Don Cupitt has for years been teaching philosophy of religion in Cambridge, England. I find him to be one of the most interesting and radical thinkers in England today.

In his book, Cupitt suggests a new spirituality. The old belief in the metaphysical God, Cupitt finds unintelligible. Cupitt is much inspired by thinkers like Wittgenstein, Nietzsche and Kierkegaard, and he advocates a human-centred spirituality without belief in the God of Christian theism. God is for Cupitt the sum of our values and ethical standards. "The true God is not God as a picturesque supernatual fact, but God as our religious ideal", he writes. Cupitt's God is not external, but something you can create through your thoughts and form of life.

Cupitt may be critized like the rest of the postmodern movement. When he writes "reality does not determine language: language determines reality", he is far too radical, and I don't think for instance Wittgenstein would agree with this.

But Cupitt is very interesting. One may get the feeling that he has an agenda, and is thinking with his soul, not merely playing an intellectual game. He challenges you. Cupitt is an excellent writer who should be read and discussed!

I must admit to having a more than vested interest in Mr Cupitt, he was a lecturer in the philosophy of religion at the university in which i now study theology. (Cambridge) His work is to my mind of the most fundamental importance to anyone who is not prepared to dismiss religion as "the opium of the people" but finds its claims to supernatural truth unteneble in the scientific age in which we live. He offers the reader a reason to let go of the traditional dogma of the church, not just because it seems unbelievable these days, but it is he says the prerequisite to finding a true spirituality, and a genuine religious experience in which the individual can be an autonomous moral and personal agent. For many people his approach is far too radical to be taken seriously, (some even find it offensive.) But he allows for this in his book, he says that to understand him one has to make fundamental changes to their outlook on the world and that most people will not be able to do this. I am not a religious person, and this maybe why i had less problems with him than many of the people i study with. But whether you agree with all he says or not, one cant miss the passion with which he writes, nor misunderstand depth of his own spirituality. This book fundamentally altered my view on the world, and my approach to the subject both academically and emotionally has been changed through reading it. He is the one author i recommend to any one who tells me that religion or more specifically christianity is outdated or naive. Read this book, even if you disagree with everything he says, it will give you a much greater idea of why you believe what you do.

Granted, the pictures probably make the rooms look larger than they actually are....I believe it's due to the use of a wide-angle lens. However, the book accomplishes its goal in that it makes the reader consider a house that is designed for the family that lives within its walls, rather than a generic floor plan designed by a mega-developer. It has helped me to consider designing a house that is smaller (and thus more budget conscious) yet reflects the purpose for which I will use the rooms. It also provides ideas on putting construction money into items that will enhance the interior, the comfort of the home, saved through reducing the overall size of the house.

We are just completing the construction of our new home. While this book was certainly not the only source of ideas, it was certainly critical in giving us the courage to abandon the "starter castle" mentality of soaring ceilings and the attendent wasted space. The reaction we are getting certainly bears out the strength of these design concepts.

Given the content of the other reviews, I have to be clear about the intentions of this book. It is not a book about building inexpensive houses. It is written by an architect, and architects are generally not consulted when price is the ultimate consideration. It is not a book of house plans, nor a how-to book on house design. It is a book about a design philosophy which considers the house as a place to live rather than as a monument to impress ones neighbors. The philosophy is not terribly original; why does it have to be? It is a return to basic principles of good design.

We began this project with a very clear idea of the style we wanted, and someone concerned with style alone might not recognize this book's influence on our home. On the other hand, anyone who compared our home to the starter castles on our block would see the difference immediately. Every room is comfortable and constructed on a human scale. I would recommend this book to anyone in the process of constructing a new home. If I had the money, I would send anonymous copies to a number of builders and designers in the area. This book deserves a wider reading.

Don't just look at the pictures, READ the book! The text is just as good as the pictures! Realtors and developers `(natural dislike) love to tout "square footage". This book shows what skilled craftsmen can build for people with intelligence. I like the common sense approach to really analyzing what your needs and expectations are in a house. The real shame is the lack of respect trained trades-people receive in parts of this country. I took advantage of the good Mid-West (MN-early 70s) vocational school system after my military tour. On moving to Southern California, I quickly realized that my special carpentry skills were not needed or wanted by the local market. I then finished a Bachelor's degree and went into const. management. This book made me dust off my Stanley (hand saw) mitre box, "real" framing square, and start tearing out painted wood and drywall in my house to make it a real "home". A must have for the home library!!

Cupitt was a man who wrote a column in The Guardian. A long time ago. I didnt read it. Recently I did read the title of a new book of his, and looked for it on bookshop shelves. It wasnt there, but New Religion of Life in Everyday Speech WAS. And what a lovely idea - have a look at what ordinary people actually say. 'People'? Well, US then. Me even. And it astonished me: maybe we are going over a waterfall? Transformation now? Exciting, hopeful - which I now know (by this point I've read 'Mysticism and Modernity' too) are both hallmarks of Cupitt's. So why was his writing so useless to me in the '70s I wonder? I think I had to find my own way. Proferred short cuts were too, too scarey. But I did miss following Cupitt's personal journey as set out in his book-a-year publication epic. Pity that. Anyway go read all THREE 'everyday speech' books. 'Experimental theology'? No, 'observational theology' I guess.

Reforming Christianity is a bit more difficult read than Remedial Christianity but as compelling.

I had the pleasure of hearing Professor Cupitt speak at a seminar not long ago, and I find his writing as interesting as his presentation. It helps, too, that I now can hear his voice as I read his book. Each sentence is packed and must be carefully unpacked in order to get the full meaning of his statements. But the effort is worth it since, as you work through the dense words, you begin to see a full picture of the Kingdom Religion that Don Cupitt believes to be so vital to the reformation of Christianity. I refer to such statements such as: "All the doctrinal themes are meant gradually to sink in and become part of one's own being - which gives rise to the paradox that when you have fully become a Christian, you aren't one any longer." And this: "I have already said that in the process of its reformation, Christianity has to move on from its ecclesiastical period, its 'schooldays', now ending, to its fully adult form, the 'kingdom religion' that Jesus originally lived, preached and hoped to see on earth."

I can think of no other way to get across the new ideas and directions for Christianity than the way Professor Cupitt takes. His well structured thoughts in this logically laid out volume helps put things in perspective. And though I found some of the ideas difficult to grasp at first reading, subsequent study made them so with little "Ah Ha!" moments. Overall I have to rate this excellent work at least a 4 on a scale of 5. I hope it gets to your reading list for the hard work of continuing on your spiritual path.

If you know you need to give your lifestyle a "health makeover" but aren't sure where to start, this is the book for you. Dr Weil's eight-week plan helps you gradually phase out unhealthy habits and foods, and start enjoying a more health-enhancing lifestyle. By guiding you through moderate changes over eight weeks, rather than advocating radical change overnight, Dr Weil creates a plan that is easy to stick with. His well-researched, easy-to-read book is an excellent foundation for a lifelong commitment to healthy living. Following Weil's sensible plan won't result in "cold turkey" feelings, just a steady improvement in your physical, mental and emotional health. His lifestyle prescriptions will also result in weightloss. But the book's nutrition plan centres around abundance, not denial. Dr Weil's mantra is "quality" when it comes to food. If you're already leading a healthy lifestyle, and seek to expand your knowledge, this title will probably be a little basic for you. Dr Weil's new title "Eating Well For Optimum Health" may be a more enriching read. Dr Weil's eight-week plan, on the other hand, strikes me as being perfect "entry-level" material.

After reading all of the reviews on Dr. Weil's 8 Weeks, I am stunned to find anyone say anything negative. There is no medical question that the program outlined in this book is healthy for all people. Dr. Weil certainly urges people to consult with their own health care provider if they need other help. My best friend and I have been on the program. I feel 100% better both physically and emotionally, as well as spiritually. My friend has lost 30 lbs, her blood pressure has stabilized, and her doctor has taken her off of a blood pressure medication she has been on for 15 years! Reading everything he has written not only inspires me to live healthy, but has inspired me to begin studying naturopathic medicine and it is a pleasure to talk with others about good health. I give this book every chance I get and have probably bought 20 copies thus far. Without hesitation, I recommend this book to anyone, even if you feel you are in good health. Its just good living. Anyone interested in talking more, feel free to contact me.

As a health professional and "former" nationally competitive athelete, I am, by nature, very skeptical of most fitness and self help books. Despite this, I found myself unusually drawn to this one after seeing Dr. Weil on several TV shows. His success is based in his traditional backround as a Harvard MD (credibility), his non-traditional approach (objectivity), his slightly offbeat appearance and delivery (maketability), and his moderate philosophy (REASONABILITY). It would take a hundred years to test all of his hypotheses but no one will be harmed by his recommendations. Most will be much healthier even if they follow his "reasonable", easy to maintain suggestions only partially. Busy humans need a plan and this is a good one. I really don't care why but I feel better already and so can you.

Cupitt is one of these Christians who don't believe in God... hmm... while he writes very well and explains his position at length and with great literary talent, in terms of actual logical philosophy, next to Kant, Nietzsche, Sartre, Aristotle or even fellow postmodernist types like Derrida or Foucalt, Cupitt's mistakes are all too obvious - and there's one on almost every page.

Don't get me wrong, this is a god book for what Bishop John Shelby Spong would call "beleivers in exile", but at times the author comes off with a Eurocentric justification of past wrongs done by the church as in page 106 where he states,"It may indeed be that an overwhelming and annihilating system of religious TERRORISM was needed in order to discipline the hunter-gatherers into becoming GOOD CITIZENS". This kind of talk does little for the advancment of religious though!

I think Don Cupitt makes some visionary steps toward outlining workable religious practice for the future. As a more secular thinker myself, I have always felt that religion as it endures today remains largely unworkable. Yet I have always felt that there remains a need for the roles that religion has filled in the past, even though I haven't felt clear on exactly how it might do so in a workable fashion. Don Cupitt shows some very plausible ways it might. He boils down religion to recurrent essentials, and tailors them together in a way that does not offend the sensibilities of rational thinking people.

He takes a very good metaphorical approach instead of getting bogged down in issues of literal existence where inevitable clashes with science would otherwise turn off more empirically minded people. I came to read his book after reading George Lakoff and Mark Johnson's "Metaphors we Live By" and "Philosophy in the Flesh." This gave me a much deeper appreciation for the metaphorical undertaking that Cupitt delves into as well as providing a deep context of cognitive science within which Cupitt's thinking manifestly makes a lot of sense. Fundamentalists and hard core atheists may not like his approach. I think otherwise most people will appreciate his thoughtfulness.

Cupitt points in the right direction with his emphasis on the linguistic, however he seems to lack the cognitive science background to flesh out those theories with the more primordial cognitive underpinning structure. Lakoff and Johnson prove good for that purpose. Of course that would have made his task unwieldy for such a concise and to the point book. Though he may not understand the things that he does, he does them well. After leaving his introductory reverie on language he delves into a masterful use of metaphorical thinking that much of the secular world could desperately use.