe that without an explicit personal profession of faith in Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, we cannot make it to heaven. They are convinced that God has called us to convert every human being to Jesus. They are very committed disciples, not hesitant to pay the cost of their discipleship. ...

Still I felt somewhat uncomfortable, even though this belief was present in my own upbringing. My conviction as a young man was there is no salvation outside the Catholic Church and that it was my task to bring all “non-believers” into the one true Church. ...

Today I personally believe that while Jesus came to open the door to God’s house, all human beings can walk through the door, whether they know about Jesus or not. Today I see it as my call to help every person claim his or her own way to God. I feel deeply called to witness for Jesus as the One who is the source of my own spiritual journey and thus create the possibility for other people to know Jesus and commit themselves to Him. I am so truly convinced that the Spirit of God is present in our midst and that each person can be touched by God’s Spirit in ways far beyond my own comprehension and intention.

Sabbatical Journey, Henri Nouwen, pg 51, 1998 Hardcover Edition

“What finally counts is not whether we know Jesus and His Words but whether we live our lives in the Spirit of Jesus. The Spirit of Jesus is the Spirit of Love.” Bread for the Journey, Aug. 4

“The realization of the Kingdom of God is God’s work, but for God to make God’s love fully visible in us, we must respond to God’s love with our own love.” Bread for the Journey, Dec. 14

"The God who dwells in our inner sanctuary is the same as the one who dwells in the inner sanctuary of each human being." Here and Now by Henri Nouwen; pg. 22

“Prayer is soul work because our souls are those sacred centers where all is one, ... It is in the heart of God that we can come to the full realization of the unity of all that is.” Bread for the Journey (This is a pantheistic belief.)

In his book, In the Name of Jesus, Nouwen says that Christian leaders must move from the "moral to the mystical."