Tonight I was in Barnes & Nobles getting a book for my poor flu stricken daughter and saw a book that I really wanted to get but thought I would check the library first.
A Year Without "Made in China": One Family's True Life Adventure in the Global Economy (Hardcover)by Sara Bongiorni (Author)
I have a feeling this book is going to be very much like, The Shack! I am not referring to the content, but to the fact that once I started reading it I couldn't put it down. At one point I locked myself in the bathroom with The Shack. Not because I had to use that bathroom but because no one usually bothers me there. So I sat on the sink and read until finally the family came to make sure I was ok.....hee hee hee if they only knew!
Speaking of The Shack, have you read it? What did you think? I loved it and I could not put it down....it was heartwarming and gave you a perspective of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit that just left you yearning for more. I did however struggle with giving this book as a Christmas gift because, well let's face it, it is fictional. But Ethan Magness, our Spiritual Formation Pastor at Mountain Christian Church, put it into a different perspective for me.
Below is Ethan's response to an email I sent him regarding sharing such a book with potential non-believers....
I have read the shack. I have gotten the chance to talk to a lot of people about it and have commented on it a bit at my blog (onthewalk.besquared.org). I’ll start with a few brief reservations and then I’ll get to the good stuff.
My biggest reservation is that it isn’t very well written. Fortunately I was given
the same advice you gave. Force yourself to read the first three chapters, by then you won’t put it down. That is not a good sign for a book. To be fair, it is of course better than any novel I have written, but then again I am not a novelist.
Secondly I do worry that in the context of a powerful and engrossing story, some people may not critically evaluate the ideas that are presented. I certainly don’t agree with every detail of the theology represented. You are right that sometimes in the context of a gripping (or in this case moving) story we forget to think about what we are reading and it is easy to accept ideas that we otherwise would reject.
Nevertheless I would recommend the book. You can when you give it say something like, “I don’t agree with everything in it but is sure makes you think.” or “This book really helped me think about God’s love. I am not sure it gets every detail right but most of what is says is great.”
Here are a few things that I like about the book.
The book helped me think about how God always loves us even when God must judge us.
The book helped me think about the mysterious relationship within God.
The book helped my think about God’s ability to find creative ways to bypass our defenses.
The book simply forced me to think about God. (Even when I disagreed, I found myself contemplating God and that is always good.)
The book forces Christian to grapple with the most important philosophical question that all Christian must face. “How can a good God allow so much evil?” I think that Christians have a good answer and although it isn’t presented perfectly in this book, just the fact that it is addressed, is a huge plus for this book.
The book forces us to think about what it means that God became a person. (This point is a bit exaggerated by the book, but it is such an important thing to consider that I definitely count this as a plus.)
By far my favorite thing about the book is that it gets people thinking about talking about what they believe.
So I would say send people they book, encourage them to read it and then follow up with a conversation that starts out, “What did you think?” If they ask, “Does the bible really teach that?”, then invite them over for tea and find out together.
Let me know how it goes.
-Ethan Magness
So doesn't that make you want to read it? I have my copy upstairs. If you want to read it I can put it in the mail to you or you can stop by your local library and pick it up.
Great big moose hugs!
Lorna
