Reading Again

I'm only two chapters in on Jim Palmer's book Divine Nobodies. One quote from each chapter over the coffee today, folks:

From Chapter 1:

"Admittedly, my purely intellectual approach to God was inconsistent with my evangelical jargon that often referred to a 'personal relationship' with God. I had the rhetoric down but did not really experience God in this way in everyday life. I did have a sort of relationship with my Bible, as much as one can have with a book. I had a wide range of motivations for making the Bible the center of my life. Sometimes I read the Bible because it was drilled into me that I should, a God-won't-like-me-if-I-don't kind of should. At other times, I came to the Bible as God's little instruction book for improving my life and fixing my problems. I seached the Scriptures for promises to claim and principles to apply in achieving a successful life (including financial independence, vocational achievement, and cured depression). Reading the Bible was also a checklist item that I could easily mark off in order to feel good about myself, kind of like exercising and taking my vitamins."

From Chapter 2:

"Somehow, somewhere along the way, my Christianity had become a hamster's squeaky wheel of dos and don'ts (which I commonly referred to as discipleship) that were wearing me out but not getting anywhere. I wasn't addicted to crack; I was addicted to religion in a vain attempt to get God to like me, bless me or at least spare me from hell when it was all over. It's funny how one can talk a good grace game, but for all practical purposes live by the law. I've learned that the 'grace, but...' mentality is as lethal as anything you can sniff, toke, or shoot up."

If the first two chapters are any indication, this should be excellent time spent reading. Of course, it could go south at any second, too. We'll see.

But what I wouldn't give to write a couple of sentences like those last two...that provocation should keep the thinker busy pretty much all day.