What do you think?
Rate this book
How Big Is Your God?: The Freedom to Experience the Divine
Do you have a real relationship with God, or do you just have a religion? Do you know God, or do you just know about God? In How Big Is Your God? Paul Coutinho, SJ, challenges us to grow stronger and deeper in our faith and in our relationship with God—a God whose love knows no bounds. To help us on our way, Coutinho introduces us to people in various world religions—from Hindu friends to Buddhist teachers to St. Ignatius of Loyola—who have shaped his spiritual life and made possible his deep, personal relationship with God.
184 pages, Hardcover
First published September 30, 2007
41 people are currently reading
153 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
August 14, 2018
This book is supposed to help you grow in your relationship with God. It tells you bluntly that you are not supposed to know God; You are supposed to experience the Divine. And thus grow in relationship.
To do that the significant requirement is the awareness that one is made in the very image of God. One needs to be aware that God's breath is in oneself. God blew his spirit into each man and woman. So, you are the breath of God. God reveals in the self. Once one becomes aware of this fact, nothing else will affect his/her relationship with God.
What is the part of the religion in all this? It is a help on the way to help you experience God. Sadly, Coutinho laments that religion has replaced God-experience. Religious practice has become the end in itself. People think they are spiritually happy by following the rubrics of the religion and keeping to the rituals. Religion is the well of living water. The living water is actually is supplied by the flowing river. The well is supposed to lead a person to the river of living water (God experience).
This book may be good for the spiritual people in the general sense. If you are a Christian and look for Christian spirituality, you may be disappointed. There are scriptural quotes and anecdotes from the writings of saints. But they serve like any other anecdotes (Buddhist, Zen, Psychology, etc). It is a kind of a self-help book for the people who have the longing for God/something beyond the human realm. A Christian too can gain much from the book, provided he/she is willing to see beyond the general outlook of the book.
P.S. By the way, Paul Coutinho was a Jesuit specialized in the Ignatian Spirituality.
To do that the significant requirement is the awareness that one is made in the very image of God. One needs to be aware that God's breath is in oneself. God blew his spirit into each man and woman. So, you are the breath of God. God reveals in the self. Once one becomes aware of this fact, nothing else will affect his/her relationship with God.
What is the part of the religion in all this? It is a help on the way to help you experience God. Sadly, Coutinho laments that religion has replaced God-experience. Religious practice has become the end in itself. People think they are spiritually happy by following the rubrics of the religion and keeping to the rituals. Religion is the well of living water. The living water is actually is supplied by the flowing river. The well is supposed to lead a person to the river of living water (God experience).
This book may be good for the spiritual people in the general sense. If you are a Christian and look for Christian spirituality, you may be disappointed. There are scriptural quotes and anecdotes from the writings of saints. But they serve like any other anecdotes (Buddhist, Zen, Psychology, etc). It is a kind of a self-help book for the people who have the longing for God/something beyond the human realm. A Christian too can gain much from the book, provided he/she is willing to see beyond the general outlook of the book.
P.S. By the way, Paul Coutinho was a Jesuit specialized in the Ignatian Spirituality.
October 2, 2008
Coutinho is an interesting author. As he says in the "Author's Note" he is Catholic, a Jesuit and he comes from India. He explains that India already had a rich religious tradition before the Jesuits converted them to Catholicism and that "we were baptized but not really converted. This is why many Catholic Indians, like me [the author], express our Christianity a little differently from others."
While I don't think I agree with everything Coutinho says in this book, I very much enjoyed reading his ideas and explanations. He really does have a different approach to Christianity, at least in some respects. I'm not sure how to explain it but it seems to be quite a bit less Bible-oriented and more intuitive. One of my favorite parts of the book was chapters 11-15 where he discusses the four ways of relating with God. These four ways are the priestly experience, the Yahwistic experience,the Elohistic experience, and the experience of Deuteronomy. I enjoyed this discussion because it explained parts of the Bible in ways I hadn't heard of yet.
