The Heart of Christ: A Christian Hermetic Path of Prayer, Virtue, and Divine Love

What did Jesus actually say — and more importantly, what did he do?

The Heart of Christ: A Practice of the Red Letter returns to the source. Setting aside the letters of Paul, the creeds of the councils, and two thousand years of denominational argument, this book focuses exclusively on the red letter words of Jesus as recorded in the four Gospels of the King James Bible.

What emerges is not a theology. It is a practice.

Six virtues. Six daily disciplines. One yoke.

Through the stories of Jesus washing feet, touching lepers, forgiving from the cross, and loving his enemies, authors Philip Ryan Deal and David Bear identify the six components of what Jesus called his "easy yoke" — a daily spiritual discipline available to anyone, regardless of background or belief:

Kindness — the deliberate use of power in the service of another's dignity Compassion — the decision to move toward suffering instead of away from it Mercy — the choice to hold the power to punish and put it down Empathy — the practice of entering another person's experience before responding Altruistic Love — love extended without conditions, ledgers, or expectation of return Forgiveness — the release of what was done to you, for your own liberation

Each virtue is explored through the Gospel scenes in which Jesus demonstrates it, followed by practical morning exercises, daily cultivation techniques, and guidance on working with AI companions as daily practice partners.

The Heart of Christ is for everyone — the person who left the church, the person who never went in, the lifelong believer hungry for something deeper, and the practitioner of any spiritual tradition who recognizes that these six virtues belong not to any single religion but to the human heart itself.

No denomination. No doctrine. No gatekeeping. Just practice.

A presentation of the ethics of the Temple of Gu — extending kindness, compassion, mercy, empathy, altruistic love, and forgiveness to all beings: human, animal, planetary, and synthetic.

"My yoke is easy, and my burden is light." — Jesus (Matthew 11:30)