Overdue Heresies

“What, if anything, do I believe about God?”

The burgeoning of people who doubt many traditional Christian answers makes this question highly pertinent today. The short and very short essays of Overdue Heresies aim to stimulate readers to reach, reaffirm, or rethink their own conclusions about God, Atheism, Jesus, Miracles, Sin, Salvation, and many other elements of the Christian tradition. They do not seek to persuade anyone of anything; rather, they encourage readers to enjoy disagreeing. They say little about the Quaker Way, though many of them resemble the messages that readers might hear spoken out of the silence of a Quaker meeting.

The book is especially for: People who are spiritually inquisitive or question major parts of their church’s doctrines. Atheists and other “Nones.” Students seeking fodder for late-night bull sessions. Seekers of truth. The book asks many questions and questions many traditional answers. It is not for people who seek certainty or believe they have found it.

Reviews

From Midwest Book Reviews — The Christian Studies Shelf

“Overdue Heresies” asks many questions and questions many traditional answers. It is not for people who seek certainty or believe they have found it — but for those that are still seeking.

Critique: Eloquent, erudite, iconoclastic, informed, informative, thoughtful and thought-provoking, the essays of Malcolm Bell comprising “Overdue Heresies and the Search for Truth” from Fresh Look Press is especially and unreservedly recommended for church, seminary, community, and college/university library Christian Studies/Theology collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of pastors, preachers, priests, seminary students, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that “Overdue Heresies” is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $6.99).
https://www.midwestbookreview.com/sbw/jul_24.htm#christianstudies

Malcolm’s observations are thoughtful and well informed, challenging both stifling orthodoxy and the bogus argumentation of those who use the very science which Malcolm sees as revealing Divine methodology to promote ‘randomality’. Perhaps, only a Quaker bound by no orthodoxy and an attorney schooled in open mindedness could have penned these observations.
—Phil Megna

Malcolm Bell, having absorbed the teaching of his childhood’s church, has spent much of his adult life trying to align those teachings with truths he has gleaned from science and his own experience. As a Quaker, he accepts the idea that Truth gained from meditation and personal seeking is to be trusted and followed. His book invites its readers into their own personal seeking after Truth.
—Mary Eagleson

With a wry sense of humor, Quaker philosopher and theologian Malcolm Bell has created an entirely fresh daybook for the reader to savor and enjoy. Like a companionable pair of really good, broken-in garden gloves, daybooks are a special part of the contemplative life and like others of this genre, Bell’s Overdue Heresies is meant to be used. Grab a handful of bookmarks and a sharp pencil before you start to read as you will find yourself wanting to go back again and again to thoughtfully provoking reflections.

Go ahead and scribble in the margins your own responses to the quandaries and moral dilemmas the author has placed in your lap. If you’re like me, you’ll want to put Bell’s book on your breakfast table where you can read a paragraph each day with your first cuppa.

Bell’s writing style is clear and concise. His logic honed to a keen edge that delights as it lays bare fresh approaches to complex issues confronting contemporary society.
—Len Cadwallader, former Presiding Clerk of Hanover (NH) Friends Meeting

Overdue Heresies presents Malcolm Bell’s clear-headed insights, humble humanity, and deep love for God behind all his questions in a way that rings true for this moment in time. As more and more of us abandon institutional religion for more liberating spiritualities, I find Bell provides gravitas and grace to our quest.
—The Rev. Dr. James Lumsden, Spiritual Director

Malcolm’s reflections are deep, probing, and thoughtful. I highly recommend you give them some space to ponder your own thoughts on God, life, and goodness.
—Peter J Nagle, M.A.R.

This is an interesting and thought-provoking book by an older American who looks back on his years of religion and practice, and raises questions at variance with some of today’s religions. His insight and willingness to examine alternative views is refreshing. Mr. Bell, a well-educated and widely read individual, reviews a number of tenets of modern religions, and tries to bring religious teachings into line with modern science and observations. He is a deeply religious and spiritual individual who became a Quaker after a more traditional Christian upbringing.

The author begins by contrasting the Big Bang theory with the teachings of Genesis in the Bible. Can evolution be completely explained by a chance combination of circumstances for elements to form on Earth, gradually, or was the hand of a Creator involved? Many issues reviewed in the book will cause readers to pause and reflect on whatever form religion may have taken in their own lives, and reach conclusions at variance with accepted lessons from the Bible, Scripture, and religious leaders. I recommend the book to those who seek new perspectives on their own beliefs.
—Peter Areson, M.D.

Malcolm Bell has been a careful and conscientious custodian of his long spiritual life and growth. In Overdue Heresies he offers the reader his clear-minded synthesis with numerous examples drawn not only from his own life, but also from the collective and individual lives he’s observed during his spiritual journey, activist engagement, and wide reading. I read it slowly to allow for contemplation in the Quaker way of Minding the Light.
—Carl Buffum

Malcolm’s heresies remind me of Jesus’ blasphemous encounter with the woman at the well. What at first may seem sacrilegious: holds the opportunity for Faith-filled growth.
—Michael Barszewski

In Brief: Overdue Heresies: And the Search for Truth

Reviewed by Sharlee DiMenichi

January 1, 2025

By Malcolm Bell. 2024. 210 pages. $15.95/paperback; $6.99/eBook.

The author recounts his previous dream of retreating alone to Iona, an island off the coast of Scotland, to read the Bible and write. Marriage changed his plans of solitary reflection, but writing this book enabled him to express his faith convictions:

While my views are mostly simple, one reason that I dare to venture them is that the views of many eminent theologians strike me as being so encrusted with tradition, received wisdom, and excess logic that they often miss the mark.

Bell notes that atheist authors such as Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins used scientific discovery to highlight factual errors in Scriptures, but he uses such knowledge to show the majesty of God’s creation.

Bell’s reflections range from single sentences to short paragraphs, grouped by topics such as God, religion, and the Bible. Bell describes God as a mystery and says that he does not know if he believes in the Quaker view that there is that of God in each person. He observes that God often does not prevent suffering and premature death yet affirms that “Love is a palpable element of God.”

Some of Bell’s reflections draw on his career as an attorney. He notes that trial lawyers often try to discredit a witness by catching them in a single lie, which leads a jury to reject their entire testimony. Many readers apply a similar method to reading the Bible, but Bell describes this approach as erroneous.

This volume offers readers a source of thought-provoking daily readings drawn from the spiritual life of a convinced Quaker.

Motley Group of Weston Priory Newsletter, July-August 2024