There is no doubt about it: Richard Rohr is a heretic and bizarre false teacher – book review The Universal Christ. You didn’t know that your dog is Christ?!

Let’s see how this goes! Father Richard Rohr is a name I’ve been familiar with for years, and through second-hand insight here and there, I perceived him as some type of progressive or liberal or mystic-leaning Roman Catholic whose influence has spread beyond Roman Catholic circles. I buy a lot of books at thrift shops and used book stores, and when I occasionally came across a Rohr book I might have glanced at it, but did not purchase it for several reasons. I had better things to read, but I also did not necessarily think of Rohr’s teachings as dangerous, only questionable, so I left the book on the shelf.

But last year I came across a Rohr book entitled The Universal Christ at one of those “little free libraries.” The very title of the book gave me pause and created concern in my mind, in comparison to other Rohr titles I’d come across. I took the book, partly to get it out of circulation, but also as an opportunity to assess Rohr for myself. It sat waiting to be read for quite a while, until I was recently invited to something connected to the Center for Action and Contemplation. I’d never heard of it, and the individual told me it was started by Richard Rohr. Oh dear. As politely as possible, I said that anything associated with Richard Rohr would not interest me. However, I had lingering doubt. I’d never actually assessed Rohr for myself! Thus The Universal Christ moved to the top of my “to read” pile.

Okay. Let’s cut to the chase. Richard Rohr is a heretic and false teacher. His teachings are wacky, and far outside of orthodoxy. I’ll even say he is dangerous, leading people astray, away from our Lord Jesus Christ. Rohr has created a false Christ of his own making! I was disturbed to see that The Universal Christ (2019) is a best seller, with close to 5,700 reviews on amazon (that is a lot for any book!) with an average star rating of 4.7 – Sigh. Bang head. How can this be?

Well, Rohr has written many books over the years and has built a following. I think that The Universal Christ is perhaps his crowning work. Rohr does come across as down-to-earth, and he is “easy” to read in that his writing flows. However, he is otherwise not easy to read! My husband happened to be in the same room a couple times as I was reading, and he’d hear loud sighs and me muttering things like: You’ve got to be kidding me!!?! WHAT?!?!

I was also surprised that with a quick search of the internet, I did not find as much critique of Rohr as I expected. Yes, there is exceptional critique out there, and I will link to both a Protestant and Roman Catholic who do a good job laying out the many problems with Rohr’s teachings in The Universal Christ. But there was much less than I expected to find. Why? Well, this is my best guess (other opinions welcome): I think Rohr’s teaching is so overtly and obviously bad that it almost does not need refutation. (Unlike some false teaching that can be subtle or have some truth mixed in, that makes it harder to perceive, and thus it takes discernment and wisdom to sort it out.)

There is so much heretical false teaching – at total odds with orthodox Christianity – that it is hard to know where to start! So, I will simply share some bullet points that hit highlights, and then link you to the aforementioned sources.

♦ As I began reading, I quickly realized that Rohr is a pantheist! He quite literally sees God in all things and that all is God! On page 43, Rohr clarifies that he is actually a panentheist. In Rohr’s own words: “I am really a panentheist (God lies within all things, but also transcends them)…”  This is at overt odds with orthodox Christianity. God is the Creator, and distinct from his creation. Later in the book, Rohr says that “the universe is the body of God” (page 134) and “We are not just humans having a God experience. The Eucharist tells us that, in some mysterious way, we are God having a human experience!”  (page 137, bold added)

♦ It became quickly clear that Rohr falsely separates Jesus and Christ. As the book unfolds, he continued to do so. It is a major theme of the book. Although not exactly the same, it reminded me of early church heresies such as Nestorianism, that denied the hypostatic union. It also reminded me of more recent (late 19th and 20th century) liberal teaching that separated the “Jesus of history” from the “Christ of faith.” Which leads to a related point…But before moving on, Rohr is clear – which is a good thing! For example, he refers to “my distinction between Jesus and Christ” and how most people up until now “have used the two words interchangeably.” (page 85, bold added)

♦ Beware of novelty! “Novelty” is not usually novelty, but an ancient error once again rearing its head – updated for a new time! When you come across anyone stating that they have new teaching, new enlightenment that the church or Christians have missed for the last 2,000 years…This should at the least make you cautious, but I say it should set off loud warning bells in your mind. The subtitle of The Universal Christ speaks for itself: How a Forgotten Reality Can Change Everything We See, Hope For, and Believe. Note: forgotten reality. We all missed it until Rohr brought it to our attention! What would we do without him? It repeats throughout the book, with various wording, that we’ve missed a great eternal reality or truth, and must rediscover it, as Rohr directs us.

♦ As I read Rohr, it reminded me of both New Age and New Thought teachings. New Age and New Thought are different but overlap, and I like how Melissa Dougherty describes them as close cousins. I’ve not quoted Rohr much, but here you can see what I am talking about, also related to his panentheism. Since God is in all things through what he calls the universal christ: Rohr speaks of “divine electricity” – learning to trust our “own inner christ” – and we may need a person or experience “who evokes that electric conductivity.”  Rohr states: “You might say that the eternal Christ is the symbolic ‘superconductor’ of the Divine Energies into this world. Jesus ramps down the ohms so we can handle divine love and receive it through ordinary human mediums.” (all on page 76, bold added)

Also similar to certain New Age type teachings, Rohr sees an “evolutionary” aspect to the human consciousness and that our Christian minds have just been too small up until recently to connect with the universal christ that pervades everything. We have finally arrived, thanks to Rohr enlightening us! (Note I have not capitalized christ when referring to Rohr’s use of the word because it is not the Christ of Scripture. Rohr’s christ is a false christ.)

♦ To see how far Rohr takes these things: “When you look your dog in the face, for example, as I often looked at my black Labrador, Venus, I truly believe you are seeing another incarnation of the Divine Presence, the Christ.” (page 52, bold added) – READ that again!

I AM GETTING TIRED. There is so much “badness” in this book, it is overwhelming! But a couple more points…

♦ Related the the dog quote, Rohr says we have “limited the Divine Presence to the single body of Jesus” and “Christ is a name for the transcendent within of every ‘thing’ in the universe.” (pages 4 and 5, bold added)  Eventually he goes into more detail: “Most Catholics and Protestants still think of the incarnation as a one-time and one-person event having to do only with the person of Jesus of Nazareth, instead of a cosmic event that has soaked all of history in the Divine Presence from the very beginning.” (page 28)

SINCE this false teaching that Jesus did not become “particular flesh” was taught by certain liberal bishops in the UMC, I previously addressed it here: Did Jesus become “particular flesh” ?? (In part, about the United Methodist Church)  – That Jesus became particular flesh is essential Christian teaching!

♦ Rohr downplays sin, does not believe in “original sin,” and is very opposed to the substitutionary atonement. He even views the substitutionary atonement as a dangerous idea. (page 144)  Not just in this chapter, but throughout the book, Rohr distorts Christian history and grossly misinterprets the apostle Paul.

♦ A final point, is that Rohr says that God doesn’t really care what we call him! “The Divine has never seemed very worried about us getting his or her exact name right.” (page 17) And “God is clearly not tied to a name, nor does he seem to want us to tie the Divinity to any one name.” (page 35, bold added)  – WHAT?!?!

Okay, those two resources:

Here is Professor Douglas Groothuis’s review of this book: A Heretic’s Christ, a False Salvation: A Review of The Universal Christ: How a Forgotten Reality Can Change Everything We See, Hope for, and Believe by Richard Rohr. Link HERE. 

Here is a 20 minute Roman Catholic podcast that tackles the problems in a 20 minute talk: The False Christ of Fr. Richard Rohr. It is definitely worth the listen.

⇒ ⇒ Thanks for visiting Enough Light. Please feel free to “look around” while you are here, and share this post if you found it helpful. ALSO: I will NEVER use AI to write. This post was my own labor and struggle with thoughts and words to hopefully bring you a written summation that is beneficial to you in some way. Grace and peace, Laura Martin