caught somewhere between real life, simple faith, & raw emotion
Comments by Readers
This link is the official place for comments by those who have read my book. So if you HAVE NOT READ the book your COMMENT WILL BE DELETED in respect to those who have gone through the effort. I invite open, honest, and respectful thoughts, as long as they are informed. So add to the dialogue. And thanks for stopping by!
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Caine-Thanks for the thoughts. Let’s keep in mind that most interviews (especially on tv) are edited into highlights. They do not convey the full context of the subject covered.
Considering what you’ve said, I look forward to hearing your full thoughts on the book. I think you will enjoy it.
Jason – I have not read your book [yet]. I just recently watched the video clip of the pre-interview with Dan Harris and I must say, I found your position to be a bit unbalanced and somewhat contradictory. However, it was only a pre-interview and I am taking that into consideration.
I am considering picking up a copy of your book before I make any further judgment calls.
Regardless, I want to thank you for being brave enough to embark on such a journey of self discovery. I think we all need to take a moment to for personal introspection and evaluation.
Being a Christian myself, I too have had struggles, two of which are similar to your own.
The first and foremost would be the two-sided personalities of most self-professed Christians. Of course, I am sure that someone at some point in time has said the same about me. So I won’t point fingers.
The second is with regards to the liveliness of the Bible. However, I feel as if you boxing the entire Bible within your position. Personally, I find it’s helpful to dissect the Bible into it’s core elements by examining each of the 66 books as a unique piece of literature. I can say, with all honesty, that some books are more dry than others. For example, Jewish law bores me to tears. And the so-and-so who begat so-and-so… yawn… where’s my coffee… But then, I find books such as the Gospels, Acts, and even Revelation to be riveting. I find Isaiah and Daniel to be puzzling – a challenge. And the individual stories, testimonies and autobiographies of various individuals to be quite interesting. Stories such as David with Bathsheba, King Nebuchadnezzar and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and their trials and tribulations all can provide inspiration and insight. So for me, the Bible as a whole is not boring. But I do find some parts to be less appealing than others. Again, without having read your book, I do not know what your full position is at this time.
With regards to prayer – this was the one position I felt you were unbalanced (based on pre-interview). In the interview, you continually adopt a first person position with phrases such as “prayer wouldn’t work out like I thought it should”, “I would think that God wasn’t involved”, “He doesn’t care as much as He says He does or that I think He should” and “He’s not giving me what I want Him to give me.” These are very self-serving position. Please remember, God is not a genii in a lamp. Our will is not God’s will. What we want for ourselves isn’t always what God wants for us. This is where reading the Bible, meditation and prayer play a vital role in a Christian’s life. Fellowship and communion are a strong second. Jesus lead by example and these are traits he exhibited throughout His life. He knew the scriptures, He meditated and prayed, and He had fellowship with His followers.
The root word of Christian is Christ and we are to follow Christ’s example.
Anyway – I look forward to reading your book. Again, thank you for your honesty.
I haven’t abandoned my faith. I, in fact, am more passionate about it than ever. And that’s what I try to capture in an honest and open way in my book. And that is why I still have faith…
hi i just read your writting. what book have your read that is so liberating that you have abandon your believe and faith. I guess i have not read such book or there is no such book.Who was it written? Is there any spiritual inspiritual behide or written to comfort someone in disbelief
Sorry for your pain. Not to sound like a shameless self-promoter, but I encourage you to pick up a copy of my book. I think it may help.
i was raised in a very strict christian home, i am 48 and i walked away from all religion several years ago , i began my study to what it really is. i am no longer a believer , indeed the bible is ruled by fear written by man, not some god as a means to rule the people. it contains more evil at the hands of this so called loving god than any other book i have ever read. never will i become a prisoner of religion, i am free from it holds.
Give please! Thanks for the invitation so much. I will try to come back as soon as possible. ;).
I am from Republic and too bad know English, give true I wrote the following sentence: “The internet bus continues to accelerate straight into the ipv address depletion wall with spirited discussions continuing on how to divvy.”
With best wishes :-), Homer.
Jason,
Before I get into how I felt about your book, I’d like to make it known that I’m slightly biased…
When I was an angsty 14 year old, trying to make sense of my shallow understanding Christianity, I was given a copy of Atonement. That record was very instrumental in kicking down a lot of the proverbial walls for me. It became somewhat of the sound track for “working through the frustrations of faith” back then. So, when I found out that the lead singer of Strongarm was writing a book, I had to read it.
But yeah, here’s what I thought about it…
I found it to be very “accessible.” If I had to compare it to the works of Dietrich Bonhoeffer that I’ve read, I’d have to say that I enjoyed your book a whole lot more. I could mow through a chapter and not have to take a nap once I finished. I appreciated the experiences you shared in this book… some I could relate to, others I’m glad that I couldn’t. But either way, they brought a great deal of prospective to the issues covered in this book, and made the whole experience of reading it very “real.”
Now some other comments…
The “my-mommy-bought-a-new-Honda” part had me laughing audibly in public.
The story of Tom the Rhodie made me sick to my stomach.
