i've just finished reading "blue like jazz" and after reading "the time traveler's wife" and "perfume" i have to say that the style miller uses in his book doesn't make par with my standards, but wording and editing aside, the messages are solid and i agree with a lot of his disgust with religion and issues with christianity and inspired by his admittedly wavering desire to do something about the mess the world is in and not lose the faith in the process...
one thing that has stuck with me is something he brings up around the middle of the book... he lived with a bunch of hippies in a forest for a month... and they were loving, accepting, non-judgemental, very contrasting to the christian environment he grew up in, and i find this very true of many (but not all, by any means) christian groups i've been in... christians judge people, i judge people, there's usually a watchful eye and unfortunately a lot of gossiping voices at any christian social / meeting / potluck / after service coffee hour... is it just something of the nature of the history of the church? we're aspiring to be on the golden paved side of the pearly gates when judgement day comes along and we like to look at everyone else in order to reassure ourselves of our secured place in heaven? but even Christ said he has come to love, not to judge -- to save the world, not condemn it (john 3:17)... so why are we so quick to condemn, smirk, whisper, and ignore the skeletons in our closets? why are the liberal "pagan" communities often viewed as more loving? is it a marking difference between hippies and the conservative world?
i think there's a difference between tolerance and love, i don't know how to paint it in black and white but there's a difference... and if anything, i think i'd like to live in a forest for a while...
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