Matthew Fox: Original Blessing, The Coming of the Cosmic Christ — drew me to Christianity with his interfaith, panentheistic, life-affirming mystical views. He demonstrates that original sin is not biblical and that life is a blessing. The Cosmic Christ corresponds to Cosmic Consciousness, the Universal Teacher, pervading all, and this formed the basis of my Christology. He prophetically speaks the truth even in the face of oppression by Catholic Church authorities who would silence him. 

Jim Wallis: Sojourners, Call to Renewal — is a progressive Evangelical prophet who tirelessly crusades for peace and justice in a broad ecumenical context.

Marvin Chaney: Old Testament Professor and mentor — taught me to see scripture in a postmodern deconstructionist way and still be a person of faith able to embrace the myth and its meaning for us today.

Marcus Borg: Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time, The God We Never Knew — first redefined Jesus from a historical perspective and then redefined God from a panentheistic perspective.

John Shelby Spong: Why Christianity Must Change or Die, Here I Stand — one of the leading reformers and critics of the church for decades especially around such issues as racism, sexism, and homophobia. He tries to bring the church into the twenty-first century and discards untenable first century beliefs.

Paul Tillich: Dynamics of Faith — like Bhaktivinode Thakur, supplies an understanding of faith as something separate from belief and allows us to explore the realm of faith without clinging to outmoded beliefs.

Martin Luther King, Jr.: Prophet — provides a shining example of the practical application of the gospel to a contemporary social context.

These persons are representative of many others I had the good fortune to know personally and through their writings. All this learning and experience goes into the formation of Universalist Radha-Krishnaism.

– Steve Bohlert