Solus Jesus by Emily Swan and Ken Wilson Wins the 2020 Eric Hoffer Spiritual Book Award
The Eric Hoffer Book Award honors the memory of the great American philosopher Eric Hoffer by highlighting important and timely writing—as well as the independent spirit of small publishers. Since its inception, the Hoffer has become one of the largest international book awards for small, academic, and independent presses.
It is with great pride that Front Edge Publishing announces that Solus Jesus by Emily Swan and Ken Wilson has won the Eric Hoffer Spiritual category award for . The Spiritual category honors books exploring mind and spirit, including religion as well as the metaphysical and mystical.
A Compelling Argument for Churches
Here is how the panel of judges, under the direction of the Eric Hoffer Project, described Solus Jesus—as reported in The U.S. Review of Books:
This book continues Phyllis Tickle’s conversation about the shortcomings of Martin Luther’s sola Scriptura. Specifically, limiting our faith to a strict reading of the Bible devalues the role of experience and consequently limits the opportunity to follow the Holy Spirit’s lead on the matter of inclusion. While mainline Christian denominations try to contextualize the Bible to bring about a more inclusive interpretation of Christianity, the authors take a different approach and draws on works of liberation theology. Scripture is on the side of those who suffer. Scripture is on the side of those without power. Ultimately, the authors provide a compelling argument for churches to embrace the LGTBQI community.
I hope the ideas of Solus Jesus will percolate in the wider Christian community for years to come,
Emily Swan said when she got the news. This acknowledgement by the Eric Hoffer Book Awards tells me the readers understood the importance of what we’re trying to do, and they felt compelled enough by it to offer us some recognition. That feels great.
Ken Wilson said:
out of stock,but we know more are coming to Amazon. You also could choose to order the book through Barnes & Noble or through our own Front Edge Publishing bookstore, which ships directly from the publishing plant.
What we call Christianity is surely undergoing the ordeal of change, so to receive the Eric Hoffer Book Award was an unexpected but apt delight. Our proposal—that the experienced Jesus is enough—could only have come from a small publishing enterprise like Read the Spirit, willing to bet that Phyllis Tickle was on to something: We’re in the midst of a once-every-500-years shift. I’m so grateful to the Eric Hoffer panel for keeping their eye on the wilderness, where some interesting things are afoot.
Solus Jesus is published by Read the Spirit Books an imprint of Front Edge Publishing. Since , Front Edge’s flexible approach to publishing includes major universities, nonprofits and individual authors. Front Edge Publishing is a hybrid publishing services company specializing in fast and flexible publishing. Our team of experts is committed to our founding promise: Great media builds healthy communities.
Contact the Authors and Spread the Word
Emily Swan and Ken Wilson are available for author interviews. Please contact Susan Stitt, Marketing Director for review copies of Solus Jesus or to put you in touch with Emily and Ken.
If you share in the vision of an inclusive Christian community that Ken and Emily are celebrating in their book—and their ongoing work in ministry—please share this news story via social media with friends.