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A review by stabaquail
If God Is Love, Don't Be a Jerk: Finding a Faith That Makes Us Better Humans by John Pavlovitz
5.0
“If the God you’re following and preaching to people in their times of pain is indeed an a-hole—it’s probably not God at all. It’s probably just you.”
I love love loved this book.
I am always hesitant to read a Christian book because it can be hard to tell if the author will be "that" kind of Christian. Will the summary say they're all about love and living a Christ-like life and then spout some toxic, heteronormative, pro life, discriminatory bs for 6 hours? Or will we be on the same page? I could tell from the beginning we were off to an okay start when he talked about marriage equality and made some Trump jokes. But when we got to the chapter about God being nonbinary? Then I was like, "oh, hell yeah, now we're into the good stuff."
Like the author, there are times when I "can't Christian today" and don't want to align myself with a religion whose representatives can be so loudly hateful and discriminatory. But I still feel that loving Christianity is possible and important. I struggle with it a lot.
This book may have just been reaffirming what I already believe, but there were so many things that I have long thought and felt but have been unable to put into words as eloquently as the author has done here. There are also some things I still struggle with in my faith, like the purpose of prayer and the value of anger, which he provided some valuable perspective on.
It's usually a good sign when I check out both the audiobook and the Kindle book so I can highlight quote as I listen.
If you're not very very progressive, this book might make you uncomfortable, but maybe it's good for you to be uncomfortable! To me, it was validation that my ideals and values are still compatible with, and even essential to, this faith.
I love love loved this book.
I am always hesitant to read a Christian book because it can be hard to tell if the author will be "that" kind of Christian. Will the summary say they're all about love and living a Christ-like life and then spout some toxic, heteronormative, pro life, discriminatory bs for 6 hours? Or will we be on the same page? I could tell from the beginning we were off to an okay start when he talked about marriage equality and made some Trump jokes. But when we got to the chapter about God being nonbinary? Then I was like, "oh, hell yeah, now we're into the good stuff."
Like the author, there are times when I "can't Christian today" and don't want to align myself with a religion whose representatives can be so loudly hateful and discriminatory. But I still feel that loving Christianity is possible and important. I struggle with it a lot.
This book may have just been reaffirming what I already believe, but there were so many things that I have long thought and felt but have been unable to put into words as eloquently as the author has done here. There are also some things I still struggle with in my faith, like the purpose of prayer and the value of anger, which he provided some valuable perspective on.
It's usually a good sign when I check out both the audiobook and the Kindle book so I can highlight quote as I listen.
If you're not very very progressive, this book might make you uncomfortable, but maybe it's good for you to be uncomfortable! To me, it was validation that my ideals and values are still compatible with, and even essential to, this faith.