While the first part of the book did not seem like traditional Catholicism as I have learned it so far, the interesting thing is that Coutinho, in the later part of the book, ended up in basically the exact same spot all the other spiritual writers end up! Thus, he starts writing stuff like
"My experience of God can be summed up in three words: You are mine." p. 73
"A consequence of my life with God is essentially a dying, a giving up, and a self-emptying. If I have been listening to what Jesus says and following Jesus' teaching, I will be like him. I oftentimes resist being like him, because to be like him is to go through the Passion." p. 77
"If you're looking to jump-start your spiritual growth, you can start by getting rid of the material things that you possess." p. 89
"If you look at your life and relationships as ever new and changing, then you cannot get attached to anything. You give yourself fully to what you have at the present moment, because it will keep changing. You wait in anticipation for the spirit of the Lord to hover over this moment and bring forth a new and more beautiful creation. You are led from the 1 percent that is physical to the 99 percent that is spiritual -- the spiritual that explodes into infinite possibilities." pp. 95-96
"So what is confession? Confession is acknowledging the wonderful God whom I have just encountered and acknowledging that I am aware of my own shortcomings and weaknesses, which are obstacles to deepening my relationship with God and being able to share this experience with the rest of the world. This awareness is a consequence of my encounter, my experience of God, not a condition for the Divine's presence. p. 106
This is a short book and an easy read. I read it in one sitting of a couple hours. I enjoyed "meeting" Coutinho. The book has a lot of personal stories in it, and I love books like that. It is also packed with parable-like stories from other religions and philosophies, all of which are interesting and enlightening.
While I don't think I agree with everything Coutinho says in this book, I very much enjoyed reading his ideas and explanations. He really does have a different approach to Christianity, at least in some respects. I'm not sure how to explain it but it seems to be quite a bit less Bible-oriented and more intuitive. One of my favorite parts of the book was chapters 11-15 where he discusses the four ways of relating with God. These four ways are the priestly experience, the Yahwistic experience,the Elohistic experience, and the experience of Deuteronomy. I enjoyed this discussion because it explained parts of the Bible in ways I hadn't heard of yet.
While the first part of the book did not seem like traditional Catholicism as I have learned it so far, the interesting thing is that Coutinho, in the later part of the book, ended up in basically the exact same spot all the other spiritual writers end up! Thus, he starts writing stuff like
"My experience of God can be summed up in three words: You are mine." p. 73
"A consequence of my life with God is essentially a dying, a giving up, and a self-emptying. If I have been listening to what Jesus says and following Jesus' teaching, I will be like him. I oftentimes resist being like him, because to be like him is to go through the Passion." p. 77
"If you're looking to jump-start your spiritual growth, you can start by getting rid of the material things that you possess." p. 89
"If you look at your life and relationships as ever new and changing, then you cannot get attached to anything. You give yourself fully to what you have at the present moment, because it will keep changing. You wait in anticipation for the spirit of the Lord to hover over this moment and bring forth a new and more beautiful creation. You are led from the 1 percent that is physical to the 99 percent that is spiritual -- the spiritual that explodes into infinite possibilities." pp. 95-96
"So what is confession? Confession is acknowledging the wonderful God whom I have just encountered and acknowledging that I am aware of my own shortcomings and weaknesses, which are obstacles to deepening my relationship with God and being able to share this experience with the rest of the world. This awareness is a consequence of my encounter, my experience of God, not a condition for the Divine's presence. p. 106
This is a short book and an easy read. I read it in one sitting of a couple hours. I enjoyed "meeting" Coutinho. The book has a lot of personal stories in it, and I love books like that. It is also packed with parable-like stories from other religions and philosophies, all of which are interesting and enlightening.
