As Usual, I Need More Bookshelves: faith

Showing posts with label faith. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Faith Words - Evolving in Monkey Town by Rachel Held Evans

Synopsis from publisher -

Eighty years after the Scopes Monkey Trial made a spectacle of Christian fundamentalism and brought national attention to her hometown, Rachel Held Evans faced a trial of her own when she began to have doubts about her faith. Growing up in a culture obsessed with apologetics, Evans asks questions she never thought she would ask. She learns that in order for her faith to survive in a postmodern context, it must adapt to change and evolve.

Using as an illustration her own spiritual journey from certainty, through doubt, to faith, Evans adds a unique perspective to the ongoing dialogue about postmodernism and the church that has so captivated the Christian community in recent years.

My thoughts -

I stumbled upon Rachel Held Evans in the most contemporary of ways - someone posted a blog post on their Facebook page. (It was this post - where she encouraged men to speak out about the issue of a woman's "place" in the church), and from there started regularly following her blog. I found I could relate to much of her journey. And when I saw the title of her book, I knew I had to read it - because heaven knows, I've BEEN the girl who Knows All The Answers.

I appreciate Evans' style because while she is obviously a smart girl, her writing never comes across as highbrow or "intellectual" - she is writing smart, challenging words for the everyday person. It's a great balance between making the reader think and keeping them entertained - and honestly, many nights when I'm exhausted from my day, intellectual just isn't where I need to be.

I could relate to so much of Evans' journey - the growing up years in a conservative Christian community, the seeds of doubt pushed back into the recesses of the mind, the dawning realization that the faith of her parents might not be the right faith for her. It's chronicled beautifully throughout the book, and it struck a powerful chord for me.

"What makes a faith crisis so scary is that once you allow yourself to ask one or two questions, more inevitably follow. Before you know it, everything looks suspicious....The space between doubting God's goodness and doubting his existence is not as wide as you might think." (p. 95-96)

"For as long as I can remember, the Bible has been compared to a weapon, and for as long as I can remember, it has been used as one....Rather than using the whole Bible as a sword, however, we tend to pick out certain verses and use them as daggers so we can fight at closer range." (p. 187)

"Many of those who consider ourselves more progressive can be tolerant of everyone except the intolerant, judgmental toward those we deem judgmental, and unfairly critical of tradition or authority or doctrine or the establishment or whatever it is we're in the process of deconstructing at the moment." (p. 208)

I don't think this book will be for everyone. For some it's not a topic they are interested in; for some, it will be difficult to stomach. For me, it was an honest and beautiful picture of one person's struggle to come to a place of authentic faith. I look forward to reading more by this author. Recommended.

Finished - 6/8/13
Source - my shelves
MPAA rating - G
My rating - 9/10

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Faith Words - Love Story by Nichole Nordeman

My faith is a constant in my life - I have tested it, doubted it, argued with it, fought against it, and it still remains. I don't fit easily into a cookie-cutter definition of a Christian. I read a lot about faith - things I agree with, things I reject, things that frustrate me, things that encourage me. Faith Words is a journal of my readings in the area of faith.

Love Story: Falling Apart in Perfect Condition, Restored by God, Perfectly Loved by Nichole Nordeman
ebook
published 8/31/12

Synopsis from publisher:

Love Story is an exquisite narrative that exposes the emotional and human underside of major biblical events, including Adam and Eve’s dramatic fall in the Garden of Eden, Sarah and Abraham’s struggle to have a child, Mary’s surprise at being pregnant with Jesus, Paul’s trauma on the road to Damascus, and concludes with a triumphant picture of the second coming of Christ. This book is a dramatic connecting point for all readers, inspiring them to grasp the poignant nature of God’s immense, all-consuming love

My thoughts:

First Impression - 8/16/12 I first discovered Nichole Nordeman in 1998 when her first album, Wide Eyed, was released - her words immediately resonated with me. I felt like she wrote the things that were in my heart, like she was writing the songs in my own head that I couldn't quite put down on paper. Her honestly about her own doubts and struggles has always been so refreshing, and something I could completely relate to. So I was incredibly excited to see that she had written her first book. It has honestly been a while since I've read much "contemporary christian" nonfiction - sometimes it just seems like a bunch of platitudes with no real substance behind it. I had a feeling Nordeman's book would be different, and so far I'm right. The honesty that she has shown in her music is all right there, open on the page, without pretense or pretension. I think I could read the whole book in one day, but I'm trying to slow down - savor the experience - and really find something that speaks to my soul.

Second Thoughts - 8/29/12

It's a sneaky little book - so much of it feels like sitting down and having a conversation with your girlfriend, sharing highs and lows, being a little bit honest, a little bit vulnerable. Those conversations that leave you feeling heard and understood, and then two days later you realize that you've changed the way you think about something because of it. I've enjoyed each section of the book, but the chapters about Esther, and a woman's struggle with the beauty culture; and Job, and the impossibility of understanding how a good God can allow such deep suffering, have been true standouts. Nordeman's style is quite informal, which adds to the impression that you are speaking face to face. And, as with her music, I find that she writes the thoughts in my head that I can't put down on paper.

"Heroes of the Bible. Heroes of the faith. Really? I just don't see it. I know they did heroic things when God empowered them to and when they chose God's path and not their own, but to slap the hero label on some of those foreheads feels awkward to me, if not a little far-fetched. I see profoundly flawed men and women who got caught in the net of God's mercy and were wise enough to confess the blackness of their hearts, realigning their messed-up lives with God's plan about a jillion times every month. They have moments of little-g greatness only when they are subject to big-G Greatness. Otherwise they are mostly capital-T Trainwrecks. Like us."

Last Word - 9/2/12

This was a winner in just about every way for me. I loved Nordeman's choice of characters - biblical greats whose stories we've heard a hundred times, but in her eyes suddenly vulnerable and new. Something about her words has always resonated with me, and this book was no different. Nordeman never tries to do "deep" theology - this isn't biblical exegesis. It's just one woman, sharing what she has learned over the course of a life that seemed, in many unexpected ways, so much like mine. I highlighted many times, in nearly every chapter, something that spoke especially to my heart. Highly recommended from this couch - it's a good one.

Finished: 8/31/12
Source: review copy from publisher via Netgalley - thank you!
MPAA Rating: G
My rating: 9/10