Torn: Rescuing the Gospel from the Gays-vs.-Christians Debate

5 of 5 stars

Spectacular book. Well-timed choice, too. Not the answers I would have liked in every case, but at least there is some depth and explanation of what gay Christians go through. Strongly recommended.

All Things New, by Lynn Austin

I literally read 20 pages and was so pissed off by that point that I couldn't wait to get it back to the library. Talk about crappy writing and telegraphing everything that's going to happen in the next 200 pages. Too bad, because this is a subject ripe for good storytelling. Just don't crack me over the head with the religious drama, ok?

Strength to Love, by Martin Luther King Jr.

Sadly, I just never had the energy to read these sermons, although I really REALLY wanted to....

Everything You Know About God is Wrong : The Disinformation Guide to Religion (part 1), edited by Russ Kick (on CD)

Well. Where to start?

Some of the essays included in this were interesting; in fact, most were thought-provoking and worthwhile. There were a couple though...whew. Oh my God (pun intended).
Paper tigers created? check
Facile arguments? check
Mispronounced words? check ("KapperNYAYum" for "Capernaum"? Really?)

I'm becoming increasingly annoying that when people argue about "Christians" or "religion" the Typical Christian/Religious Person is a completely unethical moron. Sure, there are moronic and amoral Christians, but there are a lot more of us who are neither.

The best essay is the longest, which is the summation of findings of the investigation into the Catholic diocese in Philadelphia around child sexual abuse. Absolutely the most disgusting, difficult thing I've ever listened to. It shook me to the core that the Church ignored this for decades and turned a blind eye to the destruction of children's souls.

The other very good essay is about the Magdalene Laundries in Ireland. Another case of the Church having a lot to answer for.

Short version: people suck, and power corrupts, inside as well as outside of religion.

The Evolution of Faith, by Philip Gulley

Interesting. Not real deep, but provocative (in a good way).

King's Cross, by Timothy Keller

OK, so this is basically a sermon based on the entire book of Mark. Once I had that nailed down, it was easier to ignore the lack of rigor in the writing. It isn't meant as a scholarly, factual piece, just a reminder of what the point of Jesus' life was, according to (mostly) Mark, with some references to the other synoptic gospels. I did find myself saying, "But what about...??" a few times and had to remind myself that answering critics isn't the author's purpose here. Not bad.

The Jesus I Never Knew, by Philip Yancey

I do like the way Yancey writes, and this book is no exception. He talks here about the terrifying God he was taught about as a young person, and the forgiving merciful Jesus he has discovered as an adult. The section on the Beatitudes was extraordinarily well-done. This dovetailed well with our mission trip passages as well.

Love Wins, by Rob Bell

Great book. Not the best-written book, but the ideas in it are good. Not sure it goes as far as it could, but as far as it does go it's good. And he's taking a lot of flack for saying that heaven and hell are a little less locationally-based than most people think. Props to him.

Religion, Myth, and Magic : The Anthropology of Religion, by Susan A. Johnston (Book on CD)

Cemetery Dance, by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child (on CD)

Check this series off as one I don't need to look in on again. Pretty good plotting, with some outrageous red herrings and coincidences. Got a little tired of hearing the saw descriptions of the "zombies"--their horrifying aspect and scent, etc.

Still the descriptions of "vodou" and of the last original bit of original forest on Manhattan (yeah, Manhattan still has forest on it!) drove me to find a map and really explore the entire length of the island and realize just how big it is. And we really don't hear much about over 85% of it.