Review: Still Christian

Still Christian by David P. Gushee
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

Available at Amazon

Westminster John Knox Press and NetGalley provided me a copy of this book. What follows is an honest review.

Mr Gushee and I share some common things in life. We were both raised Catholic and both came to know Jesus at about the same time, though we were 10 years apart in age. Major differences are that he went on to become a minister with the support of people around him, mine was a journey of people blocking me from full time ministry, but I still do what I can from the tools that I have.

We also share a common problem in our politics. Like him, I cannot be classified as a republican. Unlike him, that is where I tend to vote as I do not see the democrats are any better but the positions I do have lean more towards the right. I would guess his politics put him left of center and mine more right, but we are, what appears to be, more central on most issues.

The book is a journey from the time the author received his salvation in high school until the present day. It is a interesting journey because, even though I did not go through seminary of Bible school, I had a lot of the same interactions with the people around me that he did. While a strong evangelical, that does not mean that you through compassion out the window, something that many Christians seem to miss. As he tries to show this to people again and again, he gets frustrated at those not hearing him and at himself for not being always true to his ideals. His constant referrals to his journals show that this is not looking back at something and remembering the good times. In fact, in one section he shows all three sides of a situation. The liberal, conservative and the true version of the story. It shows that not all situations can be wrapped up in I am right and you are wrong.

I recommend this to anyone. Younger people may not get the significance, but anyone over their teens may get a good look at a man who wrestles with his Christianity each day and what it means to be a true Christian. I may not agree with all he says but I know that he is speaking his conscious.

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Review: Out of the Silent Planet

Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Available at Amazon

C. S. Lewis is known more for his Narnia stories but this was an excellent trip into science fiction. The only problem is that one must look at it from the eyes of the people at the time it was written. What we consider fact today was conjecture at that time.

What if there is life on other planets? What if they are more in tune with their creator than we are? Ransom, a ligustis of sorts, is captured by two men who are after precious metals they discovered on their trip to another planet, Malacandria. We know it as Mars. It and all the other planets are in tune with the creator. However, there is a silent planet, that does not seem to be in tune with its maker, and when shown with a telescope, Ransom fines it is earth.

Ransom is found to be a decent 'human' unlike the men who came with him. And he is led to a place to communicate with the 'god' of Mars. His adventures are what makes up most of the story. I look forward to books 2 and three in the series.

Recommended to all ages although death in the story may scare young children. If you enjoyed Narnia, you may enjoy this.

Purchased copy from Bookshouts

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Review: Reawakened

Reawakened by Dean C. Moore
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Available at Amazon
I had great hopes that this would be a great book. I had liked the first two and was looking forward to this one. The thing is, the things that I did not like in the first two books became the major way the story was told. Because of that, it went down one star. I was happy that the story was completed (with a little wiggle room for a sequel).

Problem 1) Large cast, bigger than book 2 it seems. It was hard to keep track of all of the characters.
Problem 2) Stream of consciousness story. In any story you have to suspend belief. You have to assume that Batman can take a licking and still keep ticking. I have no problem with that. When most of the story takes place in the mind(s) of other characters, then I begin to check out because anything is possible and talking unicorns become real. That is to much of a stretch for me. This is not saying the book is bad, it is saying that it was not for me. I will never give a bad review of a book because it is not my style unless it is truly is bad.

All that being said, the characters developed as they should and got to a natural ending point. The characters stayed true to their natures and what drove them in the first two books is what drove them now.

Recommended for older teens through adults. Several parts of the book were more adult in nature and there seemed to be more cuss words than in the other two books. Recommended if you are into
the stream of consciousness as noted above.

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