Books by Ross Thompson

We are used to making Lent a special time for renewal, but much less has been written on the other seasons of the year. This resource explores the traditions that have shaped each season, the lectionary readings, and the liturgies observed across the ecumenical spectrum.

It is possible to be a Christian Buddhist in the context of a universal belief that sits fairly lightly on both traditions. Ross Thompson takes especially seriously the aspects of each faith that seem incompatible with the other, no God and no soul in Buddhism, for example, and the need for grace and the historical atonement on the cross in Christianity. Buddhist Christianity can be no bland blend of the tamer aspects of both faiths, but must result from a wrestling of the seeming incompatibles, allowing each faith to shake the other to its very foundations. The author traces his personal journey through which his need for both faiths became painfully apparent. He explores the Buddha and Jesus through their teachings and the varied communities that flow from them, investigating their different understandings of suffering and wrong, self and liberation, meditation and prayer, cosmology and God or not? He concludes with a bold commitment to both faiths.

Provides a grounding in the historical development of the Sacraments from the Old Testament through to modern day thinking. General ideas of sacraments and ritual are covered as well as Old Testament practices, the response of Jesus and the Early Church.