John Van Hagen

In Promise and Poison, psychologist and former Catholic priest John Van Hagen argues that the long-standing Jewish hope for the history-changing intervention of YHWH and the cursed, shameful crucifixion of Jesus were two elements from which emerged new moral communities whose members were soon called Christians. While the history of Emerging Christianity appears fraught with battles about what to believe (orthodoxy), what often goes unnoticed is the intense struggle to live a virtuous life (orthopraxis). In their desperate efforts at self-definition, communities demonized outsiders and held insiders to unrealistic standards of conduct. That insistence on living a highly moral life was also fueled by the promise of a new afterlife on a transformed earth. The presence of retaliatory rage lay close to the surface. While the verbal violence toward those others only became actuated when Christians gained political power, the pressure for remaining a highly moral community spawned hypocrisy and harsh competition among insiders. This religion's moral struggle in ancient times is also a challenge for us today. Can we establish boundaries which are so necessary for an identity as a moral community without demonizing those outside or ostracizing those inside who are perceived to be different? The United States still struggles with this question.

In Agnostic at the Altar, former Catholic priest and psychologist John Van Hagen engages the voices of the ancient Jewish prophets in an effort to find something of a universal voice that speaks to all people. He builds upon the work of Scripture scholars, religious writers, and his own experiences to pave a path by which readers can engage in religion, while at the same time defending against harmful religious claims and practices. The prophets, who first appeared in Palestine in the Axial Age, translated their experience of the transcendent into magnificent stories that began with a time of intimacy with their God, a later time of betrayal and turmoil, and a future reconciliation at the end of time. Later, Christians adopted these themes as their own. Their stories emphasize justice and right worship as a way toward a meaningful and peaceful future. Their insights into a spiritual dimension of reality brought purpose to millions of lives. In this uncertain time of increasing global tension and strife, they could do the same for us. Agnostic at the Altar makes a compelling case that the ancient prescriptions for a just way of living together are not only historically significant, but in perfect keeping with an evolutionary-based desire that all people live in harmony. ""In Agnostic at the Altar, Dr. John Van Hagen offers a remarkably thoughtful, scholarly, yet highly personal reflection on the stories and wisdom of the great Jewish prophets such as Elijah, Ezekiel, Amos, Jeremiah, and Jesus in an attempt to better understand and appreciate the spiritual and transcendent nature of the Judeo-Christian tradition through these prophetic models. Dr. Van Hagen, like so many people today, is agnostic yet searching for meaning, purpose, wisdom, and truth through the stories told within the Judeo-Christian worldview. Anyone interested in a deeper appreciation and better understanding of these spiritual and religious giants within these faith traditions will absolutely love this book and won't be able to put it down."" --Thomas Plante, Santa Clara University ""Van Hagen combines an honest agnosticism with critical biblical scholarship, his insights as a psychologist, and an open-eyed awareness of both the blessings and toxins of organized religion to share what we can learn from the Jewish prophets (including Jesus) about embracing the ambiguities of our time as we strive for moral clarity and religious integrity."" --Robert Miller, Juniata College ""In Agnostic at the Altar, John Van Hagen, a clinical psychologist and former priest, takes us on a scholarly, but also very personal journey as he searches for transcendence in the writings of the Old Testament prophets. Most agnostics have separated themselves from institutional religion, but Van Hagen, in his reflective agnosticism, is delving into the heart of religion in the stories of the Jewish prophets in order to find a middle ground between the deficits of organized religion and his need for transcendence. For anyone today who struggles with the failures of organized religion, who wonders where God is amidst the chaos, destruction, and anguish in the world, and yet who still is drawn to the transcendent, Agnostic at the Altar is a timely, well written, comforting, and valuable resource."" --Brian Cahill, author of Cops, Cons and Grace ""John Van Hagen has written a book that is about his struggles with the stories of the prophets while contemplating his place at the altar of his church. Yet it reminded me of Jacob's wrestling with an angel. In this book, Dr. Van Hagen wrestles with destroying angels, the angels of our better natures and the angels of ancient times and legend. He wrestles with the prophets of the Bible, engaging them to wrest from them their historical context, their personalities, their unique visions and lessons of wisdom, social justice and the meaning of a life of value. His gifts as both psychologist and priest give the reader victory over ignorance,

