Tagged: God RSS

  • coffeehousereader 9:17 pm on February 25, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , Doubt, , God, ,   

    Silent Savior by A. J. Gregory 

    I was a bit leery on checking this book out of the library. I’ve read books on how to deal when it seems as though God is silent.  They read like a giant Christian cliché.  I was hoping this was not going to be another ones of those types of books.  I was in for a pleasant surprise.

    A. J. Gregory writes with honesty.  She doesn’t sugar coat the tough times or make you feel that if you aren’t praying enough or doing x, y, z that you’re not following God’s will and that’s why He’s silent.  Nope.  She struggles with doubts as well.  Some days faith isn’t as easy as it appears and trusting God is a challenge.  It was very refreshing to read a book by a believer where they let themselves be completely vulnerable with their audience.  There was no fakery in her words.

    If you’re struggling with knowing that God is there I recommend this book.  I’ve had my own dry spiritual spells and they suck.  I used to have such a stronger faith, but sometimes it feels as though it’s been put on the back burner.  I know it takes trust and patience. I know in time I’ll come full circle and be in the spot I am meant to be in my walk with Christ.  There’s no cookie cutter way to get there.  I’m glad for the time for growth and contemplation.  It’s tough going from a place where you’re fed Christianity 24/7 to having to work on it yourself.

     

    • wellwateredgarden 9:46 pm on February 25, 2010 Permalink

      Re: I know I’ll come full circle and be in that spot I’m supposed to be … actually – faith says that you’re in that spot all the time … believe it!

  • coffeehousereader 3:43 pm on February 13, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , Community, God, , Women Equality   

    Quitting Church by Julia Duin 

    I confess I’m a church drop out. I found this little book filled with insightful reasons why people quit attending church. I found my own personal reasons listed among the many listed.

    Julia goes visiting different types of churches to interview well known preachers and unknown ones to find out the reasons for declining attendence. Issues range from control freaks that are pastors or the leadership team, to no ministries for singles who long to be married, but are told instead they are meant to be single, to women feeling like there is no real place for them in the church except to be stuck in the nursery or to organize potluck dinners. It’s not mainly new comers who are fleeing, but the seasoned members who are leaving in droves. To some church has become entertainment that you watch to get a spiritual high, but are given so solid spiritual food to help sustain you in the real world.

    I do long to go to church. I miss the community and the worship. I grew up in a reformed congergation. I have attended a charismatic church and a Church of Christ church where no instraments are used, to a Unity church that felt like I’d stepped back into the 70’s hippie era. Finding my perfect fit is not easy. I want to be challenged, not babied, but I don’t want to be treated as merely a woman. I would like equality. Does this mean I have become a liberal femenist? I can’t pretend that old school church satisfys. I feel the need for growth. To grow outside the box that is church. I long for a strong authentic faith. I had one as a child, but being an adult brings it’s own discoveries. It’s an ever evolving growth. I hope to find a church home where I am seen as an equal and challenged to grow.

    This book was fairly well written. There are a lot of statistics and a lot of famous Christian names thrown around. It definitely made me feel not alone.

     

    • Natalie 7:08 pm on March 6, 2010 Permalink

      I, too, have found that faith is an evolving process depending on your experiences and where you are in life. I hope you find a place where you fit too.

  • coffeehousereader 7:13 am on December 4, 2009 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , God, , KJV Debate, NIV, Paul Knitter, The Message, Without Buddha I Could Not Be A Christian   

    On The Edge Of Enlightenment 

    I’m still trudging through my current read.  As I’m taking my time reading it my brain is on an overload of information.  Sometimes I have to reread what I’ve just read.  Reading a book where Buddhism and Christianity is compared is intriguing.  It’s enlightening to see how Buddhism can enhance Christianity.  It sounds blasphemous I’m sure.  I’m not going to suddenly turn Buddhist, my spouse has already gone that route, but in reading this book I’m trying to understand what he has been reading about and absorbing the past few years.  I’m also hoping to gleam a lot through educating myself about Buddhism.  I have previously read one or two books on this  topic.

