When I walked out of the salon tonight, I noticed that the air had a fresh and surprisingly cool feel! Yeah, things may be cooling down a little!
I'm a little ways into the latest Harry Potter book and loving it. I bought it when it came out and started reading it and then realized I had no idea what was going on. It then clicked that I hadn't read the last one. So, after many pages and a slight reading headache I've embarked on the 6th book. I usually like to have a couple of books going at once. For some reason that keeps me interested.
While I was reading HP I picked up a copy of "Blankets by Craig Thompson, at Borders. I took it home and read the whole thing in an afternoon.
Maybe it was the intensity of the read or the subject matter, but it really affected me. Some of the situations in the book really resonated with me and touched some core beliefs. It's kind of a guy book because it's told from a guy point of view, but most 20 to 30 something's who grew up in a Christian environment would relate. Some may love it and of course some may totally hate it. But I can almost for sure say that you won't have nuetral feelings about if.
7 comments:
Hmm... sounds like an interesting book. Got to read some reviews on Amazon.com. Why would it be applicable to only 20 to 30 somethings with a fundamentalist upbringing? Well, I am at the tail end of the 30's :).
If I were to guess as to why you singled out that age bracket, after the cultural upheavals of the 60's and 70's, young Christians who got married and had kids during that period were so alarmed by how society seemed to decline morally, many flocked to fundamentalism en masse which inevitably impacted how their raised their kids.
David, thanks for the correct link to reviews. I couldn't figure out how to get the right link so that someone could get to the book. So I just routed it to amazon web site.
Yeah, I agree with that concept. There was a real reaction to the lax morality of the 60's and it seems to have been fairly destructive in many cases.
It's sad to me and I think this book really showed the heart of what many young adults who grew up in fundementalist environment are dealing with today.
Not alot of Grace, no room for creativity and independence. Fear driven Christianity vs. love driven Christianity.
I agree with you, Grechen. I grew up in a Korean Christian environment, and did not have an American fundamentalist upbringing, but there are many similarities between the two. Legalism (if you want to call it that) knows no cultural boundaries. I am now quite familiar with the American brand of fundamentalism.
Just 5-6 years ago when I was well into my 30's, I began to re-examin every aspect of my faith save the most fundamental (no pun intended) elements such as Jesus' death and resurrection which were never in jeapardy. But everything else considered the norm and "Christian" is now on the table. (A shamless plug ahead!) I've expressed some of my thoughts in my essays on the blog. Working on another one right now along the theme of Chritians reacting to moral decay of the 60's and 70's. So it's funny that you brought that up.
Thanks for mentioning the book. I might go grab a copy.
The topic is pretty interesting to me, because I have seen alot of my friends or people I've grown up with become really jaded and cynical towards Christianity. Many times because of feeling beat down or overly burdened by rules. They really know deep down that God can't be like that and so they leave the church and swing to the complete opposite spectrum.
The kind of cool thing is that it's not over. Life is a journey and life with God is a redemptive journey. He doesn't abandon us and He wants to heal wounds and He does that alot of times without us even knowing whats happening.
I know that God has done and is doing that in me. I look back at my upbringing and I know that I've been really lucky.
My folks really did the best that they could to be balanced. They didn't flinch too much when I asserted my will and stomped my feet. They talked everything through and admitted when they were wrong. It wasn't always perfect but at least I always knew I would be loved and accepted no matter what I did or chose and that's priceless.
David and Heather mentioned Blankets to us, and were going to loan it to us at Christmas, but it did not work out. After reading your post B went and got it from the library yesterday. I read it through last night.
Although We did not grow up in a house extreme like that, there were some similarities. I was telling B that the book has it's crass moments, but no more than normal life. Because she knows some our family stories she said "Oh, do they pee on eachother?" Based on my location in the book I replied "no, similar but different." A few pages later I was laughing at the scene where they DO pee on eachother.
So many of the cultural eras that we were a part of are referenced that it feels like it was written by someone who could have lived down the street (except for the snow, but those of us who have lived in snowy places can relate even more).
Although I have not lost my faith in the things that are important, I have lost any misplaced faith I had in the current flavors of organized fundamental christianity. It is a loss of faith in humans who buy into systems of belief, but do not love.
A while back I realized that my faith is stronger than ever, and that my primary responsibility as someone who loves God is to be Christ now by loving everyone I can. Like Craig in Blankets, I worship in nature, and every creative act. I don't really sing much either...
i for sure agree with you about the loss of superficial or misplaced beliefs. That's what repels people, the lack of love but the abundance of dogma. That's not the Christ I see in the Bible.
Some of the situations in the book like church camp, were like stepping into a time warp. I think that the mix of the comic type book and the writing made it just pop out.
Okay, so you guys got me to go pick up a copy NOW. Can't wait. Will be driving by a Barns and Noble store to pick it up.
The peeing thing...wish I had seen a spoiler alert :)
Post a Comment