Swoboda
has organized his thoughts around the Easter weekend of Friday,
Saturday and Sunday. He says we must enter into all three, embracing
the pain of Friday, the silence of Saturday, and the hope of Sunday.
He
has included a number of stories, observations, and thoughts. I liked
his thoughts on why God doesn't always answer our questions.
Discerning God's will is like a Lewis and Clark exploration, he
writes. They were able to draw the map of where they had been only
after they got home. He also has a good discussion on emotions,
entertainment and church.
I
am not sure what I think of this book. There are times when the
author shows great insight. “God is best understood by those who've
experienced the death of their greatest desire.” (85-6) “Faith is
working one's heart out yet leaning on grace the whole time for a
miracle.” (87) There are other times when I just cannot resonate
with his writing. “Everyone is addicted to something. Even God.”
(54) “Jesus is pathologically loving.” (54) Speaking of Jesus,
“He's got a tough gig.” (64) “In the first century, a
little-known Jewish carpenter was executed for building something
bigger than a shelving unit.” (121)
Swoboda
frequently takes an example from current events or culture and likens
God to it. For example, he tells the story of Smailovic, a Serbian
cellist who played in the bombed streets of Sarajevo in 1992. “Jesus
is like that...” (92) He likens God to Forest Gump in that he never
stops chasing. Saying that the fictional character Roquentin reveals
a great deal about the author Sartre, he writes, “Similar to Sartre
is the God of the Bible...” (176) Later, “Our lives are like
Melville characters.” (178)
There
were illustrations he used that I just did not understand. “Faith
should be an old-timey Polaroid – it should be clearer the more
shaken it becomes.” (72) (I've talked with some old time Polaroid
camera owners and they don't understand his illustration either.)
And, “The Trinity is the world's Chewbacca.” (75)
I
am not used to his writing style. Rather than a sustained exploration
of a subject, the writing style seems more like stream of
consciousness. His jumping from one idea to another was frequently
hard for me to follow. That, and his use of more illustrations from
modern culture than the Bible, makes me think this book is written
for a young generation with a short attention span and a general lack
of biblical knowledge. As an older person, I prefer working from the
truth of the Bible out to modern culture rather than the other way
around.
I
recommend this book for young people who don't really have much
knowledge of the Bible. Mature (older) Christians may be a bit
frustrated as I was. But I give Swoboda the benefit of the doubt. I
think younger Christians will like his writing style and content.
A.
J. Swoboda teaches theology, biblical studies, and Christian history
at George Fox Evangelical Seminary in Portland, Oregon. He started
and serves as pastor of Theophilus Church in urban Portland. Find out
more a http://ajswoboda.com/.
Baker
Books, 230 pages.
I
received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for the
purpose of an independent and honest review.