Blue Like Jazz

I never liked jazz music because jazz music doesn't resolve... I used to not like God because God didn't resolve. But that was before any of this happened.

Such is the Author's Note at the beginning of Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality by Donald Miller. Excellent book, one that's hard to put down, and when you do have to, you can't wait to pick it up again. This book isn't just for Christians, either, but to anyone dealing with issues of faith and its relevancy in today's world, anyone who's striving to find purpose and direction in life.

In a nutshell, Blue Like Jazz is a autobiographical account of Miller's spiritual journey, his growth towards Christian spiritually. As he takes us down this road, he pulls no punches, being blatantly honest about who he was and who he is becoming. He's very human and honest in his accounts, sharing how each of them has shaped his beliefs and who he is. He talks about drinking, cussing and other subjects that many Christian authors consider taboo and doesn't try to paint himself as a saint or someone with all the answers. He's not hiding his doubts or covering up the fact that he has questions and issues about faith and God, just like the rest of us do. His writing will resonate with anyone who has struggled with the contradictions and issues of faith.

For me, the beginning of sharing my faith with people began by throwing out Christianity and embracing Christian spirituality, a nonpolitical mysterious system that can be experienced but not explained. Christianity, unlike Christian spirituality, was not a term that excited me. And I could not in good conscious tell a friend about a faith that didn’t excite me. I couldn’t share something I wasn’t experiencing, And I wasn’t experiencing Christianity. It didn’t do anything for me at all. It felt like math, like a system of rights and wrongs and political beliefs, but it wasn’t mysterious; it wasn’t God reaching out of heaven to do wonderful things in my life. And if I would have shared Christianity with somebody, it would have felt mostly like I was trying to get somebody to agree with me rather than meet God. I could no longer share anything about Christianity, but I loved talking about Jesus and the spirituality that goes along with a relationship with him.

The book is written with a conversational tone, and you get to know the author, his friends, and others that are introduced throughout the book in such a way that you can relate to them, often deeply. For example, there's a brief mention (maybe two paragraphs) of a park ranger in one of the chapters, and though his time in the grand scheme of the book is short, this is one of the characters to which I can relate the most. I actually feel for the guy and his plight touches my heart, though I barely know him.. These sentiments are as much a result of Miller's writing style as they are from the actual purpose and meaning behind the stories he shares.

This is, without a doubt, a quote worthy book. I wasn't but a couple pages into it when I started marking insightful and deep passages that hit home with me. I've already shared some of these quotes and I'll put up more soon. I've actually got a whole other post centered around a couple of these quotes that will most likely be up within the week.

I would highly recommend this book to everyone. I'm giving it a strong "A" and I'm definitely looking froward to reading his other books - Searching for God Knows What and Prayer and the Art of Volkswagen Maintenance (which is being re-released as Through Painted Deserts : Light, God, and Beauty on the Open Road later this year.)

More editorial and customer reviews are available at amazon.com

Also, be sure to read this interview with Donald Miller by Dick Staub. (Thanks to Glenn for the link.)

In stores November 9th! 

America needs to hear the truth from this book shouted from the roof-tops. 

The Da Vinci Code

I recently finished "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown. I actually listened to it on audio book on the way to West Virginia for the white water rafting trip, rather than reading the book. Unfortunately, the audio book was an abridged version, so some portions of the book were left out. The parts cut out didn't affect the plot of the book, but I have a feeling that I missed some details that may help understand the "code" presented by Brown. My review is based on the abridged version.

I'm going to look at this book from two different angles, as merely a fictional work and then as the fact-based story which Brown claims it is.

From the perspective of this being merely a fictional book, it was a decent read, though I wasn't a big fan of Brown's often elementary writing style. Many times he was too verbose, taking a simple description of a character's hair and turning it into this huge analogy that in the end left me scratching my head. At times, the book got too predictable. The main characters would be confronted with clues they needed to solve, and get stumped by them, on one page, and then solve it by the next page with an "amazing revelation." This happened time and time again. It would have been more suspenseful had this "problem solving" been a bit more varied. The plot was an interesting premise, though, and I did get caught up in the action, wondering what was around the next corner. However, at times, it seemed like this was written as a screenplay (and there is a movie in the works). While not the greatest, The Da Vinci Code was still an okay read for those who like mysteries and adventures.

Now, from the perspective of this being a fact-based story, I have a lot of gripes. First, if the theories Brown was proposing were true, then why did he write a work of fiction instead of a paper or documentary about it? To me, it seems he didn't have enough to go on, that there were so many holes in this "code" that he had to wrap a mystery around it and present it differently, to try to hide these holes.

Secondly, much of Brown's so-called "Da Vinci code" isn't his own. The secret society, Priory of Sion, and the conspiracy of Da Vinci secretly hiding the "truth" in his paintings were presented many years ago, as were other aspects of "the code". The person who originally presented some of these ideas was actually discredited, and evidence found that supported the fact he made it all up. Brown choose to ignore this, though, and presented it as fact in his novel and even in his dicussions about the book.

One thing that I can't get over is how Brown thinks that his interpretation of Da Vinci's The Last Supper painting is the truth. Works of art are, almost by definition, subjective. Each person who looks at a painting, sculpture, etc may get something different out of it, and these interpretations may be entirely different from what the author intended. Brown insists the legendary Holy Grail is present in The Last Supper, and that this Holy Grail is the women next to Christ, Mary Magdalene. While some, including Brown, may be convinced that this is Mary, practically everyone else knows this is the apostle John, who was often painted as more feminine that others. He can think what he wants, everyone is allowed their own opinions, but what bothers me is that he presents this as fact, that Da Vinci *did* paint Mary Magdalene, and bases much of his theory on his "interpretation."

