Naomi B. (tripleguess) reviewed on 4/30/2011 + 48 more book reviews

I respect the author for the journey she has made. However, just from glancing through the book, I can see that I have huge ideological disagreements with her.

According to the book, the "good" Christians are those who don't take the Bible seriously but only regard it as a book of parables with some good ideas for being nice.

I would question whether such people are Christians at all. Jesus said "Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord' and do not do what I say?" (Luke 6:46) As C. S. Lewis said, either Jesus was right in everything he claimed (divinity and ultimate authority included) or he was a raving lunatic or a liar. "Nice guy with some interesting ideas" is not one of the options.

The "bad" Christians are those who believe and obey the Bible and do what it says -- terrible things like saving sex for marriage, being faithful to one's spouse, loving one's enemies, and doing good to all. (That would include me, an evangelical Christian.) This obedience is supposed to stunt the mind and body, resulting in blind obedience to spiritual leaders and sexual repression.

Where did this impression come from? My parents were both deeply Christian. While not well off, they gave me every opportunity available to the boys. If anything, they spoiled me and my sister, especially my Dad. I was never expected to marry against my will or to be blindly obedient. By example (kicked out of more than one authoritarian church), Mom and Dad taught us to question those who wanted to teach us and to weigh their motives carefully. Our faith we share with those who are interested. When people are not interested, we "shake off the dust" (Matthew 10:14) and leave them be.

This freedom came not from minimizing the Bible, but from studying and applying it daily. There is a reason its words are called "Words of Life."

Two of my literary heroes are C. S. Lewis and G. K. Chesterton. Neither of these good men were knuckledraggers. They believed fervently that God created the body, mind and soul and that all were to be used to the fullest extent possible. (Matthew 25:14-30, Parable of the Talents.)

My favorite female author is Jan Silvious, a Christian who has written extensively on the topics that women ought to respect themselves deeply, refuse all forms of abuse, and engage in genuine relationships rather than buy-and-sell "arrangements." Her work is firmly rooted in Scripture.

I have chosen to remain single for the time being. I have not found this oppressive but liberating. While some girls flounder from relationship to short-lived relationship, giving their body to this person and that person in hopes that "this time" they will find some who can meet their needs, I am free to let Jesus meet my needs and pursue my creative interests with a peaceful mind. If I never meet a man who changes my mind, then I look forward to the Resurrection in which no good thing will be withheld. (Psalm 34:10; Psalm 84:11)

To be fair, the author does not think well of other religions either (notably Islam). Her solution to the problems caused by religious fundamentalism is to force children to attend schools where they can be secularized, a solution reminiscent of the Hitler Youth.

I leave it to others to say how they feel about their beliefs being portrayed this way. I can tell you only how I feel. The Christians mentioned in this book are not me, so I have told you about me. Now you know.

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