    I think it’s great to be learning about other beliefs.  Growing up I was never exposed to other beliefs.  Of course now that I’m in my early thirties it’s like I’m having a late bloomers religious exploration.  I never took World Religions in college.  I did take Christianity 101 and that is what started me on my Christian confusion. To read about all the different secs of Christianity from the early years of the church was like discovering views you never knew were out there, but after you read about them it’s like finding the missing piece of your faith puzzle.  It’s realizing I don’t necessarily agree with what I’ve been taught growing up.  My Christian confusion started with taking Christianity 1o1, then it got muddled at the same time because I learned about the whole KJV Bible ONLY debate.  So then I wasn’t sure I really wanted to own an NIV, so I switched to a KJV, but then everyone knows that’s a pain in the rear to read because it’s so archaic.  Then I tried The Message.  Reading that out loud was hilarious because to me it sounded so silly.  I know it’s not meant to be a study Bible and is not the best paraphrase to read for a Bible study, but I just couldn’t take it seriously. So then I went back to NIV which is what I was raised on.  But after hearing about the KJV ONLY view it’s like I couldn’t go backwards to when I was innocent and in the dark.  Finally I’ve settled on the Amplified Bible.  I know Joyce Meyers highly recommends it and I admire her, so I thought ah, what the heck I’ll try it.  Sadly I’ve only cracked it open one time.  Yes, I haven’t been reading my Bible at all.

    I’m looking forward to continuing my book on Buddhism and seeing how their views can enhance my faith.  What a wild read this is turning out to be.  Have a great day and happy Friday! :)

     

    • Mrs. Micah 7:18 am on December 4, 2009 Permalink

      Fascinating. I’ve run across articles on the subject, but not books. I consider myself an Anabaptist Christian augmented by Buddhism. I’m not comfortable with the entirety of Buddhism, but sometimes I find going outside the system & language in which I was brought up help me to understand the same concepts in a new and useful way. I’ll have to check it out. I don’t know if I’d say that without Buddha I couldn’t be a Christian, but it helps a LOT.

    • (Gardening)Jo 9:36 pm on December 6, 2009 Permalink

      Blog looks great! :-)

  • coffeehousereader 6:57 pm on October 18, 2009 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , God, , Timothy Keller   

    Spiritually Hungry: A Look at The Prodigal God by Tim Keller 

    I just finished a little tome titled The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller.  It’s a short little book, but has a profound message that I’ve never thought about before.  It takes the parable of the Return of the Prodigal Son and turns it on its head.  Rather than viewing the wayward son as the bad guy it shows how the  older son who stays behind to do the right thing is not as angelic as he looks.

    Growing up hearing this Bible story I always viewed the wayward son as the bad son. He was the one who leaves his family prematurely to go live it up and live the supposed good life (drinking, being with multiple women, staying up late every night, eating fine food, buying lots of nice possessions), and wasting away his inheritance. I never thought about the older son who stays behind and of course is furious when his younger brother returns.  Daddy dearest of course welcomes his younger son back with open arms and even decides to throw a huge welcome back party for him.  The older brother is not just ticked to see his little brother return groveling at their dad, but to see their dad want to lavish him a party and gifts too.  How insulting to the one son who does what he is told, works hard to help and assist with the family business and not chose to throw away his inheritance.

    I never thought the older son as being in the wrong too.  I mean sure I’d be ticked and not want to go to my younger brother’s welcome back party if he’d just thrown away my father’s hard earned money.  I can completely understand why he’d be hugely insulted.  But I never saw how the anger and jealousy was just as wrong as the living it up.  Rather than being understanding and thankful his brother returns home safe he refuses to come into the party.

    Mr. Keller shows how the different paths these two brothers choose are the ways in which we can try to reach God..  We can attempt to be the lone spiritual Christian ranger and go live our own way thinking we know best, or we can be the spiritually correct one who follows the rules. Growing up I was the good girl.  I always followed the rules, never questioned.  Now I can see myself turning from the elder brother of feeling I’ve spiritually ‘arrived’ into the younger brother who wants to experience the world and examine life and my beliefs.  Not that I’ve chucked my belief in God.

    Reading how being the good little Christian girl can also, blind me to my real condition.  I can have the sense that I’ve grown in my faith, gained Biblical knowledge, but not see the fat stinky plank in my own eye.  It’s interesting how a well known Bible story can have deeper meaning than previously I thought.

    Before I read this book I would never have seen myself as the elder brother whose inside bitter and arrogant but outwardly the model son in following the rules without complaint or question.  It’s a real wake up call to see yourself in the mirror and see it’s not all rosy.

    I have a long way to go in my Christian walk.  This book opened my eyes to so many aspects of my faith and how I thought I was walking the good Christian path.  It’s therapeutic to see that my path has lots of pot holes that need to be filled.  It’s refreshing to be honest with myself.

     

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