Tab Article

Ratings: ★★★★☆ (4.2/5)
Genre: Christian Theology / Spirituality / Tantra / Comparative Religion / Mysticism

Book Review:

James Hughes Reho's ''Tantric Jesus'' is a bold, provocative, and deeply learned work that dares to ask a question most would never think to pose: What if the core of early Christianity was not just compatible with Tantra, but was itself a tantric path? The result is a book that is sure to challenge, inspire, and possibly unsettle readers from both Christian and yogic traditions.

Reho brings an extraordinary set of credentials to this project. He is an ordained Episcopal priest with a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Princeton, a certified yoga instructor, and a tantric initiate. This unique combination of scientific rigor, theological training, and direct spiritual experience allows him to navigate complex territory with rare authority and insight.

The book's central thesis is that the early Christian understanding of the body, desire, and divine union was far closer to the Tantric traditions of India than to the body-denying Platonism that later came to dominate Western Christianity. Reho argues that Jesus himself can be understood as a kind of guru, teaching embodied practices for experiencing God directly. He explores how concepts like Kundalini and the chakras can illuminate Christian mystical experiences, and how practices like breath work, mantra (in the form of the Jesus Prayer), and even sacred sexuality were likely part of the early Christian path.

This is not a book for the faint of heart or the doctrinally rigid. Reho's reinterpretation of Jesus as a ''master of left-handed Tantra'' will undoubtedly be controversial. However, he grounds his arguments in careful scholarship, drawing on ancient texts, early Christian masters, and the insights of both Eastern and Western mystical traditions. As Publishers Weekly notes, he offers ''concrete, simple suggestions for body-based spiritual practice'' that any Christ follower can explore.

Whether or not one accepts all of Reho's conclusions, ''Tantric Jesus'' is an invaluable contribution to the growing dialogue between Eastern and Western spirituality. It invites Christians to rediscover the erotic, embodied, and ecstatic heart of their own tradition, and it invites practitioners of Tantra to see their path reflected in an unexpected source. A fascinating and important read for anyone interested in the frontiers of spiritual practice.