The God of Wild Places

Rediscovering the Divine in the Untamed Outdoors

By: Tony Jones

Narrated by: Tony Jones

Length: 6 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

A generation of Americans, disillusioned with organized religion, still longs for meaning and transcendence. In The God of Wild Places, theologian and former pastor Tony Jones traces his own journey out of the church and into the woods, guiding listeners to reflect on their own experience of the divine in the wilderness.

©2024 Tony Jones (P)2024 Rowman & Littlefield

Many hunting anecdotes (too many)!!

This was a less than average memoir because of its focus on hunting anecdotes. Using glimpses into life through anecdotes is fine (in the manner of Pasternak) but there seems to be very little criteria or importance as to which ones! He also completely avoids (except through an occasional remark) the important story of his ministry which fell apart (did they ask him to leave ? Did he decide to leave??) how has he dealt with his narcissism and emotional detachment… by the end of the story it seems that he has become a preacher of a new sort, with a new theology, platform, books, conferences, teaching, etc. (His desire for importance and admiration arising out of rejection continues to propel him). There is a superficial vibe that he has not really gone deeper to deal with these issues. Hunting is fun, it is healthy but is also sport and diversion. We no longer need to hunt to live. It is a sport filled with exhilarating moments and trophies and very posh hunting resorts. He seems to constantly seeking stimulation; perhaps what he needs is to spend real time in the desert (like the desert fathers he quotes). He wants to appear deep without any depth. It is as if he became a Darwinian naturalist and tries to connect this with God in the most tenuous way. It is clear that our enlightenment Evangelical and Protestant Christianity bear much of the responsibility, especially in formation of pastors through academic training. The system creates the thirst for degrees, books, competition, etc which fed right into his rejection. And now many of these seminaries teach “online,” where there is even less human formation. Until these structures are abolished in favor of places of true formation (which is done in Catholic monasteries and religious orders and Orthodox seminaries) we will continue to suffer the same outcomes. It is unfortunate that he did not take advantage of the places which are spiritually healthy, rather than simply suggest hunting as the solution.

A journey to peace

Tony shares an intimate glimpse into the life of a man destined to serve. Like all of us it’s met with challenges. Heart break and disruptions. At its core we find peace in that which we surround ourselves.