THE QUEST FOR THIN PLACES

Book excerpt: Breaking things is easy. Rebuilding things is much more difficult. Once you have “deconstructed” from toxic religious beliefs, what is next? Moving from being “religious” to a rich life of spirituality is easier said than done. The temptation for many people who deconstruct from an unhealthy form of dogmatic fundamentalism is to adopt a new form of non-religious dogmatic fundamentalism that is just as toxic. Religious deconstruction is not a linear process. We won’t one day “arrive” and figure it all out. There is no “end” to the deconstructing and reconstructing cycle. In this book, Dana Robert Hicks outlines a cyclical model of continuous deconstruction and reconstruction. The model helps facilitate the deepest longings of the human heart: the experiences of awe, wonder, and transcendence.