May 21: Blue Like Jazz - Donald Miller

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Paula White on May 13, 2009 at 10:35pm

Has anyone else finished this book yet? I really didn't like it at first I found the first few chapters depressing but for some reason starting in Chap 5 I got more and more interested. I may have to read it again, I found a few really interesting points and plan on reading thru the gospels again. (It's been a while) Anyway, not sure I can make the talk, just signed up for sign language classes today on Tues/Thurs. Will have to decide if I'm skipping or not. Just checking what others thought.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Casey Heim on May 22, 2009 at 1:22pm

There were only three of us at the Book Talk last night, but we had some good discussions.

Here's what I thought... I really enjoyed reading Don's journey for uncertainty to discovering for himself God's role in his life. I felt it was an authentic picture of what many of us struggle with to some degree or another, but are afraid to admit. I know several people, myself included sometimes, that really struggle with whether or not we have to fit into the 'box' that religion can put us into. Jesus is so much bigger than religion. Spirituality doesn't always fit into a nice pretty package. We are real people, with real problem, struggling the same way non-believers do. The difference is that we have hope in Christ and know that God is gracious and forgiving and accepts us as we are. Thank you God for that! If we face the fact that we are just like non-believers, and start acting like it (sort of) then maybe we can be heard in our outreach. Instead of being perceived as untouchable, holier-than-thou...

One of the many things that touched me is when he talked about self-discipline not getting us very far, but when we realize that God loves us, then we begin to love him. That is what keeps us on a path to obedience; love. Even the laziest of men would swim the English Channel for love.

How do I fall deeper in love with God so that I would swim the English Channel for Him?

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Tara on May 22, 2009 at 3:41pm

The Book Talk last night was great! I have only made my way about 1/3 through Blue Like Jazz (I just got it less than a week ago), but so far I really like it. We had a small group last night, so we started off by just sharing what we each liked about the book.
One consensus among the group was that, since each of us had grown up believing in God (small enough group that there was nobody there who became a Christian as an adult), we had never experienced some of what the author described, and it was VERY interesting reading. Yes, there were times in my teen years when I toyed with the idea of wondering "is God for real?" and I became very analytical, and studied scripture a lot to decide for myself whether what I had been taought my whole life was real. But, that being said, I believed in God from birth, because everyone around me did. And then once I questioned his existence, I came to the conclusion that he is real.

In the first few chapters of Blue Like Jazz, the author describes the pull he felt in his soul toward believing in God. Even when all his logic said it made no sense. (I never felt that: my head NOT believing in God, but my soul feeling a pull toward him.) He also describes the conversion of a friend of his who was an atheist. She was intellectually and logically convinced there was no God, but she came to a point where she wanted to believe...something inside her was pulling her toward believing...she said "I feel like I'm going to die if I don't believe." (By this she meant she felt an intense yearning, like "I'll die if this amazing boy doesn't ask me out", not that she would actually "die.") She eventually became a Christian. She said she stayed up all night reading Matthew and Mark, and finally decided that Jesus was either a madman, or the Son of God. She said she realized he was the Son of God. And she was a Christian.
It's a great book.

▶ Reply to This

▶ Reply to This