Along these lines, Brown speaks of the Holy Grail as if it's a fact, too. The Holy Grail is actually part of Arthurian legend, as can be seen in such movies as "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" or "Monty Python and the Holy Grail." Nowhere in the Bible or elswhere does it say the cup of Christ *is* the Holy Grail. This is purely a human invention, something we made up of our own accord. We made up the label of Holy Grail for the cup of Christ. Brown takes the standpoint that there is without a doubt a Holy Grail and that it isn't the cup of Christ, but Mary Magdalene herself. So, in other words, the legends that were made up are wrong? Doesn't make much sense to me.

It's hard for me to completely describe all the problems that I have with Brown's Da Vinci code, but I find it thoroughly unconvincing. While the book may be a decent suspense and mystery story, the fact that he claims his theory is true wrecks whatever enjoyment I may have gotten out of it.

Read more reviews at amazon.com.

[Disclaimer: Most of what I wrote above about The Da Vinci Code were my own thoughts, which I formed as I was reading it. However, I am now reading "Cracking the Da Vinci Code," which is a book entirely devoted to debunking this code, and a portion of the review was influenced or supported by facts which I have read in that book so far.]

Flabbergasted

Wow, this is one of the best books that I have read in quite some time. Flabbergasted, written by Christian fiction newcomer Ray Blackston, is laugh out loud funny (literally!) and a very good read. Only took me a week to finish, I was so into it. Blackston's writing style is fantastic, very quick and witty, and it's easy to picture, and laugh at, the main character, Jay Jarvis, as he has his mis-adventures in love. Even the setting of the book draws you in. Part of the novel revolves around a trip to the beach for a church singles class, which often reminded me of my trips to the beach with college groups. Character development is great, and you can easily relate the characters in Flabbergasted to people you know in your own life, making the story that much more real.

Here's a summary of the book:

"Jay Jarvis is a single, eligible, stock-broker bachelor who has just recently moved to Greenville, South Carolina. Not interested in church other than to meet eligible bachelorettes, Jay meets the girl of his dreams, Allie, on his first visit to North Hills Presbyterian Church.

Unfortunately for Jay, Allie is not easy to get to know. Jay will embark on a strange journey dominated by the color lime green, a row of numericals, a less-than-punctual preacher, a pirouette of the gospel, and a multi-hour ride into the Equadorian jungle. As Jay learns more about Allie and who she is, he will learn about who He is.

'Flabbergasted' is a Christian, coming-to-the-Lord novel. However, this is not your normal salvation tale. Ray Blackston, in his first book, has created a wild and imaginative story that will have you laughing, keep you guessing, and make it difficult for you to put down."
--courtesy Amazon.com

Anyone looking for a good summer book, this is it. I highly recommend it, giving it 5 out of 5.

Boy Meets Girl

This is a must read book for anyone who's not already married in my opinion. Well, maybe only those who are at an age where they are considering dating/marriage. I loved the scriptural support throughout the book and the sharing of experiences. I don't even know how to begin to tell you about it, but I do recommend it. It's also a fairly easy read so don't worry if you don't have a lot of time. I finished it in 2 1/2 days and those of you that know me, know that says something!

Into Africa: Intercultural Insights

Using cute African proverbs, this book illustrates and explains many of the cultural practices found throughout Africa. The proverbs link the topics to the African culture, which help the reader to see that these are not just ideas that the authors have made up. The experiences related in this book also help us learn more about the culture. Most everything I read rang true to my experiences as well. This book gives the reader reliable insights to help understand the African people and be able to relate better, whether for business, travel, or as missionaries.

Understanding Folk Religion

This book did an excellent job of forming the bridge between what “we,” North American Christians, believe and learn about other religions and what many of the people we attempt to minister to really believe. It also explained the relationship between religion and culture. This book helps us to study the beliefs and practices of the people to better understand their culture and their true religious beliefs. There are many aspects of life and religion that our culture tends to ignore, such as the “unseen” in this world. As outsiders we must try to understand the host culture in order to make better judgments. In order to understand the culture, we have to be able to look beyond what we can see and prove. We have to not only bridge the gap of the two cultures, but we must also be aware of the aspects in life that our own culture belittles. Then we need to test the cultural practices to Scripture in order to evaluate their beliefs. Then we help them “move from where they are to where God wants them to be” (28). The book also helps direct your “studies” of a new culture by giving questions to answer and it also offers the Christian responses to these questions- equipping us to be a better witness. By making distinctions between orthodox beliefs and folk beliefs of various religions, we can start to see and understand the practices of people that we cannot learn from studying orthodox religions. Not only does this book help bridge that gap, it also offers Christian responses to how to deal with the issues Folk religion brings to the surface.

The Kingdom of God In Africa: A Short History of African Christianity

This book attempts to give a history of African Christianity without the biases that are often found in historical accounts. I think the author was successful in not adding to the biases of the sources he used, meaning he did not take a particular slant, but some of his sources may have had one. Grasping the truth about African Christianity’s history is very difficult. One historian, A. J. Temu “argues that missionaries were agents of colonialism in Kenya” (13). So how do we determine if this is true or if this is just his opinion because he is writing against a Eurocentric approach, so much so to go against Europeans? All perspectives aside, it is obvious that the African church has struggled. There have been many different churches and religious movements that have impacted African Christianity (20). This book also offered explanations for why Christianity “failed” in different regions. Overall it was very insightful and informative; I think it just attempted to cover too much in one book. The story of East Africa, South Africa, North Africa, and Central Africa are similar in some ways, but yet are all so different that I feel like more time could have been spent on focusing on one particular area rather than jumping around the continent every chapter.