Mulholland, James 1960-

PERSONAL: Born 1960.

ADDRESSES: Home—Indianapolis, IN. Agent—c/o Author Mail, HarperCollins, 10 East 53rd St., Seventh Floor, New York, NY 10022.

CAREER: Ordained Baptist minister; Quaker pastor.

WRITINGS:

Praying like Jesus: The Lord's Prayer in a Culture of Prosperity, HarperSanFrancisco (San Francisco, CA), 2001.

(With Peter Gulley) If Grace Is True: Why God Will Save Every Person, HarperSanFrancisco (San Francisco, CA), 2003.

(With Philip Gulley) If God Is Love: Living Graciously in an Ungracious World, HarperSanFrancisco (San Francisco, CA), 2004.

SIDELIGHTS: Theologian James Mulholland is an ordained Baptist minister and oversees Quaker meetings in his home of Indianapolis. His writings are based on his deep-seated belief that neither Satan nor hell exist, and that God is a forgiving entity who will allow everyone into heaven, regardless of their religious affiliations. His first book, Praying like Jesus: The Lord's Prayer in a Culture of Prosperity, stresses the need to trust in God, explaining that the purpose of prayer is to give oneself into His hands rather than to ask for things that one wants. A contributor for Publishers Weekly remarked that the volume "offers strong, thoughtful theology," and Ray Olson, reviewing the work for Booklist, stated that, "powered by homely metaphors and anecdotes, and blazing with humanitarian fervor, this is a rousing restatement of Christianity as an active faith."

Written with Philip Gulley, If Grace Is True: Why God Will Save Every Person explains Mulholland's conviction that no person is destined to be damned. Both he and Gulley came to this conclusion separately, feeling that any image of a loving, benevolent God is in direct contrast with a God that is also vengeful. Mary Prokop remarked in a review for Library Journal that even the most diehard adherents to the tenants of the Bible "will find something here to encourage them to rethink beliefs they have held for years." Mulholland and Gulley's follow-up volume, If God Is Love: Living Graciously in an Ungracious World, explores what the world might be like if everyone lived within the guidelines of their faith. Booklist reviewer Donna Chavez suggested the theory might seem "overly simple at times," but concluded that the volume might serve as a "graciousness primer." A contributor to Publishers Weekly concluded that "this book details well Christ's command to love others and how to live that out."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, October 1, 2001, Ray Olson, review of Praying like Jesus: The Lord's Prayer in a Culture of Prosperity, p. 286; July, 2003, June Sawyers, review of If Grace Is True: Why God Will Save Every Person, p. 1848; October 1, 2004, Donna Chavez, review of If God Is Love: Living Graciously in an Ungracious World, p. 304.

Christianity Today, John Wilson, "A Distorted Predestination: Two Pastors Make a Case for Universalism, and End up Trivializing Human Freedom," p. 73.

Library Journal, July, 2003, Mary Prokop, review of If Grace Is True, p. 87.

Presbyterian Record, June, 2002, Audrey Little, review of Praying like Jesus, p. 44.

Publishers Weekly, October 1, 2001, review of Praying like Jesus, p. 1; June 16, 2003, review of If Grace Is True, p. 67; October 25, 2004, review of If God Is Love, p. 44.

ONLINE

Beliefnet.com, http://www.beliefnet.com/ (February 23, 2005), Cecil S. Holmes, "Pray like Jesus, Not Jabez."

HarperCollins Web site, http://www.harpercollins.com/ (February 23, 2005), "James Mulholland."

MyShelf.com, http://www.myshelf.com/ (February 23, 2005), "James Mulholland."