Mere Churchianity, Life After Death, and an Awakened Faith – Religion News Service

Debut Book and Music Release by Eric Todd: The Fullness of Love.

Eric Todds compelling debut book,The Fullness of Love From Mere Churchianity to an Awakened Life calls out to a world in need of grace, and promotes a love forward future. Todd declares a mandate stating, Its time to know deeper, not more, as freedom is found in the unknowing mysteries of God. Unfiltered by Churchianity, steeped in a history of racism and religious nationalism, the teachings of Jesus are revolutionary to hearers today. Life after death is explored based on Todds personal experience, and western belief is deconstructed and reimagined in this new book from Wipf & Stock Publishers.

The companion music album from Echoes Blue Music, is an immersive ambient worship experience, featuring nine stunning tracks by artists from around the world, including Salt of the Sound, Eliza King, Rising Violet, Anita Tatlow, & Eric Todd.

A music industry veteran, Todd is the founder and CEO of Garage Brand, a marketing and A&R platform for indie artists and labels, and the developer of Charismata, a digital intentional community seeking to build a better world. His entree as an author started out as self-therapy, in trying to make sense of an evolving belief system that now included a more robust experiential faith.

The book preface sets the reader up for whats to come:

Religion is like a finger pointing to the sun and prescribes its own brand of lessons in how to live under it. Meanwhile, the sun simply is and provides life-giving energy, warmth, and grace to everyone, regardless of belief. You have a choice in how to live your life. Choose to be conscripted into religion with all its trappings and constrictions, never directly experiencing the sun; choose to ignore the sun, unconsciously benefiting from its life-giving energy; or you can abide in the sun, acknowledging its presence, and fully immersed in its rays. This book points the way to soak up the sun. Cue Sheryl Crow.

Below are excerpts from an interview with Eric Todd.

What is the overarching theme of The Fullness of Love?

God can handle our doubt, faithlessness, and tough questions. Authentic faith has more questions than answers. True peace is found in the unknowing mysteries of God. The book chronicles the evolution of deconstruction and decentralization of faith for the 21st century.

Please provide insight into the tagline: From Mere Churchianity to an Awakened Life.

I was aligned for decades with what I now call Churchianity a religious nationalist movement that infiltrated the Western Church, built on racism and a lust for power to create a theocracy. The value proposition of my faith was rooted in partisan politics, a weaponized Word, and glamorized eschatology. I never quite fit in and questioned my belief system. A profound life-changing event occurred at my mothers passing when I encountered what is called in scientific terms, a documented SDE or a shared-death experience, similar to a NDE, or near-death experience, which confirmed my belief in life after life. My faith evolved to become more experiential.

Who is the ideal reader of The Fullness of Love?

There are two ideal reader groups. Those that left and continue to leave the Western Church in droves, who might call themselves spiritual not religious, and may find the book and music therapeutic. Missionally, the book is constructed to enlighten the load for those in the Church whose hearts are stirring because they feel like outsiders within their own faith traditions. The book is built by design to question everything we believe.

How much research did you need to do for your book?

Ive been searching for truth my entire life. Ive had myriad questions that no modern western theologian could answer inside Churchianity. Once freed, I uncovered answers and explored mysteries over the course of twelve years, that when compiled became the core manuscript.

What is your mission behind the book and music?

My team and I are planning to go big to transform the world one heart at a time through books like The Fullness of Love, its companion music album, and the mentoring of social entrepreneurs with a complementary vision to build a better world. We are creating a global digital intentional community to leverage the impact of individuals and communities, in the funding and crowdsourcing of charitable projects and social enterprises. Our first project, Love Kitchens, will be a pay-it-forward community restaurant and boutique concept.

Praise for the book and music:

Todd writes like a modern-day prophet who makes the comfortable uncomfortable. Buckle up with an open mind and let Scripture and Todds compelling message bring you into a closer relationship with the resurrected Christ. Paul Bane, founder, Mindful Christianity

A beautiful image of the love and openness Christianity can bring to our world, rooted in ancient understandings of the faith and grounded in the teachings of Jesus. Accessible to all and deeply researched, The Fullness of Love is an essential encouragement for the twenty-first century. Ben Tatlow, founder, Echoes Blue Music and Salt of the Sound

The Fullness of Love is bursting with energy and the will to let the world know about Todds experience and how to put in perspective the true value in life and what comes after it. He masterfully conveys the message based on the life-changing event of his mothers passing. Transcendency such as this can give birth to great change in the world, which is evident in this little book, as Todd calls it. Petra Frese, founder, Peak Mind Academy

A beautiful and reflective music experience. Louder Than Music

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Contact:Lowrie GodovinThe Fullness of Love484-522-9665[emailprotected]

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Religion News Service or Religion News Foundation.

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Mere Churchianity, Life After Death, and an Awakened Faith - Religion News Service