Last spring a friend told me she was not only watching Oprah’s Monday-night Web class with Eckhart Tolle, but that these classes felt more like “church” to her than church had felt in a long time.

The next week another friend told me how much she was learning from “A New Earth.” I bought my own copy and began to read.

There is a sense that Tolle doesn’t say anything new in this book from what he said in “The Power of Now.” Tolle himself would say he always writes and speaks about the same thing — the necessity of spiritual awakening and how we can engage in this process. However, there are parts of this book that I found helpful and insightful.

These include the ways he describes: the multitude of false and futile ways our egos attempt to rule our lives and provide our sense of worth; the origins and causes of violence; and both the power and difficulty of living in the present moment. There were times I felt as though Tolle must know my personal story because he identified so many issues with which I struggle.

As a Christian minister, I know some fellow Christians have expressed serious concerns about both Tolle and Oprah attempting to become pastors of a new, heretical, Internet mega-church or cult. Some say Tolle, and even Oprah — who identifies as a Christian — are promoting a strongly anti-Christian belief system. These were not my experiences or thoughts about “A New Earth.” A danger I did see is that at times Tolle verged on doing the very thing he criticizes, which is setting up his approach to awakening as its own belief system that is THE WAY. I also wonder, however, if it is possible to write about anything without doing this.

As a Christian, I find it refreshing to read the work of non-Christian writers who are able to point out the similarities between the teachings of Jesus and other great enlightened teachers and prophets such as the Buddha. I believe we live in a time when it is increasingly important for us to recognize the common themes that run through all of the world’s great religions. I believe we can notice and observe and learn from such similarities without denying the centrality of our particular faith tradition for our lives.

While not making Tolle’s approach a new religion nor his book a new Holy Scripture, I do believe he describes some practical ways to help us move toward a saner and more loving world and more peaceful, non-anxious, fulfilled lives.

If you would be interested in participating in a study group on this book contact me at clemsonucc@gmail.com.