Even if all of the elements we know to be significant in the process of reconciliation were present, reconciliation would not necessarily take place. Reconciliation is a nonlinear, nonalgorithmic process that involves "matters of the heart." From emergent creativity and its links to mysticism, to the evolution of emotions as drivers of thought, Awakening weaves cutting-edge discoveries in complexity theory with philosophical reflections on consciousness and language, drawing on Lonergan and Wittgenstein. Awakening as a phenomenon takes on a vibrant vitality as an aspect of transpersonal psychology and it manifests as imperatives to take responsibility for our relationships, to address complex challenges of justice, and to adopt a heart-based approach to peacebuilding.

Synopsis: To question the idea of hell as a default destination is to question the entire fundamentalist evangelical worldview. This book does just that. Fundamentalist evangelicalism holds that the Bible is an infallible authority and that all are born in sin. Sinners go to hell, but Jesus, taking their place, died to save them from hell. How did this belief come to be? What were the effects on people brought up with a belief in the reality of hell? What has been the process of people leaving the fundamentalist evangelical movement? In Bad Girls and Boys Go To Hell (or not), Gloria Neufeld Redekop takes us on her own personal journey as she engages a movement in which she was raised, conducting a careful study of the history of fundamentalist evangelicalism, the attachment to a literal-factual interpretation of the Bible, and an analysis of the experience of those who have left the movement. Endorsements: "A sense of liberation does indeed emerge from knowing that what one was taught as a child is not an eternal reality, but rather a brand of Christianity born out of specific political and theological disputes in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. I thank Gloria Neufeld Redekop for helping set captives free from fear, and for clarifying their predicament to those who have never before understood fundamentalist evangelicalism." --From the Foreword by Virginia Ramey Mollenkott, author of Omnigender "Only those who have been members of, and thus violated by, fundamentalist evangelicalism can name the pain, expose the guilt, and lay bare the reality that Gloria Neufeld Redekop expresses in this book. To read it is to experience both exhilarating freedom and a new understanding of Christianity." --John Shelby Spong, author of Re-Claiming the Bible for a Non-Religious World "Not every reader will agree with every one of Gloria Neufeld Redekop's conclusions . . . But all readers should appreciate the honesty, care, seriousness, and sensitivity of this book. It is a significant memoir, as well as a challenging theological treatise and important sociological study of those who have left fundamentalism behind." --Mark Noll, author of Turning Points Author Biography: Gloria Neufeld Redekop (PhD, University of Ottawa) has taught in the College of the Humanities at Carleton University and in the Faculty of Human Sciences at Saint Paul University in Ottawa, Ontario. She is author of The Work of Their Hands: Mennonite Women's Societies in Canada (1996).

Even if all of the elements we know to be significant in the process of reconciliation were present, reconciliation would not necessarily take place. Reconciliation is a nonlinear, nonalgorithmic process that involves “matters of the heart.� From emergent creativity and its links to mysticism, to the evolution of emotions as drivers of thought, Awakening weaves cutting-edge discoveries in complexity theory with philosophical reflections on consciousness and language, drawing on Lonergan and Wittgenstein. Awakening as a phenomenon takes on a vibrant vitality as an aspect of transpersonal psychology and it manifests as imperatives to take responsibility for our relationships, to address complex challenges of justice, and to adopt a heart-based approach to peacebuilding. 

Global crises-from pandemics to climate change-demonstrate the vulnerability of the biosphere and each of us as individuals, calling for responses guided by creative analysis and compassionate reflection. Transforming, building on its companion volume, Awakening, explores actions that create paths of understanding and collaboration as the groundwork for transformative community. The community of scholars in this volume offers perspectives that collectively form a complex tapestry of resources. The volume engages with the complex range of challenges and possibilities across a variety of sectors, and provides an interdisciplinary approach to the prospects for transformative healing of human and non-human communities, and the global environment we inhabit. Spirituality is essential to this, and, as such, the work explores vital dimensions of emerging spiritual concepts, methods, and practices that harbor interfaith potential for genuine reconciliation and communion.

Global crises-from pandemics to climate change-demonstrate the vulnerability of the biosphere and each of us as individuals, calling for responses guided by creative analysis and compassionate reflection. Transforming, building on its companion volume, Awakening, explores actions that create paths of understanding and collaboration as the groundwork for transformative community. The community of scholars in this volume offers perspectives that collectively form a complex tapestry of resources. The volume engages with the complex range of challenges and possibilities across a variety of sectors, and provides an interdisciplinary approach to the prospects for transformative healing of human and non-human communities, and the global environment we inhabit. Spirituality is essential to this, and, as such, the work explores vital dimensions of emerging spiritual concepts, methods, and practices that harbor interfaith potential for genuine reconciliation and communion.