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sarahhyatt 's review for:
Wearing God: Clothing, Laughter, Fire, and Other Overlooked Ways of Meeting God
by Lauren F. Winner
It has been years since I read anything by Lauren Winner, though I remember loving Girl Meets God, liking Real Sex (ha), and really liking Still. I was in a completely different place for all of those, so maybe that is part of my bias.
I could not get into this one. So much so that I skipped huge chunks of it. A couple paragraphs in the section on laughter caught my eye, as Lauren discussed her discomfort with God's laughter as derisive, and there were some interesting comments on the Psalms. That was it. That part, for me, was so good that I flipped back to give the rest of the book a chance, but even then I still found myself bored.
Maybe it was the lack of personal story - I would much rather read a memoir than a theological treatise. Much of this read like an assigned text for school, and I have read too many of those. Almost too much substance - too many quotes, too many extra readings. I respect and understand Lauren's drive to research and include resources but I felt I was bogged down in so much information and so much extra, when I would have preferred to just read her words more clearly. She was completely obscured by information.
Finally, and maybe less overtly relevant (or maybe not), I dropped this down from two to one star after reading of Lauren's affiliation with Tony Jones. I pride myself on being completely ignorant of Christian culture and know of Lauren Winner from my college days. I don't know the nature of their professional relationship beyond the fact that they teach a class together at Fuller Theological Seminary, but that sounds cozy enough.
The abuse allegations against Tony Jones regarding his ex wife, Julie, are vile. Tony's actions online and as recorded in the court document are indefensible. His comments online alone have displayed a tendency to be manipulative, arrogant, and self-centered. He has been diagnosed with narcissistic personality disorder, and that diagnosis alone should be a clue and a red flag as to how much destruction he has left - and will continue to leave - in his wake. This is a man who has no place in church or spiritual leadership at all. He most certainly does not have any business teaching future Christian leaders. I honestly do not know how anyone could argue otherwise after even skimming the court documents.
So the book lost a star for that, from two to one, except the bonus star was really only for those few pages on laughter and I don't know that a few pages are worth an entire star anyway.
I could not get into this one. So much so that I skipped huge chunks of it. A couple paragraphs in the section on laughter caught my eye, as Lauren discussed her discomfort with God's laughter as derisive, and there were some interesting comments on the Psalms. That was it. That part, for me, was so good that I flipped back to give the rest of the book a chance, but even then I still found myself bored.
Maybe it was the lack of personal story - I would much rather read a memoir than a theological treatise. Much of this read like an assigned text for school, and I have read too many of those. Almost too much substance - too many quotes, too many extra readings. I respect and understand Lauren's drive to research and include resources but I felt I was bogged down in so much information and so much extra, when I would have preferred to just read her words more clearly. She was completely obscured by information.
Finally, and maybe less overtly relevant (or maybe not), I dropped this down from two to one star after reading of Lauren's affiliation with Tony Jones. I pride myself on being completely ignorant of Christian culture and know of Lauren Winner from my college days. I don't know the nature of their professional relationship beyond the fact that they teach a class together at Fuller Theological Seminary, but that sounds cozy enough.
The abuse allegations against Tony Jones regarding his ex wife, Julie, are vile. Tony's actions online and as recorded in the court document are indefensible. His comments online alone have displayed a tendency to be manipulative, arrogant, and self-centered. He has been diagnosed with narcissistic personality disorder, and that diagnosis alone should be a clue and a red flag as to how much destruction he has left - and will continue to leave - in his wake. This is a man who has no place in church or spiritual leadership at all. He most certainly does not have any business teaching future Christian leaders. I honestly do not know how anyone could argue otherwise after even skimming the court documents.
So the book lost a star for that, from two to one, except the bonus star was really only for those few pages on laughter and I don't know that a few pages are worth an entire star anyway.