Smoley, Richard 1956-

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Smoley, Richard 1956-

PERSONAL:

Born 1956. Education: Attended Harvard College and Oxford University.

ADDRESSES:

Office—Holyoke Community College, 303 Hometead Ave., Holyoke, MA 01040.

CAREER:

Gnosis magazine, coeditor, 1985-99; Holyoke Community College, Holyoke, MA, faculty member; writer.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Utne Reader Alternative Press Award for best spiritual coverage, 1999, for Gnosis magazine.

WRITINGS:

(With Jay Kinney) Hidden Wisdom: A Guide to the Western Inner Traditions, Arkana (New York, NY), 1999.

Inner Christianity: A Guide to the Esoteric Tradition, Shambhala (Boston, MA), 2002.

Forbidden Faith: The Gnostic Legacy from the Gospels to the Da Vinci Code, HarperSanFrancisco (San Francisco, CA), 2006.

The Essential Nostradamus: Literal Translation, Historical Commentary, and Biography, J.P. Tarcher/Penguin (New York, NY), 2006.

A Disclosure of Secrets of Heaven Contained in Sacred Scripture; or, The Word of the Lord: Here First Those in Genesis, Together with Amazing Things Seen in the World of Spirits and in the Heaven of Angels, Swedenborg Foundation (West Chester, PA), 2007.

Conscious Love: Insights from Mystical Christianity, Jossey-Bass (San Francisco, CA), 2008.

SIDELIGHTS:

Richard Smoley's works seek to acquaint readers with Western religious-mystical teachings, or what he prefers to call "esoteric Christianity." His books range widely in their search for nontraditional Christian beliefs and practices, incorporating Jungian psychology, the paranormal, Masonic rituals, and New Age cosmologies. In an APA Review of Books piece on Smoley and Jay Kinney's Hidden Wisdom: A Guide to the Western Inner Traditions, Daniel N. Robinson observed that the authors "alert the reader to the rich and varied mystical traditions of the West" at a time when Eastern mystical philosophy has enjoyed greater popularity. Whole Earth correspondent Jeanne Carstensen called Hidden Wisdom "a passionate and scholarly introduction to the Western spiritual quest outside of official ‘exoteric’ religion." Carstensen added: "Like any religious book worth its salt, this one is full of yarns…. The authors sort out the fact from fiction—as much as is possible—and deposit you on the doorstep of the divine." To quote Glenn Masuchika in the Library Journal, Hidden Wisdom is "an excellent place to start for anyone seeking avenues into Western ‘inner’ religious wisdom."

Smoley is also author of Inner Christianity: A Guide to the Esoteric Tradition. The book offers a modern synthesis of such varied sources as the Gnostic gospels, Cabala, medieval alchemism, and the twentieth-century writings of Swedenborg. Library Journal contributor Steve Young felt that the work "provides a solid introduction to esoteric Christianity for the general reader."

Forbidden Faith: The Gnostic Legacy from the Gospels to the Da Vinci Code expands on the subject of esoteric Christianity, providing a comprehensive overview of the Gnostic tradition that Smoley describes as belief centering on spiritual enlightenment (gnosis). Teachings associated with this tradition, which was heavily influenced by Platonic and Eastern philosophies, were suppressed by the official Church, which emphasized salvation as the central goal of religion. In Smoley's view, Gnosticism should be given the same respect as organized religion and science. Critics welcomed the book as a lucid addition to the wealth of material about Gnosticism. Booklist contributor Ilene Cooper observed that Smoley provides "valuable ways of looking at the topic," and Brad S. Matthies, writing in the Library Journal, commended Smoley's "impressive mastery" of his subject and his "compelling and accessible" argument.

With Jay Kinney, Smoley edited Gnosis magazine from 1985 until it ceased publication in 1999. The magazine provided a format for discussions of a variety of mystical experiences, principally those based on Christianity.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

APA Review of Books, Volume 45, number 3, 2000, Daniel N. Robinson, "Ideas That Go Bump in the Night," pp. 304-305.

Booklist, May 15, 1999, Patricia Monaghan, review of Hidden Wisdom: A Guide to the Western Inner Traditions, p. 1645; April 15, 2006, Ilene Cooper, review of Forbidden Faith: The Gnostic Legacy from the Gospels to the Da Vinci Code, p. 8.

Kirkus Reviews, February 1, 2006, review of Forbidden Faith, p. 126.

Library Journal, May 1, 1999, Glenn Masuchika, review of Hidden Wisdom, p. 85; November 1, 2002, Steve Young, review of Inner Christianity: A Guide to the Esoteric Tradition, p. 96; March 1, 2006, Brad S. Matthies, review of Forbidden Faith, p. 93.

Publishers Weekly, January 30, 2006, review of Forbidden Faith, p. 61.

Reference & Research Book News, February 1, 2007, review of Forbidden Faith.

Whole Earth, summer, 2000, Jeanne Carstensen, review of Hidden Wisdom, p. 97.