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Monday, August 3, 2009

read this book


okay, i have a handful of half-written blogs, and i just have too many ideas, too many thoughts, too many house projects, and too many vacation photos to get them finished. i am literally my own worst enemy sometimes because i just am incapable of being brief or inexhaustive. i have an acute ability to make blogging painstaking. lol. someone save me from myself!

so. i've been reading a lot of good books in the past few weeks, and i'm almost done with my music, movies, & books posts (when you read them you'll see what i mean about my attention to detail problem), but i have to inject a book plug before my actual post because this book is so necessary. especially for "christians" but not exclusively. the message of this book is poignant for any one who considers themself spiritual or religious in any regard, and for those who have been hurt or turned off by "christians" or "the church" at large. this book feels like the pinnacle of unarticulated thoughts that have been in my heart and mind for months...even years.

so here is my plug. go buy this book. then go read this book. NOW. right now. this minute. and then tell me what you think.

what, you need more than me telling you what to do? ;) geesh. okay. here is a spot of the co-author on cnn talking a bit about the book. the book is refreshing, smart, well-written and researched, and EXACTLY what any Jesus follower ought to be thinking and feeling, in my opinion. i'm SO over people in the media giving my faith a bad name. and i'm SO over people who call themselves christians being obsessed with politics, "saving people," all the while hating gays and having too much to say that has nothing to do with what Jesus taught. i'm sick of christian jargon, christian marketing, and psychotic anti-abortion protesters. DONE with it.

it's time for a new generation of "the Way" and the Way is not about agendas or activists or "us vs. them". eew.

it's about loving people, accepting people, helping people, being real, and being the change we want to see. like gandhi said, man.

so despite myself, something just came surging out, even if it's not concise or witty or well thought out. i don't even care. that's how important i think this book is for the future of believers and those we know and love.

so has anyone already read this book? anyone have any thoughts on "christians" they want to throw out there?

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6 Comments:

Blogger WitchyEditor said...

looks interesting. i'll pick it up at the library

Monday, August 03, 2009  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Do the authors of this book believe in, expouse, or teach that there is a place of everlasting, non-ending torment for people who do not believe in Jesus?

Thursday, August 13, 2009  
Blogger michelle said...

well, anonymous, you should read it and find out ;)

the author of the book is a christian, and he does believe that hell is a real thing, but that's not the point of this book. he's more interested in the approaches christians take- to use your example, like our trying to scare people into salvation by talking about hell (or our attempts to somehow sell them on heaven) and why these approaches are largely ineffective (and can even be UNchristian).

more than anything, this book is about how christians are perceived and how those perceptions are a stumbling block for people who don't know Christ. you should read it. then we'll it discuss more.

Thursday, August 13, 2009  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thank you for the clarification.

Thursday, August 13, 2009  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Reality is, in order to claim allegiance to the god of the Bible, you have to accept some pretty mean and nasty things. (like god clearly supports slavery, and baby killing, infanticide, genocide, etc) There is no real way around that kind of thing unless you toss the scriptures. My belief is that once you begin to want to "clean up" christianity, the way the author and yourself seem to, you are on your way to rejection of the Bible, and christianity. This is a good thing IMHO.

Thursday, August 13, 2009  
Blogger michelle said...

it doesn't seem like you want to read the book before you talk about it, eh?

these are complexities of the bible that are far too complicated to discuss in this medium for sure. but you have valid questions- if you're interested in answers, read up on jewish tradition and the history of ancient near-eastern cultures. it's really paramount to look at the OT in a historical and cultural context, but i have a feeling you already know that.

the thing about us is that we're human, and for us to fully understand a creator God seems unlikely. that's where faith comes in. and hermeneutics. there are things that are hard to reconcile, sure. i won't claim to know the difference between the things he commanded, the things he allowed, and the things that men did in his name. but i sure do know there IS a difference.

i wish you the best in your endeavor for truth, anonymous, and i hope you can find some of the answers to these questions that are a stumbling block for you.

Friday, August 14, 2009  

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