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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
Christians may not be loathed so much if they would just read this book and come down from their high horses.
The short answer is that I did not love this book. The longer answer is slightly more complex.
First the negative, because I’d hate for people to dive in if they’re not prepared:
I found the author’s voice to be immature, self-absorbed, and irritating. His dismissal of Buddhism as being about people rubbing a statue’s belly and asking for favors shows his ignorance when he means it to show his sophistication. His use of the word “girls” to describe the women in his life gets under my skin. He wonders about his single-ness but shows that he is in no way likely to meet a woman on equal footing. His emphasis on needing to be cool rubbed me the wrong way. (How many times do we need to be reminded the guy’s a poor smoker?) Just ... grow up, dude!
I would not want a new Christian to think this book represents a deep, thoughtful approach to faith.
That said, as a minister, I did get some good new insights or restatements of faith ideas that were useful. His emphasis on God’s inexplicable love for flawed humanity and his bits about evangelism through living more than through proselytizing were worth reading.
So ... reader, beware.
First the negative, because I’d hate for people to dive in if they’re not prepared:
I found the author’s voice to be immature, self-absorbed, and irritating. His dismissal of Buddhism as being about people rubbing a statue’s belly and asking for favors shows his ignorance when he means it to show his sophistication. His use of the word “girls” to describe the women in his life gets under my skin. He wonders about his single-ness but shows that he is in no way likely to meet a woman on equal footing. His emphasis on needing to be cool rubbed me the wrong way. (How many times do we need to be reminded the guy’s a poor smoker?) Just ... grow up, dude!
I would not want a new Christian to think this book represents a deep, thoughtful approach to faith.
That said, as a minister, I did get some good new insights or restatements of faith ideas that were useful. His emphasis on God’s inexplicable love for flawed humanity and his bits about evangelism through living more than through proselytizing were worth reading.
So ... reader, beware.
"All great characters in stories are the ones who give their lives to something bigger than themselves."
I really enjoyed this book a lot - Donald Miller has a really intriguing writing style and it is hard to put the book down because of it!
I loved all of his stories and thoughts on Christianity - he explains everything in ways that are so easy to understand but still challenge your thoughts on the matter.
Overall fantastic read that I would definitely recommend!
I really enjoyed this book a lot - Donald Miller has a really intriguing writing style and it is hard to put the book down because of it!
I loved all of his stories and thoughts on Christianity - he explains everything in ways that are so easy to understand but still challenge your thoughts on the matter.
Overall fantastic read that I would definitely recommend!
Let me start out by saying what this book is not.
It is not a theological treatise. It is not a doctrinal text. It is not a creed, a credo, or a statement of faith. It is one man's description of his spiritual journey and some things he's learned along the way. In that sense, it's not terribly different from Tender at the Bone, Girl Meets God, Traveling Mercies, or any other memoir. I would not encourage people to use this book as their own personal bible. But then, I doubt Miller ever intended it to be used that way.
Taken for what it is--or what I think it's meant to be, anyway, which is a collection of Miller's own ruminations and conclusions--it's not a bad book at all. Miller is a decent enough writer, frank and self deprecating, and I suspect any introspective reader will resonate with his struggles and neuroses. I found his chapters on romance particularly compelling, as he discusses frankly his introversion, selfishness, and fear of rejection.
As I mentioned, this is not a treatise, and it's not long on theology. Miller focuses more on love than faith--most likely in an attempt to rectify the reverse imbalance in many evangelical churches--which could sound to an unwary reader like a sort of works-based salvation. Fortunately, Miller is absolutely adamant that men are by nature utterly sinful and capable of every sort of evil. He does not shy away from this belief, but continues to hammer it home throughout the book. He knows he needs a savior, and he makes it as clear as he can that his readers need a savior, too. (The specifics of salvation could be clearer, but at least he's starting in the right place.)
Perhaps it is this focus on the depravity of man that keeps the book from veering into the sort of arrogant condescension that seemed to run through Velvet Elvis. Miller seems acutely aware that he is self-absorbed (to write a book like this, you almost have to be), but he genuinely bemoans his selfishness and frankly and humbly confesses his sins to the reader.
Like Bell, Miller offers some criticisms of the American church--the way it politicizes religion and fails to genuinely love those who are different--but the book is more about his mistakes than it is a criticism of others'. The language is a little fluffier than I like--some of the terminology distinctions seem silly or even misleading to me ('Christian spirituality' rather than 'Christianity', just offer them Jesus, etc.).
But all in all, it's an inoffensive enough book with some helpful reminders of the depravity of man and convicting admonishments to love our neighbors better.
It is not a theological treatise. It is not a doctrinal text. It is not a creed, a credo, or a statement of faith. It is one man's description of his spiritual journey and some things he's learned along the way. In that sense, it's not terribly different from Tender at the Bone, Girl Meets God, Traveling Mercies, or any other memoir. I would not encourage people to use this book as their own personal bible. But then, I doubt Miller ever intended it to be used that way.
Taken for what it is--or what I think it's meant to be, anyway, which is a collection of Miller's own ruminations and conclusions--it's not a bad book at all. Miller is a decent enough writer, frank and self deprecating, and I suspect any introspective reader will resonate with his struggles and neuroses. I found his chapters on romance particularly compelling, as he discusses frankly his introversion, selfishness, and fear of rejection.
As I mentioned, this is not a treatise, and it's not long on theology. Miller focuses more on love than faith--most likely in an attempt to rectify the reverse imbalance in many evangelical churches--which could sound to an unwary reader like a sort of works-based salvation. Fortunately, Miller is absolutely adamant that men are by nature utterly sinful and capable of every sort of evil. He does not shy away from this belief, but continues to hammer it home throughout the book. He knows he needs a savior, and he makes it as clear as he can that his readers need a savior, too. (The specifics of salvation could be clearer, but at least he's starting in the right place.)
Perhaps it is this focus on the depravity of man that keeps the book from veering into the sort of arrogant condescension that seemed to run through Velvet Elvis. Miller seems acutely aware that he is self-absorbed (to write a book like this, you almost have to be), but he genuinely bemoans his selfishness and frankly and humbly confesses his sins to the reader.
Like Bell, Miller offers some criticisms of the American church--the way it politicizes religion and fails to genuinely love those who are different--but the book is more about his mistakes than it is a criticism of others'. The language is a little fluffier than I like--some of the terminology distinctions seem silly or even misleading to me ('Christian spirituality' rather than 'Christianity', just offer them Jesus, etc.).
But all in all, it's an inoffensive enough book with some helpful reminders of the depravity of man and convicting admonishments to love our neighbors better.
I enjoyed this book and I related to many of his thoughts, especially about living in a community and the love that goes into that.
I was disappointed and even a little bored by this book, but it wasn't a complete waste. It did contain some insights or concepts that I found thought-provoking.
Donald Miller is one of my favorite authors. My favorite thing about him is that he is not afraid to question his beliefs or the Christianity that he was taught to believe. You can tell that he has spent a lot of time considering what his heart and mind believe. While I don't always agree with what he says, I certainly respect the fact that he finds issues of religious belief something to consider personally and doesn't just take them at face value. His writing is very approachable and not at all arrogant or pushy. He doesn't try to make you think something, he tries to make you think.
I know this book swept through my church when it came out. Everyone talked about it and recommended it. I would definitely recommend it and also put this on a reread list to come back to. I think there is a lot for Christians to learn from a non-Christian perspective.
Makes you think and learn something new about myself and my faith each time I read it