Reclaim Spiritual Power, Book Urges

Leo Booth’s mother used to tell him things like, “If God wants you to have it, you will.” When people died, she told her young son that God had “called them home” and “their time had come.” The same “in charge” God was praised in litany, prayers and sermons at the neighborhood Episcopal church.

As a priest, Booth was encouraged to never question the “mind of God.” He got in touch with his maker through church rituals, rote prayers and monastic retreats. But his relationship with God was passive, a little fearful and ultimately unfulfilling. He became an alcoholic.

“All grief and sadness were … buried behind the silent belief in a mysterious God whose ways are not our ways,” Booth writes in the recently published book “The God Game: It’s Your Move” (Stillpoint Publishing, $18.95). “Today, I see the results of that buried sadness and anger. I hear the rage at workshops and conferences from people who were never allowed to question, to grieve, because ‘God knows best.”’

Today, 17 years sober, the 48-yearold parish priest and certified addictions and eating disorders counselor is a star on the church lecture and workshop circuit. In his talks, he describes the “unhealthy religious co-dependency” and “religious abuses” that many churches foster, and he encourages people to find God within themselves.

“We’ve heard about physical abuse, family abuse, sexual abuse. Now, we’re hearing about spiritual abuse,” says Booth.