What do we mean by “God” in today’s world? Do we even need “God” anymore?

How many names for Divinity are there? Do the names for God change as we mature as individuals, evolve as a species, and face a critical “turning time” in human and planetary history?”

Too often, notions of God have been used as a means to control and to promote a narrow worldview. In Naming the Unnameable, renowned theologian and author Matthew Fox ignites our imaginations by offering a colorful range of Divine Names gathered from scientists and poets and mystics past and present, inviting us to always begin where true spirituality begins: From experience.

Ultimately, no name for God suffices. We are challenged to continue to probe the rich ecology of human spirituality to ask questions, embrace paradox, and listen silently to the deepest of life’s mysteries.

Reviews
“Naming the Unnamable offers a smorgasbord of spiritual delights that will enrich the prayer life of both believers and nonbelievers. Fox’s radiant images and creative appellations transform the generic “God” into a vibrant, intimate Source for personal communion. Even those who have abandoned conventional religion will find wisdom and inspiration in these beautifully articulated reflections.” –Estelle Frankel, author of Sacred Therapy and The Wisdom of Not Knowing

“How refreshing! Fox shows how we can think about God in so many different ways, freeing our minds and liberating our imaginations. It is easy not to believe the narrow conception of God that atheists do not believe in, but it is hard not to be inspired by a God who is energy, breath, life, flow, love, joy and the cause of wonder. This book is timely, important and admirably brief, it is also open ended.” –Rupert Sheldrake, author of The Presence of the Past

“These are not just names but 89 theories of God across the ages and the planet, each focusing on the characteristic it deems most divine. Matthew Fox leads us on a startling and beautiful journey through humanity’s capacity to envision God, showing every way of looking at God is legitimate if it raises the aspirations of its adherents and their ability to carry them out. Is there objectively a God? What ‘God’ even means explodes in this little book like fireworks in the mind.” –Nancy Abrams, author of A God That Could Be Real

“I’ve always experienced the Divine as expressing through everything around me: the squirrel chattering up the oak tree, the waves crashing on the shore, my baby boy looking me in the eyes. Matthew Fox in Naming the Unnameable allows us to explore all of the many and dynamic ways that God speaks and breathes and plays in the world.” –Jennifer Berit Listug, co-author with Matthew Fox and Skylar Wilson of Order of the Sacred Earth

“This is a simple book written by a brilliant man who gives us a democratic vision of the names of God. It will be sure to appeal to readers of many faiths, scientists, and nature lovers as well.” –Steven Herrmann, author of Spiritual Democracy

“Matthew Fox leads us on an important yet easily absorbable exploration of the multiplicity of forms in which we perceive the Divine in our lives. While we so readily seek to differentiate, define or even dispel the sacred, we desperately need teachers like Fox who show us the unity in diversity. I suspect that anyone can find some names in this book that resonate for them, whether scientist or artist, believer or atheist, old or young, female or male. Fox’s depth of insight and abundant compassion is felt throughout the pages as he helps us embrace and share in the wholeness of who We are.” –Sky Nelson-Isaacs, M.Sc. Physics and author of Living in Flow

“In Naming the Unnameable, Matthew Fox generously brings ‘God’ down to Earth and us into contact with the Great Mystery that dances all around and within us. He brings the arch of Western Religion back home …and with it, opens up a sense of the sacred for all to experience all-ways.” ―Skylar Wilson, co-author with Matthew Fox and Jennifer Berit Listug of Order of the Sacred Earth

“There is a call of profound importance echoing around the world and Matthew Fox is one of those whose empowering courage has given it real depth, resonance, and imagination. Naming the Unnameable is an invitation to deep reflection and the emergence of our true embodied humanity. It is a book of wonderment, of stillness, and it calls us home. Fox gives voice to some of the innumerable names by which we know the numinous mystery of divinity. Should we accept his invitation to courageous contemplation and the unfolding wonderment that would be sure to follow, we may indeed find our way to the global renaissance we so urgently need.” –Mac Macartney, author of The Invisible Path

“Matthew Fox elegantly offers a contemplative practice that transforms the names of God to the experience of God.” –Deepak Chopra MD

About the Author

Rev. Dr. Matthew Fox holds a doctorate in spirituality from the Institut Catholique de Paris and has authored 32 books on spirituality and contemporary culture that have been translated into 69 languages. Fox has devoted 45 years to developing and teaching the tradition of Creation Spirituality and in doing so has reinvented forms of education and worship. His work is inclusive of today’s science and world spiritual traditions and has awakened millions to the much neglected earth-based mystical tradition of the West. He has helped to rediscover Hildegard of Bingen, Meister Eckhart, Thomas Aquinas. Recent books include The Lotus & The Rose: Conversations on Tibetan Buddhism and Mystical Christianity with Lama Tsomo; Order of the Sacred Earth, An Intergenerational Vision of Love and Action with Skylar Wilson and Jennifer Berit Listug; new paperback version of Stations of the Cosmic Christ with Bishop Marc Andrus.  A Special Eckhart@Erfurt workshop in June, 2019.