Things Hidden

A beloved, spiritually transformative book that deepens our understanding of Scripture, from the bestselling author of The Tears of Things and The Universal Christ.

In Things Hidden, Richard Rohr offers a sweeping, transformative reading of the Bible that moves beyond moralism and proof-texting to reveal the coherent spiritual vision at its heart. Tracing the great themes that run from Genesis to Revelation, Rohr shows how Scripture consistently overturns our assumptions about power, violence, exclusion, and divine judgment. Again and again, the biblical narrative lifts up the barren, the powerless, the outsider, and the forgiven—revealing a God who creates life out of failure, mercy out of sin, and resurrection out of apparent defeat.

Drawing on the prophetic tradition, the nonviolent trajectory of the Hebrew Scriptures, and Jesus’s radical message of forgiveness and inclusion, Rohr reframes familiar doctrines—original sin, atonement, holiness, hell, and grace—as invitations into a deeper, contemplative consciousness. The Bible’s primary concern, he argues, is not moral perfection but spiritual transformation: a shift from domination to surrender, from exclusion to embrace, from certainty to trust.

Written in Rohr’s signature blend of theological depth and pastoral wisdom, Things Hidden invites readers to discover the Bigger Story holding our smaller stories together—and to encounter the hidden, healing mystery that has been present since the foundation of the world.Richard Rohr is a globally recognized Franciscan friar and ecumenical teacher whose work bears witness to the deep wisdom of Christian mysticism. He is the founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque, New Mexico, an educational nonprofit that introduces seekers to the contemplative Christian path of transformation. He is the author of many books, most recently, the New York Times bestseller The Tears of Things. His work has been featured on Oprah’s SuperSoul Sunday, Krista Tippett’s On Being, and in The New Yorker and Harper’s magazine.