[by this time you should know the drill, you want my bare bones opinion, scroll down]
I downloaded what I thought was going to be the next book, The Lamb by Christopher Moore, through the wonders of the current age, in other words I borrowed a digital copy through my local public library. I had attempted to read this book once before, but alas I didn't even get as far into it this time as I did that time. I struggled through the first 30 pages over the course of a week and realized, somewhat to my dismay, that I would not be able to get through the next 400 in the next week before the download would magically disappear from my kindle, so I decided that it would not be my next book.
I purchased what I thought would be my next attempt at my next book A Beautiful Blue Death by Charles Finch from Half Price Books. I then proceeded to read the first chapter, a whopping 5 pages, over the course of the next week. I was a little quicker on the uptake this time around and decided to sit it aside, at least for the time being, at least unless I find another book with a color in its title that I want to read instead.
I purchased the third book that I thought would be my next book through another wonder of the new age, a wonderful little service called Book Bub which alerts me to various digital deals. I finished attempt number 3 in 3 days, so that little post will be coming just around the bend, but that is not the point of this post is it?
All of that is to say that I have been reading, sometimes at a glacial pace and sometimes at a much quicker one, if only to make up some time. Which [finally] leads me back to book 8, Undiluted by Benjamin L. Corey.
I first encountered Mr. Corey by way of twitter [follow me @pastork19] when out of the blue I was followed by him. I had never heard of him, so I googled a little and found out he was a Christian and an author so I asked my wife. She did not know him either, but suggested that he may have been following people in order to get the word out on a book he wrote. I can only assume this is the truth, as I have not spoken to Mr. Corey himself about it. I am not sure how well this marketing ploy worked in general, but for me it seems to have done the trick.
Undiluted sounded interesting when I read the small synopsis that Amazon had, but for an author I don't know and a theological/biographical book I am not sure of the price was a bit of a hinderance. I will pay what I think is ridiculous for an author I love, but for one I did not I decided that I would add it to my wish list and wish it was a little cheaper. Several months later in stepped on of the wonders of the age, Book Bub which informed me that the book could be purchased for $1.99. I don't know about you, but I am willing to give almost any book that sounds interesting in the least a go for $1.99.
I purchased the book and downloaded it and then moved on to other books by other authors until I looked at my list and decided that Undiluted was worthy of being used for book 8/book VI. I read the 158 pages over the course of a week in one/two chapter increments. I could have read it much faster, but I tried to give myself some time to wrestle with some of the items that Mr. Corey brings up. Sitting here, now, I can tell you that I have already incorporated two concepts into sermons, the first one I used was one of my favorites which was story about a bad pot of rice.
Undiluted is the story of Mr. Corey's journey through seminary and the changes that took place in his theology/faith/life, at least to some degree. I say to some degree because while the backstory states that the book will dwell on his time in seminary it often only skirts his actual seminary experience. This is not necessarily a knock on the book, by incorporating experiences that happened outside the walls/country of seminary he lets us into how his theology began to shape his life in new and radical ways.
Each chapter of the book relays how his personal concepts changed from the conservativeness/rule based of the church community he grew up in to the more progressive/Jesus based he discovered by delving deeper into the questions of faith as well as in the Jesus teachings found in the gospels. One could argue that what Mr. Corey really found in seminary was Jesus, in all of his truth and honesty and love, not just the Jesus of the manger and the cross, but also the Jesus of the dirt and the journey and the teachings. When we encounter the whole Jesus we are changed and that is what happened to Mr. Corey, his journey is one that has been repeated time and time again down through the centuries, and prayfully will continue to be repeated.
At base how I feel about this book:
I enjoyed walking Mr. Corey's journey with him, while it didn't drastically change any of my theological views [I mostly found myself in agreement with where his end up] I did occasionally find my views tweaked, or perhaps more so, found a new way to talk about what I already believed. It is a short book, an easy read, and if you are somewhere on the spectrum between what you were given as a child [fundamentalism] in church and what you are finding later in life [something different] this book may be of some help for you. We all need that book that resonates within us and lets us in on the secret that we are not the only ones thinking what we're thinking.
Peace and Love,
Pastor K
p.s. Book 9, Cross Roads by Wm. Paul Young was finished earlier today, so be on the look out for that post in the next few days.
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