In Agnostic at the Altar, former Catholic priest and psychologist John Van Hagen engages the voices of the ancient Jewish prophets in an effort to find something of a universal voice that speaks to all people. He builds upon the work of Scripture scholars, religious writers, and his own experiences to pave a path by which readers can engage in religion, while at the same time defending against harmful religious claims and practices. The prophets, who first appeared in Palestine in the Axial Age, translated their experience of the transcendent into magnificent stories that began with a time of intimacy with their God, a later time of betrayal and turmoil, and a future reconciliation at the end of time. Later, Christians adopted these themes as their own. Their stories emphasize justice and right worship as a way toward a meaningful and peaceful future. Their insights into a spiritual dimension of reality brought purpose to millions of lives. In this uncertain time of increasing global tension and strife, they could do the same for us. Agnostic at the Altar makes a compelling case that the ancient prescriptions for a just way of living together are not only historically significant, but in perfect keeping with an evolutionary-based desire that all people live in harmony. ""In Agnostic at the Altar, Dr. John Van Hagen offers a remarkably thoughtful, scholarly, yet highly personal reflection on the stories and wisdom of the great Jewish prophets such as Elijah, Ezekiel, Amos, Jeremiah, and Jesus in an attempt to better understand and appreciate the spiritual and transcendent nature of the Judeo-Christian tradition through these prophetic models. Dr. Van Hagen, like so many people today, is agnostic yet searching for meaning, purpose, wisdom, and truth through the stories told within the Judeo-Christian worldview. Anyone interested in a deeper appreciation and better understanding of these spiritual and religious giants within these faith traditions will absolutely love this book and won't be able to put it down."" --Thomas Plante, Santa Clara University ""Van Hagen combines an honest agnosticism with critical biblical scholarship, his insights as a psychologist, and an open-eyed awareness of both the blessings and toxins of organized religion to share what we can learn from the Jewish prophets (including Jesus) about embracing the ambiguities of our time as we strive for moral clarity and religious integrity."" --Robert Miller, Juniata College ""In Agnostic at the Altar, John Van Hagen, a clinical psychologist and former priest, takes us on a scholarly, but also very personal journey as he searches for transcendence in the writings of the Old Testament prophets. Most agnostics have separated themselves from institutional religion, but Van Hagen, in his reflective agnosticism, is delving into the heart of religion in the stories of the Jewish prophets in order to find a middle ground between the deficits of organized religion and his need for transcendence. For anyone today who struggles with the failures of organized religion, who wonders where God is amidst the chaos, destruction, and anguish in the world, and yet who still is drawn to the transcendent, Agnostic at the Altar is a timely, well written, comforting, and valuable resource."" --Brian Cahill, author of Cops, Cons and Grace ""John Van Hagen has written a book that is about his struggles with the stories of the prophets while contemplating his place at the altar of his church. Yet it reminded me of Jacob's wrestling with an angel. In this book, Dr. Van Hagen wrestles with destroying angels, the angels of our better natures and the angels of ancient times and legend. He wrestles with the prophets of the Bible, engaging them to wrest from them their historical context, their personalities, their unique visions and lessons of wisdom, social justice and the meaning of a life of value. His gifts as both psychologist and priest give the reader victory over ignorance,

In Rescuing Religion John Van Hagen argues that psychological theories and models of psychotherapy can help one hold on to a religious worldview while simultaneously living in a world increasingly described in scientific terms. Rescuing Religion grapples with that tension as it focuses on science s recent challenges to the historicity of the major Bible stories: Moses never existed, Jesus did not start a church. Yet facing such challenges presents us with an opportunity for religious growth. We can now go behind those Bible stories and glimpse the storytellers who in their own times faced enormous crises of faith. We can learn from their struggles and be inspired to face our own global ones. Like those ancient authors, we can search for God s power moving through history, even as we realize that we, like them, can only describe it in finite terms. Throughout the book, readers are buoyed up by examples of remarkable individuals who have sensed and described this movement.