February 18, 2017
According to the author, the question of how big is your God is really asking us to explore our thinking about how we view a divine being, our purpose, and our relationships. Coutinho, a Jesuit priest, scholar, and speaker, talks about different ways we measure the role of God in our lives, the difference between religion and spirituality, and how our attitudes about our belief in a God affect our choices. Weaving stories, Biblical quotes, and personal insights, he leaves suggestions for rethinking our views and not limiting them. He brings an Eastern influence, having had a Buddhist teacher and Hindu friends back in his native India, to spirituality. With having doctoral work in psychology, he also provides advice on how our relationship with God will help us deal better in our relationships and with life's difficulties. "Chaos is often the shortest path to our spiritual core."(p.143) Insightful and relevant reading for the times we are in.
November 14, 2020
Paul Coutinho S.J .‘s 2007 copyright authorship of “How Big Is Your God: the Freedom to Experience the Divine” was published in paperback by Loyola Press in 2010. Paul is from India’s Bombay province with a Doctorate in Historical Theology from Saint Louis University. He teaches Loyolian spiritual exercises using backgrounds in Hindu-Buddha-Catholic mysticism. His insights are very special and helped me better understand a divinity that eastern and western thought share about who we are and why we are here on earth. I also found his reflections on Priestly, Yahwistic, Elohistic, and Deuteronomy living traditions of beliefs very helpful. (P)
July 26, 2020
Many assume Christianity is about rules and commandments and judgment. But this is an error. As Benedict XVI teaches with so much clarity, Christianity is about relationship. In this work Coutinho, explores this more accurate view of the faith, looking at the experience of relationship with the Divine as the cornerstone of faith.
July 16, 2022
The author is a Jesuit priest, yet many of his statements do not seem to support the Church and her teachings. The author offered many interesting vignettes, but the book as a whole did not seem very cohesive. I wish I could remember who recommended this to me and why, because I really did not get much out of it.
July 7, 2019
very good book
April 2, 2022
I read it once and hated it. Five years later I read it again and truly enjoyed it. Where you are in life will determine how you read this book.
April 11, 2024
Relationship
Dogma and institution are necessary and helpful. But w/out a personal relationship w/the Sacred they lack meaning. This book helps us claim our heritage, a relationship w/the Sacred.
Dogma and institution are necessary and helpful. But w/out a personal relationship w/the Sacred they lack meaning. This book helps us claim our heritage, a relationship w/the Sacred.
November 22, 2024
Church book study
November 19, 2025
Very Good read with excellent food for thought.
May 6, 2008
How Big Is Your God? walks a fine line between new age psychobabble and useful exploration of spirituality. Written by a Jesuit priest who raised in India, it is a mix of Eastern Religious experiences, Ignatian spirituality, and psychology. Coutinho also brings an interest in Christian mysticism to the mix.
As a rather orthodox Protestant Christian I have to say I found the exercise somewhat problematic. I certainly wouldn't give this book to a new Christian or someone not grounded in the faith. But it does offer some useful and thought provoking ways of thinking about faith and a relationship with God.
Coutinho is very much in the "religion often gets in the way of a relationship with God" camp. Most of the first half of the book is about how ritual and tradition can't be a substitute for a deep seeking after God. He outlines various approaches to religion that can become calcified and prevent us from being open to an experience with the divine; to a real encounter with God. Is is worth acknowledging that God is bigger than our attempts to conceptualize Him.
Even if you don't agree with his approach or his answers it is useful to think about your faith in this way. We all bring our cultural and personal baggage to our faith. How we were raised, the liturgy and symbolism of our particular denomination and church, etc. It is useful to think about how these factors impact and even warp our understanding and relationship with God.
Coutinho also usefully explores ideas like love, freedom, and suffering through the lens of faith and the divine. He brings a stoical but compassionate tone to these subjects. He gently outlines how modern notions of freedom and happiness lead us away from a relationship with God.
If there is a weakness to his approach it is that all of this can seem a little ephemeral at times. It is one thing to think about these mystical, spiritual, and psychological subjects it is quite another to connect them to your daily life. Coutinho's short chapters and anecdotal style often leave you in the clouds without a more practical grounding.
The fact that the book is made up of nearly fifty very small chapters (the book is only 150 pages) adds to this. It ends up being a collection of mini-essays and thus lacks the coherence that a more structured book might bring.
