The God of Wild Places

A pastor walks out of the church and into the woods, in pursuit of the God he's lost. Millions of Americans, disillusioned with organized religion, yearn for meaning and transcendence in their lives, and many of them are finding that in nature. When pastor and theologian Tony Jones, Ph.D., had his crisis of faith, brought on by personal trauma and broken relationships, he sought solace in the outdoors - paddling a canoe, hunting with his dog, butchering deer. When he walked out of the church and into the woods, he left the orderly pews and numbered hymns for chaotic spaces and untamed wilderness. And he re-discovered God - a God who brings peace in the midst of storms, a God who lives in the community of our fellow creatures, a God who's acquainted with death. This is the God of wild places. In The God of Wild Places, Tony mines his own experiences, recent research in evolutionary psychology, and ancient wisdom from various spiritual and philosophical traditions to fashion lessons about solitude, the predator-prey relationship, the importance of place, risk, failure, and death, and the chaotic presence of God. Tony's guidance in The God of Wild Places promises to introduce a generation of Americans to the transcendence available only in untamed spaces; his writing draws on wisdom from Christianity to Buddhism, Kant to Cioran, Jim Harrison to Annie Dillard. This is a journey of loss and discovery through forests and fields, lakes and streams, from knowing to unknowing, from finding to losing - from life to death, and then back to life.

Tony Jones, M.Div., PhD, is an outdoorsman, theologian, professor, former pastor, and award-winning writer. He's written a dozen books, including The Sacred Way: Spiritual Practices for Everyday Life, hosts the Reverend Hunter Podcast, teaches writing classes, mentors novice hunters, and guides canoe trips in the Boundary Waters. He holds degrees from Dartmouth College, Fuller Theological Seminary, and Princeton Theological Seminary. He is co-project leader on a 2023-2026 Templeton Foundation-funded study, "Making Meaning in a Post-Religious America." Tony is married, has three children and two dogs, and lives in Edina, Minnesota.

Introduction Chapter One: Vestments Chapter Two: Peace Chapter Three: Place Chapter Four: Companions Chapter Five: Predator Chapter Six: Failure Chapter Seven: Risk Chapter Eight: Meat Acknowledgments Notes Index About the Author