Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Preview
  • Picturing God

  • How to Conceive and Relate to the Divine (An Anthology)
  • By: Clive Johnson
  • Narrated by: Clive Johnson
  • Length: 3 hrs and 50 mins
  • 5.0 out of 5 stars (4 ratings)

£0.00 for first 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Picturing God

By: Clive Johnson
Narrated by: Clive Johnson
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £11.99

Buy Now for £11.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Summary

How might we conceive of God, a being who is both invisible and indescribable? Is it foolish or blasphemous to even try? If it is possible to find a meaningful way to picture the divine, how might this help us to connect with him, her or it, and might this lead us away from the main quest of mystics and spiritual seekers - to find God in the heart?

An almost constant awareness of God's presence isn't the normal experience of most people. Many of us spend much of our lifetimes wondering what God is like and, as a step toward experiencing the divine within us, it can help if we can imagine who or what we're speaking to.

An invisible, intangible, indescribable God might at first glance appear to even be beyond our imagination. In one sense, this is of course true, but this needn't distract from the potential to appreciate aspects of divine essence, transcendent, eternal, and immeasurable as they may be.

Images, metaphors, and elaborate descriptions can all play their part in this. Such touch points can be especially helpful in reminding us of the divine qualities and providing a focus for anchoring our devotions and prayers.

Taking a very human starting point, Picturing God draws on the insights and writings of mystics, sages, and religious commentators across the centuries, as well as from the sacred texts, poetry, and thinking of many different faith traditions.

Through these diverse perspectives, a common picture emerges of a being that can at once be both conceived and related to at many levels, including when speaking from the heart seems hard. Such a picture opens up the possibility of going beyond just having an idea to cling on to, offering a meaningful impression of the person or power that is the focus for our meditation and who can be conversed with in prayer.

©2015 Clive Johnson (P)2016 Clive Johnson
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

Emerald Hills of the Heart: Key Concepts in the Practice of Sufism, Volume 1 cover art
The Gnosis of the Mind cover art
Awakening Wonder cover art
From Plato to Christ cover art
Meditation and Kabbalah cover art
Lessons in Tanya: Volume 1 cover art
A Course in Mysticism and Miracles cover art
Talks on Truth cover art
The Mystic Bible cover art
Celestial Hierarchy cover art
Sefer ha-Bahir cover art
The Sophia Teachings cover art
The Bhagavad Gita cover art
The Hidden Gospel cover art
Cosmic Consciousness cover art
Angels, Fairies, Demons, and the Elementals cover art

What listeners say about Picturing God

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    4
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    4
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    4
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A True Visionary

Where does Picturing God rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Number 1

What other book might you compare Picturing God to, and why?

Summa Theologica, by Aquinas, because of its depth.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

Every scene

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

The Passion of the Christ part 2.

Any additional comments?

brilliant, sensitive, original. loved it

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

a beautiful and searching work

What made the experience of listening to Picturing God the most enjoyable?

the pellucid tone

Who was your favorite character and why?

the main one, because it was the only one, but seriously, it is a great book

What about Clive Johnson’s performance did you like?

the controlled emotion, the centered and calming presence

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

all moving

Any additional comments?

great book, a unique and rare voice

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful