Recently, I was asked to review Ogun R. Holder's new book Rants to Revelations: Unabashedly Honest Reflections on Life, Spirituality and the Meaning of God. I proceed to do so.
I had some difficulty in reading Holder's "Rants to Revelations," as I found the scholarly side of my personality in constant conflict with the religious/emotive side of my consciousness. The book is indeed what its subtitle proclaims it to be, in that it is genuine and honest, and it does deal with reflections on Life, Spirituality, and the Meaning of God. In that aspect, the book was thoroughly enjoyable. The trials and tribulations of escaping a type of Christianity which was moribund in a theology and praxis that didn't line up with the author's experience and reality - or the texts of the religion - is one which many of us babies of boomers can relate to. The anecdotes and life stories are amusing and instructive, and the freshness of a personal testimony of the author's journey to religious freedom, as well as a strong spiritual consciousness that he can relate to, is quite useful to others on the same journey. On the other hand, I found myself often problematizing the book, and some elements were grating from a literary perspective.
That being said, I am of two minds in wholeheartedly recommending this book as a testimonial read for those on the same path. There are several reasons for this. (Cons to begin, then pros, OK?) The first is the incredible disjointedness of this work. For example, I found the fact that the author continually referenced his faith fellowship (Unity, founded by New Thought mystic and spiritualist Charles Fillmore in 1889) and the joys he found in its theology and practices to be difficult to relate to when he didn't actually begin to flesh those out until chapter 12. This, however, is somewhat mitigated when one reads this as the series of enhanced blog posts that it is - likely aimed at an audience familiar with either Unity or the general hybridization of New Thought and "mainstream" Christian thought (whatever that is). In addition, there was a persistent use of trite tropes, which were unfortunately dished out as pearls of wisdom newly discovered (for example an analysis of the horrifying thoughts generated by standard children's prayers or the comparison between Jesus and Santa Claus - though quite funny, I will admit). THIS, however, is mitigated by the fact that, for the author, they apparently are new. I finally realized that this was so when he claimed to create the word "catharting," a word that has been in use by psychotherapists since the late 1800's, and began to be popularized by Hans Toch in the 1960's. For someone raised only peripherally in our cultural milieu, many popular sayings, advice and cultural comparisons likely appear new and fresh, and rightly so. The third issue I had with the book is in regards to the actual philosophy and theology espoused in the book, which often leans towards a blend between New Thought and Prosperity Gospel. This problem, however, does not detract from the quality of the work, but simply caused me to engage the ideas taken for granted in the work in a critical light - always a useful thing. After all, if a book doesn't make me exercise my brain, it isn't of much literary use to me! Finally, on some things the author is, to me, outright wrong. A good example is his insistence that no child is born "with an inborn penchant for discrimination against another" (pg. 61) - a statement belied by the experiences of anyone who has seen a small child in conflict with someone else who is competing with them for resources!
From here, due to my devotion to the sandwich method of writing reviews, we move to the things I really LIKED about the work. For myself, the most useful facet of the book was the reaffirmation that we are all "strangers in this world" searching for a home, and might even be called to be so. The book really shines when is describes the journey of self-actualization that the author went through.For example, I found myself heartily amen-ing his realization that there is no way to separate the spiritual and the personal (pg. 21), In addition, the illustrations by David Hayward are a joy, and are well chosen to compliment each chapter.
Most importantly, when reading the book, I found myself forced to critically analyze some of the passages, and periodically the book would reveal a turn of thought that was simply delightful. For example, Holder finds a useful way to deal with the concept of an evolving consciousness in a non-dualistic world by conceiving of a "peak optimization of our expression" of the Divine (pg. 27). And for those who are unfamiliar with the "principles" of Unity, chapter 12 offers an excellent chance to engage and critique and analyze these principles, which - agree or not - certainly are worth considering. (For the record, I did not buy all of them, but that didn't detract from their value to me. I took a lot of notes in the margins.) Likewise, for me, Holder's understanding of relationship as an opportunity to "discover the best of ourselves" due to the fact that the other illuminates our own idiosyncrasies is useful, in that he begins to relate to relationship as a spiritual practice which can help us in our "journey to wholeness" (pg. 123). And his statement that the necessity of questioning our beliefs as part and parcel of being aware is good advice for any individual on their life journey. "Questioning a belief does not make it wrong, but it does ask if that belief still serves" (pg. 144) - indeed!
Perhaps the most important contribution of this book lies in the last chapter. In his discussion of the possible future permutations of "God" in human consciousness, Holder delves deeply into geek-dom, with a discussion of the proposed coming (technological) singularity, the ramifications of self-aware non-human consciousness, and a short overview of prevailing thought in this field. For some, this is new and unfamiliar territory, and the author offers a simple and revealing look at its ins and outs.
In the end, I would recommend this book as light reading for those on a similar spiritual journey, or perhaps looking to begin one. When read as a series of essays on the subject of life development, it is an engaging and at times enlightening read which, if nothing else, may cause you yourself to question your beliefs, or at least heartily reaffirm them. And for those not familiar with the New Thought movement, I suggest you read chapter 12 first, then reread it in the context of the book.
(Full disclosure: I received this book for free in order to review it. I was not required in any way to give it a positive review. If I did, it was because I genuinely enjoyed it :)
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