The God Mask: a Journey into Risk, Danger and an Extraordinary Discovery

William A. Holmes has written "The God Mask" as a companion volume to his book, "Mature Christianity" published in 2010 with endorsements by Jim Lehrer of the News Hour, U. S. Senator George McGovern (Rtd), Bishop Susan Morrison (Rtd.), and Dr. Philip Wogaman (Rtd.), Wesley Theological Seminary. In the introduction to "The God Mask" Holmes says: From the most primitive of tribes to the most sophisticated and developed of societies, human beings show a nearly universal propensity to disguise themselves with masks - literally or by way of facial expressions. And, such masks both conceal and reveal the identity of those who wear them. Following a fascinating discussion in Chapter I on the role of masks, he takes the reader into a "Mystery" both concealed and revealed - a "Mystery" whose disguises he has pondered most of his life and to which traditionally we point with the symbolic letters: "G" "O" "D." The chapters unfold in the context of a hazardous adventure employing the metaphor of a "Safari to the Sacred" and drawing on the wisdom of certain "guides" along the way. We find ourselves in the company of Mother Teresa, Trudy, the "Bag Lady," David Hume, Joseph Wesley Mathews and a number of Jesus Seminar Scholars. After leaps across crevices, entertaining unexpected strangers and posting guards against "poachers," the safari moves well beyond theological abstractions into risk-filled realms of human encounters. We enter areas of certain danger - social, political and economic - where radical caring is required and where "life in Christ" means "being God's love in the world." What once seemed hidden is now revealed with a white-hot clarity which is almost more than we can bear. In his final chapters Holmes moves his readers beyond the theological awe he has engendered to consider how "being God's love in the world" calls them to address the innocent human suffering around them through many praxes. He illustrates this with reference to historic and contemporary movements of our time and organizations that engage "The Faithful" in meaningful service.