Its Really All About God: How Islam, Atheism, and Judaism Made Me a Better Christian

Praise for It′s Really All About God "Why are thousands not saying what this man is saying? Such obvious truth must be made even more obvious, and this is exactly what Samir Selmanovic is doing for all of us and for the future of humanity. After you read this wise book, you will say, ′Of course!′ and ′Thank God!′" —Fr. Richard Rohr, O.F.M., Center for Action and Contemplation, Albuquerque, New Mexico "We need a million more Samirs on the planet—people of conviction and humility who know that the vast mystery called God calls us not to the arrogance of ′ownership′ but to the beloved community." —Parker J. Palmer, author, A Hidden Wholeness, Let Your Life Speak, and The Courage to Teach "Samir Selmanovic offers a deeply personal reflection on faith, doubt, and ultimately, spiritual peace. . . . [He tells] a sophisticated and introspective story that simultaneously stirs the heart, challenges the intellect, and inspires the soul." —Daisy Khan, executive director, American Society for Muslim Advancement (ASMA) "In a world in which religious traditions are too often digging their heels into the tired sod of exclusionary self–righteousness, this love song to the God of all Existence is a much longed for work of hope and optimism." —Rabbi Marcia Prager, author, The Path of Blessing: Experiencing the Energy and Abundance of the Divine "If atheists, agnostics, and non–religious people like myself want to gain understanding and improve the world . . . we need to read not only the hard–line voices of ancient religions but also the freshest and wisest voices of modern progressive religion. Samir Selmanovic′s is just such a fresh voice." —Greg Epstein, humanist chaplain, Harvard University, and author, Good Without God: What a Billion Non–Religious People Do Believe "For all Seekers of the Truth, Samir′s deeply insightful, uniquely personal, lyrical quest for a relationship with God provides a clear vision on the need to dig deep, transcending traditional boundaries of faith and theology, be it Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu." —Rathi Raja, president, Arsha Vedanta Center of Long Island, and executive director, Young Indian CultureGroup

Acknowledgments. Introduction. Prologue. LifeWins. Chapter 1 Living with a Splinter. Chapter 2 The Secret of the Ordinary. Chapter 3 God Management Systems. Chapter 4 Why Is God Not More Obvious? Chapter 5 Where Does Your Heart Go? Chapter 6 Your God Is Too Big. Chapter 7 The Blessing of Atheism. Chapter 8 One World at a Time. Chapter 9 When My God Becomes Our God. Epilogue My Story and Maybe Yours. Reader’sGuide. Notes. TheAuthor. Index.

Samir Selmanovic, Ph.D., is a founder and Christian co–leader of Faith House Manhattan, an interfaith "community of communities" that brings together forward–looking Christians, Muslims, Jews, atheists, and others who seek to thrive interdependently. Samir is also the director of a Christian community in New York City called Citylights and serves on the Interfaith Relations commission of the National Council of Churches and speaks nationally and internationally (www.samirselmanovic.com).

Selmanovic′s (founder & Christian coleader, Faith House Manhattan) book is in part the story of his remarkable spiritual and personal journey from Croatian Islam to Christianity to, finally, something richer beyond the conventions of Christian faith. To Selmanovic, modern religions and denominations have become self–serving God–management systems, containers and dispensers of God, and his aim is to embrace the diversities and even the mutually exclusive mysteries of the three Abrahamic faiths and atheism to gain a new perspective that is not about ourselves but about God. VERDICT A touching and personal point of entry into cross–denominational thinking. Recommended. ( Library Journal , October 8, 2009)