Tuesday, April 8, 2008

A Book Review and a Soapbox



If you are looking for something light and springy, then you came to the wrong blog today.  I'm fired up, and I feel another soapbox coming on (what is happening to me?!?!).  To start, I will give you a glimpse into my latest reading venture.  Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert was a book club selection.  To be honest, I didn't expect to like it based on some of the reviews on Amazon, but a friend in the book club told me she was really enjoying it, so I picked it up.  

Basically, the author is living the American dream (great husband, job, home), and then after an "open and exploratory dialogue" with God, she decides to divorce her husband.  "Following (the) divorce and a crushing depression, Gilbert set out to examine three different aspects of her nature, set against the backdrop of three different cultures: pleasure in Italy, devotion in India, and on the Indonesian island of Bali, a balance between worldly enjoyment and divine transcendence." 

The book is divided into three sections, based on the three places she visits.  I was pleasantly surprised that I really enjoyed the first section.  I don't agree with her life view AT ALL, but her writing style is witty and fun, and she is a great story teller, so I kept going.  It is not the type of book I would have picked up on my own, and that is the beauty of a book club.  You expand your horizons to discover things you wouldn't necessarily read otherwise.   I was so frustrated with her through the second section where she tries to "connect with God" in an Ashram in India.  There were just WAY too many pages of her meditating and discovering complete bunk that I finally gave up a few chapters before the end of that section.  You need to know that as a general rule, I always finish the book....I can only think of a hand full of books that I haven't finished.  I am of the opinion that if you don't finish it, you don't have the right to criticize it (goes hand-in-hand with my view that you can't complain about the president, or politicians in general, if you don't vote).   I realized I just didn't want to spend any more of my time pouring the lies from that book into my brain.

This New Age view that is so pervasive in our society just makes me ill.  I was just coming down from my soapbox about the book when my friend sent me an email with a link to this video on You Tube.  Take a few minutes to watch it.  They teach that God is in us (which for those who have accepted Christ is true), but they twist this truth to teach that God in you means that God is a feeling in you, and you can know God's will based on what you feel is truth for you.  What is true for you may not be true for someone else and there are many paths to God.  These are LIES, ALL LIES!!!  Oh Father, forgive us, for we know not what we do......

Fellow readers, please join me in praying for our nation, for our elections, and for our churches.  Spread the word that there is danger in these teachings.  May the world come to know the ONE true God.  

10 comments:

Momma Roar said...

I've seen that book around and was curious about it - thank you for sharing your thoughts!

After a dialogue with God - she divorced her husband?? CRAZY! (but I won't get started!!)

And the Oprah video, wow. I've seen it before and sent it to a few friends and family - what a grasp she has on so many - UGH - brings me close to tears.

I won't get on a soapbox in your comments but I want to say thanks for posting both these things and sharing your thoughts!!

And, I am praying!

jj said...

Hi. I actually have that book coming from paperbackswap.com any day now. Thanks for the warning! JJ

Mari said...

I've never heard of that book, but have seen the video. It seems that that view is coming at us from so many directions now and if we don't agree we are called intolerant. You are right - we do need to pray.

Janelle said...

Amen.

You did the right thing by not finishing the book that made you uncomfortable in that way. Even though it might have been a fun read, it was still trying to sell something that you didn't believe. Much is the same on network TV. Just because it makes us laugh, doesn't make it right.

Your soapbox must be contagious. Sheesh, I am starting to preach on your blog!

Kristen said...

Thank you for your openness and honesty about the book and for sharing the video. UGH!

Jenni S. said...

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I, too, like to read books first-hand to form my own opinion, but I also trust honest and real people who like to do the same - so I appreciate the warning.

It's funny how many reactions I've read over Oprah's video. I just have to say that I'm not surprised. Anyone who is so deeply entrenched in Hollywood and entertainment seems to lose all sense of Truth. It's sad and disappointing and you mourn for someone to be THAT lost - how empty and frightening life must be if your salvation lies with you.

Of course, I have more thoughts, but I'll spare your comment section my wordy tangents... :)

Alana said...

I read the book, too, and could not agree with you more. Ugh. I finished it, but I was troubled the whole way through. I just kept thinking, "Girl, you are looking in ALL the wrong places!"

katie said...

okay, lynn...i loved the book. please no hate mail...:) i didnt agree with it, but believing whole heartedly that if we earnestly seek His Truth, He will reveal it to us, i have to believe that ms.gilbert is in hopefully the early stages of finding her way to His all consuming peace and redemption. in the meantime, i found her to be honest, flawed and earnestly trying to improve herself...even the part that convinced herself to leave her marriage. i completely understand why you did not love the book and why you quit reading it, but i did enjoy the majority of it...and who could not love italy?? :)

Mary@notbefore7 said...

AMEN girlfriend. I have sister totally consumed with this theology and it breaks my heart.

I'll avoid the book at all costs!

John and Amanda said...

Thanks for your review... I've seen that book at the BX and have thought of purchasing it, but I won't now! I think that was even an Oprah Book Club book recently... atleast I think I heard that somewhere... and on the subject of Oprah, I've seen that video before too... so sad!! John and I got made b/c the guy in it misquotes scripture somewhere in there... I think he says something along the lines of "Jesus says you are the light"--- Um... no Jesus says HE is the light!! I just hate the pull celebrities like Oprah and crazy Tom Cruise have on people who are seeking "something more."- I saw a book in the BX the other day about the contradictions of the bible and such and I hid it behind a bunch of other books no one would be interested in!! He, he!! :)