Perhaps you should consider offering a “10 Things/Atonement” package deal around the holidays… what a great stocking stuffer!
Anyway, thanks again, I look forward to reading your next one.
— Johnny
Jason, the book just arrived in the mail. I am looking forward to it. Thanks!
Lee-Thanks for the comment. While I appreciate the perspective, this area is reserved for comments by people who have actually read my book.
Do not hate your neighbor [or any other person] in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in his guilt.
-Leviticus 19:17 1Jo 3:15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.
Luk 6:27 But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you.
Hate is not taught in the Bible we know. If you believe in the teachings of Christ he gives us numerous lessons on love and hate. And they all relate to the former. If our goal is to change the world based on our Faiths why then would we hinder it by condescending other peoples beliefs. Its as much as a turn off as the condemning street preacher telling everyone they are going to hell. Instead we should be focusing on what we as “Christians” are doing to uplift our image as every foolish word and misconception of the bible drags our reputation deeper to a more contorted view of what it really means to be Christ like. We need to be the “light” or “salt of the earth” that we are referred to in the Bible not the seeds that were thrown to the barren soil. Every parable that speaks of wasted talents to the prodigal son translate to us needing to return to what we are supposed to be or where we are supposed to be as Disciples for our beliefs.
Hey Jason,
I really enjoyed reading your book, and I to struggle with the same issues that you outlined in your book as well. As a Christian, everyone expects that we have all the answers about God and Christ, but that is far from the truth, the bible and my faith seem to create as many questions as they answer. What was comforting to know is that I am not the only one in the world, as a follower of Christ that can’t answer questions about their faith exactly in a manner that is clear to others who do not believe.
Furthermore, your examples really hit home, as a father of two myself, when you talk about your children not only does it make your story and arguments more realistic, but as a reader I can relate – oh yeah -“boopa” to you to buddy, I laughed at that section of the book and picture my own kids following my wife and I around when we vaccumn!
I owe you a review on my site and I will sit down this Easter weekend and write an awesome review. Great job, great book, I highly recommend it to anyone who is a believer and still has questions (it is OK to have questions!).
God Bless!
Josh
I like how you wanted to establish yourself as a regular guy and then wrote a book that people without PhD’s could understand. I wouldn’t take you as seriously as an “everyman” if the book was filled with Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic up the ying-yang. So despite your frequent warnings between yourself and your wife, “being yourself” in this case is quite a good thing.
That said, there were some times when I would have appreciated a bit of reference for your arguments, specifically when referring to the Old Testament. There was the one chapter where you had footnotes referring to passages in the Bible which I liked. Or giving a brief synopsis of the various kinds of Bible translations. But other places, like when you were talking about God telling the Israelites to kill a group of people, when in reality it was in self-defense. That had me quite intrigued, and as someone who admittedly does pride myself on my intellect (however good or bad it may be) it would have been cool to follow up on that.
This kind of ties into the first point I made, but I appreciated what I saw to be your authenticity in dealing with various subjects. It comes across in the way that you describe your beliefs without attempting to be dogmatic about them to your readers. I think you pulled that off well. It has actually given me a new appreciation for your blog, in which I had previously hadn’t been following as closely due to my uncertainty surrounding the nature of your political comments (I happen to be left-er leaning in my own political persuasions). I have known people who so closely associate political beliefs with spiritual ones to the point that they wouldn’t allow any fellowship of the latter without fellowship of the former. But your book dispelled me of that notion and I apologize for my presumption.
Many of the things you struggle with I have as well, and so I could relate. Halfway through one section where you were talking about forgiveness, I actually put my book down and fired off an email to an ex I hadn’t talked to in months and apologized for some nasty things I had told her when she dumped me.
Bottom line, when I actually put myself to it, I read your book and liked it. Despite some disagreements on some issues, I think I could relate enough to the point where I didn’t really care. For someone who misguidedly thinks he’s smart, I applaud you for that. Well done.
Jason-
While I have to agree with you somewhat about LMN, I cannot agree completely. You sound like my husband. I do want you to know that many movies are suspense, dramas, etc. that do not have the theme of “man haters.” While I definitely pick and choose my movies, there are plenty that I just say no way for the very reasons you mentioned. But I promise, there are some that are well worth my viewing time. And so often they beat the ones on other networks that are saturated with language that drive me up the wall. Please take another look and you will find true stories, sweet stories about family and real life issues.
Marti
i’ve decided the best way to describe your book is that it’s an honest and gritty apologetics book for the spiritually cautious/ downright cynical.
there is no beating around any bushes. i despise bush beating. there is no fluff based solely on long-winded references from texts and people no one’s heard of. i hate superfluous writing. your book- straight on- gives account to questions and issues that most, if not all, nonchristians have. it’s real writing and, if any christian is honest or at least in touch with themselves, it speaks for all of us as believers.
i’ve already told my husband we need to buy more. my list of people who have got to read this is growing daily.
i like this book because it spoke to me, encouraged me in my walk, and excited me to continue to talk about my faith.
thanks so much for taking the time and writing it. God bless.
Jason, the book just arrived in the mail. I am looking forward to it. Thanks!