Reviewed Book: Redfield, James. The celestine prophecy: an adventure. New York: Warner Books, 1993

Nosterud, Rolf

English

Wilfrid Laurier University

ConsensusVolume 21Issue 2 Aspects of Ecumenity Article 2711-1-1995The celestine prophecy: an adventureRolf NosterudFollow this and additional works at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensusThis Book Reviews is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Consensus by anauthorized editor of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact scholarscommons@wlu.ca.Recommended CitationNosterud, Rolf (1995) "The celestine prophecy: an adventure," Consensus: Vol. 21 : Iss. 2 , Article 27.Available at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus/vol21/iss2/27144 ConsensusThe Celestine Prophecy: An AdventureJames RedfieldNew York: Warner Books, 1993Several decades ago, Scott Peck’s book A Road Less Travelled becamea best seller and a guidepost for a new spirituality in the 60s. That bookmade little reference to the Christian tradition but instead led the babyboomer generation to embrace a selection of ancient religious aphorismsblended with the new psychology, a kind of “blessed individualism” for theNew Age.Today, another best seller is seeking to become the new guidepost tocarry these baby boomers in their spiritual quest. The Celestine Prophecyby James Redfield (1993) appeals to the same readers by placing the babyboomer generation at centre stage in history. Redfield’s mythical storyis constructed around an archaeological discovery of nine prophecies orinsights that had been lost in the Peruvian mountains of South America forthousands of years. The key to unveiling these prophecies, the manuscriptpredicts, is a sudden “awakening of consciousness in the sixth decade ofthe twentieth century”. This is like including your child’s name in theirbedtime story. It hooks the baby boomers into swallowing the trite religioussubstance in the reminder of the book. The Celestine Prophecy weavesmany New Age ideas into a larger sacred story, much like the Book of Acts.It meets a need for the older New Age generation to feel “plugged in” tohistory.One might dismiss this book as a simplistic but innocuous offering of“cotton candy” to the spiritual child inside modern adults. But Redfield isnot content to ignore the Christian tradition. On the contrary, this storymakes a frontal attack on the Christian church. He suggests that the churchhas been suppressing the evolution of human spirituality by attempting tocontrol the hearts, minds and pocketbooks of people in every culture. TheCelestine Prophecy presents a damning picture of the Christian traditionin that it paints all of Christendom on the same canvas as the Spanishinquisition. The result is that, in this time of spiritual renewal, many areled to keep their distance from the church. Many unchurched continue toview the church with great suspicion, preferring instead to try and satisfytheir need for “fulfilment” in ego-centred, spontaneous experiences thatreinforce their desire for a private faith, free of any need for commitmentand community.Meanwhile, the casualties of secular life increase; they are people whofeel “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36).Christian congregations engaging in outreach will find many who are opento the gospel of Jesus Christ. Yet, we can not wait for them to comethrough the church doors. Many of these folks are turned off the churchby literature like The Celestine Prophecies, or perhaps even personal anec-dotes from people who have felt undone by earlier encounters with church.Book Reviews 145Unfortunately, there are many who continue to reject our faith communitybecause the church has not properly communicated the gospel to them. We,the church, need to accept our lumps for these miscommunications in thepast. But, more importantly, we need to recognize what we are up againstand learn how to proclaim the gospel anew to a hurt, harassed and help-less generation. The popularity of The Celestine Prophecy is another wakeup call for the church to reach out and engage those fragmented lives inour midst. They are looking for connections to God and the larger humanstory. We have a real story to tell.Rolf K. NosterudEvangelical Lutheran Church In Canada,Winnipeg, ManitobaTemptation: A Biblical and Psychological ApproachWayne E. OatesLouisville, Kentucky: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1991109 pp. $9.95Like a great Fire House Chili, this book is best appreciated only afterone has stewed over it for a while. Although the reading is not difficult, ittakes time to contemplate and assimilate the concepts Oates sets before usfor consideration.In writing this book Oates basically had three objectives. The firstwas “to demonstrate the function of temptation in the formation of charac-ter”. The second was “to develop a holistic perception of the biblical andpsychological perspectives of temptation” and the third was “to present anappreciation of the spirituality that is quietly present in the work of psycho-therapists in their perspectives of temptation”.Having worked in the field of psychotherapy before entering the or-dained ministry, I have a keen appreciation for the lack of communicationand understanding between psychotherapists and members of the clergy.One of the gifts Oates’ book presents us with is a conceptual foundationfor building a bridge of understanding between these disciplines. By pro-viding an insightful description of temptation from both theological andpsychological perspectives, Oates gives us a common ground upon whichwe can share our concerns and insights in terms we can both understandand appreciate. This, without a doubt, will be of great help to those who,in the course of their ministry, find themselves dealing with people in thesecular helping professions.As helpful as this might be though, I find Oates’ theological interpre-tation of temptation even more helpful for my day to day work as a parishpastor. In the grand tradition of Karl Menninger, Oates introduces his

