The Sacred Journey (Thomas Nelson, 2010)
When man was first born, somewhere in East Africa, he began to walk. Except in sick societies, he never stopped. Travelling was part of what it was to be human. And when man tried to find out what life was all about, he took to the road on pilgrimage, as if he could walk his way to God. Perhaps he can. Certainly Yahweh seems to have an extraordinary bias towards nomads. Why should this be? Why walk to a hole full of saints' bones? Should we expect epiphany if we walk for long enough? Is it dangerous to stay at home? What is a ‘holy place?’ The Sacred Journey, the last in Thomas Nelson's Ancient Practices series, is a lyrical look at the history, anthropology, theology and devotional worth of pilgrimage, drawing deeply on Charles Foster's own wanderings across the world.
‘…. as near a masterpiece of pilgrimage writing as we have ever seen. It certainly is, hands-down and far and away, the best book on pilgrimage I have ever seen.
Let there be no mistake, though. Foster pulls no punches. Every one of
you who reads this book will find at least one thing you totally
disagree with and a whole handful of those you want to
question. Please do so. Otherwise, none of it is pilgrimage.’
Phyllis Tickle: from the Foreword
Wired for God: The biology of spiritual experience (Hodder, 2010)
Siberian shamans and tantric sex; whirling Sufis and entranced Bushmen; hypnotism and magic mushrooms; hymn-singing in the suburbs and ecstatic drumming in the African night; speaking in tongues and UFOs; prophets dressed in bed-sheets at Jerusalem's Holy Sepulchre; naturally theistic toddlers and apparitions of Mary; Upper Palaeolithic cave-paintings and dog-headed saints; chariots of fire and pierced Messiahs; near-death experiences and epileptic nuns; Neolithic tomb architecture; an old monk dying in an Indian ashram, screaming that he's being overwhelmed by the Feminine; God-helmets, God-spots and God-genes.
What does all this mean for the faithful and the faithless? What does it tell us about what it means to be human?
‘Foster takes us on a most
enjoyable journey through the drugs, dreams and profound experiences
that lead people to believe in the existence of souls. Although I
disagree profoundly with his conclusions Foster's exploration of why
we are so incurably religious is both serious and
entertaining.’
Professor Susan Blackmore
‘A look at the ultimately
important questions of life that is itself wonderfully alive: you may
not agree, but you will never be bored’.
Iain McGilchrist, Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, and author
of The Master and his Emissary: The divided brain and the making of
the Western World
‘In this tour of the weird and
wacky in religion and spirituality, Charles Foster displays his gift
for making science accessible and philosophy entertaining. He will
amuse and irritate religious believers and non-believers in turn but
won't let either group stray too far from the evidence. You may not
agree with all of Foster's answers, but he is certainly asking good
questions.’
Justin Barrett, Director of the Centre for Cognitive and Evolutionary
Anthropology, University of Oxford, and author of Why would anyone
believe in God?.
The Selfless Gene: Living with God and Darwin (Hodder, 2009)
US edition: Thomas Nelson, 2010
‘Sparkling and enjoyable’: New Statesman
‘If you are a creationist it is most unlikely you'll be one by the time you
finish reading this thought-provoking book. But anyone who is, like myself, a
Darwinian is equally at risk. Re-affirming the foundational Genesis narrative
as our central and vital myth, Charles Foster explores why we find ourselves in
a disastrously fractured world, but also propels us to a new and lyrical vision
of a world crafted by evolution, but permeated by meaning and beauty, and
ultimately to be made perfect. This is a book the atheist Darwinists will
loathe, but I'll bet anything they won't have an answer.’
Simon Conway-Morris, Professor of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge
‘Charles Darwin wrote to his Harvard friend Asa Gray, that he could see no
reason why “a man or other animal may not have been aboriginally produced… by
laws expressly designed by an omniscient Creator”. Charles Foster shows himself
a true disciple of Darwin by choosing the difficult option of
defending reason against the fundamentalism of both religion and atheism. He
succeeds marvellously. His book is fun to read — and an important antidote to
the shrill hysteria about evolution from both
extremes. Such unreason ought to be rejected out of hand but still captivates
many people. Read The Selfless Gene and inwardly digest it.’
Sam Berry, Emeritus Professor of Genetics, University College, London
Choosing Life, Choosing Death: The tyranny of autonomy in medical ethics and law (Hart, 2009)
‘Introducing the Jake La
Motta of medical ethics. Foster is an academic street-fighter who
has bloodied his hands in the court room. He provides a stinging,
relentless, ground attack on the Goliath of medical ethics: the
central place of autonomy in liberal medical ethics….’
Julian Savulescu, Uehiro Chair in Practical Ethics, University of Oxford
‘… a sustained
attack on the hegemony of the idea of autonomy in medical ethics
and law. Charles Foster is no respecter of authority, whether of
university professors or of law Lords. He grabs his readers by
their lapels and shakes sense into them through a combination of
no-nonsense rhetoric and subtle argument that is difficult to
resist.’
Tony Hope, Professor of Medical Ethics, Oxford University
‘I would certainly not
choose to have Foster beside me, either as an advocate or a
friend, in my final illness.’
Dame Mary Warnock, The Lancet
‘This book is unlikely to
be in pristine state by the time you have finished reading
it. Whether that is because you have thrown it in the air in
celebration or thrown it across the room in frustration will
depend on your perspective. But this book cannot leave you
cold. It is a powerful polemic on the dominance of autonomy in
medical law, which demands a reaction... This will be a book
which demands and will attract considerable debate..’
Jonathan Herring, Exeter College, Oxford University
Tracking the Ark of the Covenant (Monarch, 2008)
In Tracking the Ark of the Covenant Charles Foster hunts down the Ark and the nature of the Ark. His journey takes him through Sinai, Jordan, Israel, Ethiopia, Ireland, and to a field outside Coventry.
‘A gripping read and a gripping adventure’
Bear Grylls, mountaineer and survival expert.
Some recent reviews are to be found at Armchair Interviews and for Bookdealer (Word doc).
The Christmas Mystery (Authentic, 2008)
Almost nobody, ever, talks about the real Christmas story. The result is a childish pastiche. It is not surprising. The real story is historically evasive and very odd indeed. This book dives headfirst into the mystery.
‘When tuning a violin
string you have to put it completely out of tune first. This
wonderfully written book makes Christmas first more problematic,
then richer, surer and deeper.’
Michael Lloyd
The Jesus Inquest: The case for - and against - the resurrection of the Christ (Monarch, 2006)
What really happened on the Third Day? Is Christianity built on a terrible mistake or a downright lie? The Jesus Inquest is a compelling historical, archaeological and theological whodunnit - like The Da Vinci Code and The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, but with the real evidence.
‘Encyclopaedic…This work repays detailed
study. I know of no more balanced analysis of the material
relating to these crucial questions...’
Lord Mackay of Clashfern, former Lord Chancellor and Law Lord