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Yesterday I talked about Catholics encouraging people to pray before sex. Today I am posting a review of my book by a Catholic. Her name is Sarah Sharp and it appears at USCatholic.org:


So much for Paul’s assertion to the Corinthians that “the greatest of
these is love.” Jason Berggren openly admits in his debut book,
subtitled “Working Through the Frustrations of Faith,” that hate isn’t
what you’re supposed to feel, but he’s an angry young man and he does
anyway. He hates that parts of his faith don’t make sense, he hates
that faith takes so much work, and he hates that he wouldn’t have it
any other way.


Perhaps making a negative argument for Christianity seems
counterintuitive, but that’s what makes 10 Things so appealing. Young
people struggling with their faith especially will find Berggren’s
musings relevant. They’ll appreciate his focus on the mundane, everyday
challenges of putting that faith into practice.

Some of Berggren’s frustrations make complete sense: It is easy to
understand hating things such as hell, sin, and rules. But to hate
other Christians or prayer or even love? What’s not to love about love?

For one thing, Berggren says, “It seems like it shouldn’t be so much
work, but it is. . . . Love is unnatural that way.” And yet that is
what makes it all the more lovely and worthwhile. “Life minus love
equals zero.”

Far from being a raging diatribe against Christianity, as the title
suggests, this labor of love is Berggren’s attempt to explore what
makes him stay faithful to Christ and dedicated to Christianity in
spite of it all. For Berggren this hate has become as motivational as
love. “We can train our minds to use our hate, and . . . we can create
forward momentum: We sense the tension, wrestle with the issue, win the
battle, learn a lesson, grow as an individual, and move ahead,” he
says.


Often Berggren has more questions than answers. He can’t explain
everything; sometimes he doesn’t even try. He is no expert on faith,
and he’s certainly not holier than thou. He’s just trying hard to
figure it out, and sometimes he, like all of us, just have to work
backwards.


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