The other aspect that could be worrying, depending on your perspective, is the lack of clear orthodoxy. Coutinho is clearly devoted to his church and his faith, but at times it is unclear that he expects this from others. Taken too far this mystical approach to God leaves you with a vague spirituality that allows each person to create their own faith. As long as you are seeking to experience the divine - however defined or constructed - you are on the right spiritual path. Obviously, Christians who believe doctrine and theology matter will be concerned about this danger.
If you are interested in different approaches to faith and spirituality, however, I am sure you would find How Big Is Your God? interesting. The book certainly offers a challenge to think about your approach to God and to not be tied down by an over-dependence on tradition or liturgical practices or faulty assumptions about faith. But those struggling to live out their faith in daily life may be frustrated with the lack of more practical applications and those concerned about orthodoxy may be troubled by its almost new age perspective.
As a rather orthodox Protestant Christian I have to say I found the exercise somewhat problematic. I certainly wouldn't give this book to a new Christian or someone not grounded in the faith. But it does offer some useful and thought provoking ways of thinking about faith and a relationship with God.
Coutinho is very much in the "religion often gets in the way of a relationship with God" camp. Most of the first half of the book is about how ritual and tradition can't be a substitute for a deep seeking after God. He outlines various approaches to religion that can become calcified and prevent us from being open to an experience with the divine; to a real encounter with God. Is is worth acknowledging that God is bigger than our attempts to conceptualize Him.
Even if you don't agree with his approach or his answers it is useful to think about your faith in this way. We all bring our cultural and personal baggage to our faith. How we were raised, the liturgy and symbolism of our particular denomination and church, etc. It is useful to think about how these factors impact and even warp our understanding and relationship with God.
Coutinho also usefully explores ideas like love, freedom, and suffering through the lens of faith and the divine. He brings a stoical but compassionate tone to these subjects. He gently outlines how modern notions of freedom and happiness lead us away from a relationship with God.
If there is a weakness to his approach it is that all of this can seem a little ephemeral at times. It is one thing to think about these mystical, spiritual, and psychological subjects it is quite another to connect them to your daily life. Coutinho's short chapters and anecdotal style often leave you in the clouds without a more practical grounding.
The fact that the book is made up of nearly fifty very small chapters (the book is only 150 pages) adds to this. It ends up being a collection of mini-essays and thus lacks the coherence that a more structured book might bring.
The other aspect that could be worrying, depending on your perspective, is the lack of clear orthodoxy. Coutinho is clearly devoted to his church and his faith, but at times it is unclear that he expects this from others. Taken too far this mystical approach to God leaves you with a vague spirituality that allows each person to create their own faith. As long as you are seeking to experience the divine - however defined or constructed - you are on the right spiritual path. Obviously, Christians who believe doctrine and theology matter will be concerned about this danger.
If you are interested in different approaches to faith and spirituality, however, I am sure you would find How Big Is Your God? interesting. The book certainly offers a challenge to think about your approach to God and to not be tied down by an over-dependence on tradition or liturgical practices or faulty assumptions about faith. But those struggling to live out their faith in daily life may be frustrated with the lack of more practical applications and those concerned about orthodoxy may be troubled by its almost new age perspective.
December 31, 2007
Paul Coutinho, SJ, an Indian Jesuit priest offers in this slim volume ways for Christians to enrich their lives through new understandings of the divine. Coutinho draws on his understanding of Eastern beliefs to expand upon Western practices of religion. As a Jesuit, many of his examples and questions to readers come from the teachings of St. Ignatius.
The central theme of How Big is Your God? is to experience life, rather than strictly following the rules of tradition. He gives examples of the many different ways one can experience God and what can be learned from understanding these different approaches.
What the book never explores is what value is the book to non-Christians or atheists. God is so much a part of the author's life (as can be expected from his calling) that he never seems to step outside his own experience to ask who might be reading his book.
If you're a practicing Christian looking to expand your relationship with God, you will benefit from this book. If you're not, you can still gain insight into some of the founding principles of the religion.
