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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
Best book I've read in a long time. I didn't want it to be over.
For as engaging and humorous Miller is, and for as intriguing and clever as his points are, there are a few points that I take issue with in this book. I felt like there were a few historical inaccuracies that didn't necessarily matter much to his larger points, but did take away from my overall enjoyment. I felt that Chapter 5, Naked, was one of the best chapters of any book in this non-fiction, quasi-theological/quasi self-help, hard to place genre. However, the back third of this book did tend to drag on a bit. He somehow lost that humor and perspective that drew me in at the beginning. I felt the same about Blue Like Jazz, the only other book of his that I've read. But overall, it was very good and the ideas presented were reasonably novel and well-presented.
This is a revised, updated edition of the book. There's apparently also a lot you can do online (codes, anagrams, etc.) but I haven't done that--and probably won't; my brain doesn't seem to work that way.
This book's thesis is that we all need a relationship with God but that, because of what happened in the Garden of Eden, we don't have one. That causes us to look elsewhere for affirmation (friends, colleagues, etc.). I'm not sure I agree with the idea that we all can only function if we have someone telling us we're worthwhile, but I know everyone likes to be liked, so I'm willing to go with it.
Another main point is that everyone has their idea of who God is and who Jesus is, and that we're probably all wrong because we're trying to cast Him/Them in our terms and that, coincidentally, He/They completely agree with how we view the world.
One thing that did strike me was (and this gets back to the idea that we seek elsewhere for affirmation) that he said that religion-baiting is actually Satan's work. For an example, he mentioned that he grew up Baptist and was always pretty smug around his Methodist friends because they had it wrong. Now, though, "It all sounds you innocent until you realize whatever evil thing it was that caused me to believe Baptists are better than Methodists is the same evil thing that has Jews killing Palstinians rather than talking to them, and for that matter, Palestinians killing Jews rather than engaging in an important conversation about land and history and peace."
I do feel like a lot of the time, we define ourselves in terms of being better or worse than other people, and that bothers me.
I think I preferred Blue Like Jazz, though.
This book's thesis is that we all need a relationship with God but that, because of what happened in the Garden of Eden, we don't have one. That causes us to look elsewhere for affirmation (friends, colleagues, etc.). I'm not sure I agree with the idea that we all can only function if we have someone telling us we're worthwhile, but I know everyone likes to be liked, so I'm willing to go with it.
Another main point is that everyone has their idea of who God is and who Jesus is, and that we're probably all wrong because we're trying to cast Him/Them in our terms and that, coincidentally, He/They completely agree with how we view the world.
One thing that did strike me was (and this gets back to the idea that we seek elsewhere for affirmation) that he said that religion-baiting is actually Satan's work. For an example, he mentioned that he grew up Baptist and was always pretty smug around his Methodist friends because they had it wrong. Now, though, "It all sounds you innocent until you realize whatever evil thing it was that caused me to believe Baptists are better than Methodists is the same evil thing that has Jews killing Palstinians rather than talking to them, and for that matter, Palestinians killing Jews rather than engaging in an important conversation about land and history and peace."
I do feel like a lot of the time, we define ourselves in terms of being better or worse than other people, and that bothers me.
I think I preferred Blue Like Jazz, though.