The celestine prophecy: an adventure

Scholars Commons

Consensus
Volume 21
Issue 2 Aspects of Ecumenity Article 27
11-1-1995
The celestine prophecy: an adventure
Rolf Nosterud
Follow this and additional works at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus
This Book Reviews is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Consensus by an
authorized editor of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact scholarscommons@wlu.ca.
Recommended Citation
Nosterud, Rolf (1995) "The celestine prophecy: an adventure," Consensus: Vol. 21 : Iss. 2 , Article 27.
Available at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus/vol21/iss2/27
144 Consensus
The Celestine Prophecy: An Adventure
James Redfield
New York: Warner Books, 1993
Several decades ago, Scott Peck’s book A Road Less Travelled became
a best seller and a guidepost for a new spirituality in the 60s. That book
made little reference to the Christian tradition but instead led the baby
boomer generation to embrace a selection of ancient religious aphorisms
blended with the new psychology, a kind of “blessed individualism” for the
New Age.
Today, another best seller is seeking to become the new guidepost to
carry these baby boomers in their spiritual quest. The Celestine Prophecy
by James Redfield (1993) appeals to the same readers by placing the baby
boomer generation at centre stage in history. Redfield’s mythical story
is constructed around an archaeological discovery of nine prophecies or
insights that had been lost in the Peruvian mountains of South America for
thousands of years. The key to unveiling these prophecies, the manuscript
predicts, is a sudden “awakening of consciousness in the sixth decade of
the twentieth century”. This is like including your child’s name in their
bedtime story. It hooks the baby boomers into swallowing the trite religious
substance in the reminder of the book. The Celestine Prophecy weaves
many New Age ideas into a larger sacred story, much like the Book of Acts.
It meets a need for the older New Age generation to feel “plugged in” to
history.
One might dismiss this book as a simplistic but innocuous offering of
“cotton candy” to the spiritual child inside modern adults. But Redfield is
not content to ignore the Christian tradition. On the contrary, this story
makes a frontal attack on the Christian church. He suggests that the church
has been suppressing the evolution of human spirituality by attempting to
control the hearts, minds and pocketbooks of people in every culture. The
Celestine Prophecy presents a damning picture of the Christian tradition
in that it paints all of Christendom on the same canvas as the Spanish
inquisition. The result is that, in this time of spiritual renewal, many are
led to keep their distance from the church. Many unchurched continue to
view the church with great suspicion, preferring instead to try and satisfy
their need for “fulfilment” in ego-centred, spontaneous experiences that
reinforce their desire for a private faith, free of any need for commitment
and community.
Meanwhile, the casualties of secular life increase; they are people who
feel “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36).
Christian congregations engaging in outreach will find many who are open
to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Yet, we can not wait for them to come
through the church doors. Many of these folks are turned off the church
by literature like The Celestine Prophecies, or perhaps even personal anec-
dotes from people who have felt undone by earlier encounters with church.
Book Reviews 145
Unfortunately, there are many who continue to reject our faith community
because the church has not properly communicated the gospel to them. We,
the church, need to accept our lumps for these miscommunications in the
past. But, more importantly, we need to recognize what we are up against
and learn how to proclaim the gospel anew to a hurt, harassed and help-
less generation. The popularity of The Celestine Prophecy is another wake
up call for the church to reach out and engage those fragmented lives in
our midst. They are looking for connections to God and the larger human
story. We have a real story to tell.
Rolf K. Nosterud
Evangelical Lutheran Church In Canada,
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Temptation: A Biblical and Psychological Approach
Wayne E. Oates
Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1991
109 pp. $9.95
Like a great Fire House Chili, this book is best appreciated only after
one has stewed over it for a while. Although the reading is not difficult, it
takes time to contemplate and assimilate the concepts Oates sets before us
for consideration.
In writing this book Oates basically had three objectives. The first
was “to demonstrate the function of temptation in the formation of charac-
ter”. The second was “to develop a holistic perception of the biblical and
psychological perspectives of temptation” and the third was “to present an
appreciation of the spirituality that is quietly present in the work of psycho-
therapists in their perspectives of temptation”.
Having worked in the field of psychotherapy before entering the or-
dained ministry, I have a keen appreciation for the lack of communication
and understanding between psychotherapists and members of the clergy.
One of the gifts Oates’ book presents us with is a conceptual foundation
for building a bridge of understanding between these disciplines. By pro-
viding an insightful description of temptation from both theological and
psychological perspectives, Oates gives us a common ground upon which
we can share our concerns and insights in terms we can both understand
and appreciate. This, without a doubt, will be of great help to those who,
in the course of their ministry, find themselves dealing with people in the
secular helping professions.
As helpful as this might be though, I find Oates’ theological interpre-
tation of temptation even more helpful for my day to day work as a parish
pastor. In the grand tradition of Karl Menninger, Oates introduces his


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