This is quickly becoming one of my favorite books of all time. The subtitle at the bottom reads: A conversation in spiritual theology. And that is precisely what it is. It is not a book about theology. It is a book about how our spirits engage and interact with what we believe. The Chapter (2) on creation alone is worth every expensive penny that this book is. Check out this quote that talks about Jesus as he plays in creation...
You would think that believing that Jesus is God walking among us would be the most difficult thing [to believe about Christianity]. It is not. It turns our that the hardest thing to believe is that God's work - this dazzling creation, this astonishing creation, this cascade of blessings- is all being worked out in and under the conditions of our humanity: at picnics and around dinner tables, in conversations and while walking along road, in puzzled questions and homely stories with blind beggars and supporting lepers, at weddings and funerals. Everything that Jesus does takes place within the limits and conditions of our humanity. No fireworks. No special effects. Yes, there are miracles and plenty of them. But because for the most part they are so much a part of the fabric of everyday life, very few notice. The miraculousness of miracle is obscured by the familiarity of setting, the ordinariness of the people involved... [page 34]
...Everything Jesus does he does with his hands deep in the soil and flesh of creation. [P. 92]
What I love about this book is what Peterson doesn't do in this book. He isn't trying to convince us of a position. He's not trying to teach us some new perspective. It is not void of theology, but the main thrust of the book is not about learning it is about engaging. He is simply using the creation story and giving us a way in which we can begin to live within the context of the story. It is simply a MUST READ book.
1 comment:
thanks for the thoughts on Christ Plays...I'm hoping to read it in the near future.
Just a quick note (which I mentioned in the store the other day)...I don't know that I would say that this book is not about theology (from what I've skimmed and from your description) but that it is actually a book very much concerned with lived-out theology...orthodoxy and orthopraxy. Many in the emerging church, it seems, are tending toward an overemphasis (in my opinion) on orthopraxy at the expense of orthodoxy (by that I mean both the expense with regard to a different sort of belief as well as the expense of just plain not talking about it as much if at all). I think what Peterson offers is a great example of theology in practice, which is what any good theology should be...theology is the study of God, and one cannot study/interact with God without being changed. Thanks again for the thoughts...I'll be interested to hear more.
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