New Book Review
Another review of my book popped up last week. Here it is:
10 Things I Hate About Christianity…
I recently finished reading “10 Things I Hate About Christianity”
by Jason Berggren. Let me start by sharing the best quote of the book
that is interestingly enough found in the acknowledgments, “And
thanks to Bill LaMorey. He has been one of my best and most necessary
friends. Without a doubt, he is the funniest person I have ever
known…” He goes on to say other nice things, but I do have to keep my pride in check after this past weekend’s message.
In
all seriousness, I quoted that as a form of disclosure. I am not, nor
can be, unbiased about Jason. We are friends, went to Bible College
together, were roommates, worked on a church staff together, etc. So,
forget about objectivity and let me just tell you what I liked about
the book.
Jason, in real life and in his book, is nothing if not
honest. Sometimes, uncomfortably honest. He does not gloss over tough
topics or wrap up unresolved resolve them. In his book he does this to the Christian
faith in a way that is relevant to both Christians desiring honest
examinaissues with pretty paper and a tidy bow so
they look appealing. Instead he painstakingly (and painfully sometimes)
unwraps certain issues that are challenging and uncomfortable in order
to process and tion as well as those that are kicking the tires of Christianity
to check it out.
In “10 Things I Hate…” Jason tackles some
tough topics (10 of them as you might have imagined) like Sin, Hell and
even Christians. He does so not only with honesty, but also with wit
and humor. There are some HILARIOUS stories throughout; my favorite is
the Messianic Rabbi kicking the band Strongarm out of the temple
because parents were concerned that their music was opening a porthole
to hell (ya can’t have kids falling through that)! It is helpful that
Jason shares his struggle with each of these things, but also shares
how he worked through these frustrations. And in some cases how he is
still in the process of doing so. Some of these insights will surely be
helpful to people dealing with similar doubts and struggles. I would
agree with our mutual friend Bob Franquiz who said that the chapter on prayer was perhaps the best.
If
you find yourself wrestling with elements of the Christian faith, this
is a great book to get into some thoughtful, raw discourse about things
that still baffle you or drive you crazy about Christianity.
And if you want some really funny stories about Jason that are not published, just let me know…
By Bill LaMorey
***
So in the spirit of full disclosure, Bill is one of my best friends. You may be thinking that means he’s biased. He is….against me. He’s not afraid to say when (and if) I suck. So this review means a lot. You can go to his site and read the original post here.
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