The central theme of How Big is Your God? is to experience life, rather than strictly following the rules of tradition. He gives examples of the many different ways one can experience God and what can be learned from understanding these different approaches.
What the book never explores is what value is the book to non-Christians or atheists. God is so much a part of the author's life (as can be expected from his calling) that he never seems to step outside his own experience to ask who might be reading his book.
If you're a practicing Christian looking to expand your relationship with God, you will benefit from this book. If you're not, you can still gain insight into some of the founding principles of the religion.
May 14, 2012
I have never spent so long reading such a short book! I started this book in the winter and finished in the spring! The book has short chapters focusing on different topics and is written by a Catholic priest in India. The reason it took so long to read was that each chapter presented so much for me to think and meditate on. I could easily spend a week on a single chapter and I believe I did! Overall, I really enjoyed this book for the ideas presented but also the inspiration it gave me to expound on the text and meditate more on what it means to be a Catholic and a human being.
April 13, 2009
(see below) I didn't up reading one chapter a day for Lent. I have been reading this over the past few days but have just aborted it. I didn't end up appreciating it -- I tend to dislike books which have short and pithy little inspirational chapters. I finally stopped for good after chapter 29 about the enslaving illusion of familial love. It actually repelled me.
Gonna read one chapter a day (very small chapters, all 44 of them) for my Lent read.
Gonna read one chapter a day (very small chapters, all 44 of them) for my Lent read.
October 3, 2014
This is a great book to use as devotions. The chapters are short, and really make you think about how you live and the choices that you make. I purchased this book in hard copy after hearing the author speak at a local church the year I participated as an RCIA sponsor, and immediately got the Kindle version after I got a Kindle. I absolutely love this book, and re-read it occasionally. I learn something new every time.
September 13, 2012
I read this book a few years ago, and it still stands out in my mind today.
I really enjoyed the exploration of faith in this book. It changed me in a good way.
This isn't a book I devoured quickly. I took my time with it, thinking about how I felt with each chapter, and letting each chapter settle into my being a bit before moving on to the next.
It was a spiritual awakening for me.
I really enjoyed the exploration of faith in this book. It changed me in a good way.
This isn't a book I devoured quickly. I took my time with it, thinking about how I felt with each chapter, and letting each chapter settle into my being a bit before moving on to the next.
It was a spiritual awakening for me.
September 28, 2012
Wonderful book written by one of my favorite Ignatian spirituality authors and speakers! He really helps one to move from practicing our faith in our heads to experiencing it in our hearts. He uses lots of humor and gets his readers to consider questions about who God is and how we can be in relationship with God beyond anything we have ever imagined.
I couldn't put this book down.
I couldn't put this book down.
November 14, 2014
What I liked most was the author's integration of Eastern and Western mysticism. I find his both/and approach to spirituality very refreshing. He is a very good speaker too if you ever happen to be in a location where he is making a presentation.
April 14, 2008
Very good book for theists of Christian background looking for depth in their view of the Divine. Didn't watch the DVD but heard it was really good.
January 10, 2010
When Jesus walked the earth, he was not trying to create a new religion, he wanted us to experience the Divine.
December 22, 2010
I liked it very much!!!!
So many good things to think about.
So many good things to think about.
February 1, 2011
Short chapters with some comparisons between Eastern and Western thought. Good overview.
Want to read
March 17, 2011Recommended by a Newman Eucharistic Minister
April 5, 2011
Great expanding ideas and stories to deepen idea/relationship with the God that works for you.
May 21, 2012
Excellent read, Paul makes some very good observations.
January 16, 2013
The most profoundly simple but simply profound book I've read.
June 26, 2013
Expands your view of God and life in general
July 6, 2013
Many good anecdotes, very accessible read. Ignatian spirituality is very intriguing.
September 3, 2013
Author is Ignatian Priest/scholar who brings an Easteern influence to Western spirituality. Will encourage you to rethink any limited ideas of God.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews