New Thought: A Practical American Spirituality

by Alan Anderson

Book Overview

This book introduces New Thought, a more than a century old movements dedicated to the healing of body,pocketbook,and interpersonal relationships through persistent positive thinking and the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0824514807
• ISBN13: 9780824514808
• Release Date: May 1995
• Publisher: Crossroad Publishing
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.6" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Highly Recommended

This is a great book for anyone interested in knowing more about New Thought. The authors detail the beliefs of most major New Thought organizations and explain the differences between New Thought and new age. I highly recommend this book to those who may be new to New Thought, ESPECIALLY those coming from a fundamental background.

Excellent introduction and history

The authors have given us a marvelous, easy to read, introduction and history of New Thought. The material is at once simple and to the point for the "average" reader, but those with previous knowledge of New Thought metaphysics will not find it simplistic. Anderson and Whitehouse are clearly "at home" discussing both the past history and current issues of modern debate (especially Process Theology's influence in some areas of New Thought). I highly recommend this book to all interested readers and sincerely thank the authors of a job well done.

The Religion of Healthy Mindedness

This timely book explains what New Thought is, where it came from, how it is evolving and how to use it. There are three aspects to New Thought: the psychological, metaphysical and mystical and this belief system may yet prove to be the point where religion, science and philosophy come together to eventually help bring about a better world. The essence and the philosophical and organizational aspects are discussed in chapters one and two. This section includes a look at the founder, Phineas Parkhurst Quimby, other early movers like Warren Felt Evans and Emma Curtis Hopkins as well as various denominations like Divine Science, Unity, Science of Mind and other groups. The religious background and development of New Thought is dealt with in chapters three and four. Mysticism, healing, spirituality and the significance of the Christ are also explored in these chapters. The similarities and very profound differences between New Age and New Thought are investigated next. One of the main differences is that New Thought is in essence Christian, and it does not have an interest in the occult. Process theology is introduced in chapter six. This is a welcome new way to look at the belief system, based on the insights of that great philosopher and theologian Alfred North Whitehead. This section also looks at the Christian, Modern and Postmodern worldviews and provides an alternative to postmodernism in the form of primordialism or perennialism. Further fascinating topics here include personalism, panentheism, and the role of law. The authors make a convincing case for the personhood of God as against the idea of Active Law and they introduce the concept of Process New Thought, as against the old Substance New Thought. A table provides a list of contrasts between Old Christian Thought, Substance New Thought and Process New Thought. The practical application of New Thought is investigated in chapters seven and eight. This section includes an answer to the critics plus matters such as depression, economics, and support for New Thought from psychology. Specific practices and techniques are discussed, and chapter eight provides a useful lists of affirmations. Anderson and Whitehouse make a valuable original contribution to the future evolution of New Thought in this engrossing book. The book is both informative and inspirational and places New Thought and its applications in historical and philosophical perspective. It concludes with an extensive bibliography and a biographical note on the authors. I highly recommend this book to people interested in spirituality and those with a sincere desire to improve their lives. Practicing the Presence of God for Practical Purposes Science and the Modern World

Good Basic Foundation

Bought this for a friend's Christmas gift and, of course, read it myself. It's perfect for someone who is just learning about New Thought. For old-timers, it's a good reference book.

An invaluable guide to a valuable American heritage

Be Ye Transformed by the Renewing of Your Minds What does Edgar Cayce have in common with Stephen Covey? If you1ve studied the habits of any seven effective people you may recognize the teachings of Norman Vincent Peale, or maybe even Benjamin Franklin. You1ve probably heard of Mary Baker Eddy, and Emmet Fox, perhaps, but what about Phineaus Quinby? Antoine Mesmer? What all these people have in common is their shared relationship to 3New Thought.2 New Thought is as old as the quote from Romans 12:2 which provides the title of this essay. New Thought is as contemporary as the New Age and finds expression in current bestselling teachers such as Anthony Robbins and creation theologist Mathew Fox. Edgar Cayce1s own teachings has its orgins within the same Mesmerism as New Thought and many of his tenets are indistinguishable from New Thought If the story of Edgar Cayce finds its home as a chapter in the history of hypnosis, then the chapter on hypnosis in the history of spirituality would devote many pages to the story of 3New Thought.2 I have found the recent book New Thought: A Practical American Spirituality (Crossroad Publishling) to be an excellent historical overview on the New Thought movement. The authors, C. Alan Anderson (Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Curry College, Milton, Massachusetts) and Deborah G. Whitehouse, present an excellent philosophical perspective on the ideas within New Thought and their relation to other approaches to spirituality. William James considered New Thought to be the one truly original contribution made by American to spiritual philosophy. New Thought is truly a do-it-yourself path, built by many uneducated, simple people who pioneered on the frontiers of the American soul. Today its creative spirit continues to build new inroads into a practical, creative spirituality. Hypnosis marks its orgins to Antoine Mesmer1s work in France back in the mid-1700s. Benjamin Franklin went to France to investigate Mesmerism. By the turn of the 19th century this 3new2 healing phenomenon had sparked many enthusiasts within the United States. New Thought typically marks its beginnings to Phineas Parkhurst Quinby, born in Lebanon, New Hampsire in 1802. In his thirties he was introduced to Mesmerism by a traveling show. He practiced magnetic healing, but then innovated the approach with his own insight that the healing was direct, mind to mind. Later he concluded that it is 3truth2 that is the real cure. He believed he had re-discovered the healing power of Jesus. Among Quinby1s patients was Mary Baker Eddy, founder of Christian Science, and Emma Curtis Hopkins, who as 3teacher of teachers of New Thought,2 had among her pupils Ernest Holmes (author of Science of Mind and founder of the Church of Religious Science) and Myrtle and Charles Fillmore.(founders of Unity church). Today, the New Thought Alliance has many members, and quite an extensive range of thought, including debate over particulars. Although there