I had planned to have this post up this morning, but instead I spent my 36th birthday having lunch with my best friend, replying to facebook posts wishing me a happy birthday, staring at the snow we had this morning then revelling in the amazing sunshine that visited us this afternoon, answering phone calls from family (including one from my dad who is overseas on active duty) and ending the day enjoying our church’s youth group’s worship service this evening. So without further fanfare here’s my latest book review and a giveaway. Check back tomorrow for the last of my 1000th blog post celebration giveaways.
Hear No Evil, Matthew Paul Turner’s follow up to his memoir Churched, is filled with the humor and sometimes sarcasm I’ve come to expect after reading his blog for a couple of years. Brought up in an ultraconservative Baptist church where even contemporary Christian music was considered evil, Turner chronicles his journey from a religion of fear to a faith of grace and love.
Having grown up in a southern Baptist church myself, although not as fundamentalist as the one Turner describes, legalism seemed to prevail more often than love. I could identify with a lot of what Turners writes about in Hear No Evil.
In many passages of Hear No Evil he addresses issues that I’m sure many from even other denominations have experienced. “For a lot of Christians, their imaginations are liabilities….Growing up in a church that bordered on being a religious regime often stole my chances to experience God as a mystery.”
From page 54: “I didn’t like Mr. Billings’s decision, but it was consistent with my church’s unadvertised slogan: “God may forget the sins of your past, but we never will.” How many of us have felt this way in some churches? Truthfully I’ve been guilty of this myself as well.
While one reviewer has commented that Turner’s story leaves him a bit frustrated in one respect, I found Hear No Evil funny and honest. If the story were mine I can’t say that I wouldn’t have ended up with more bitterness. While I sensed a slight bit of bitterness through the memoir I saw more of hope and grace. No, Turner doesn’t blatantly point you to Christ, but through his honesty the reader can see that he didn’t give up on Christ and Christianity.
There were parts of his story I wish he had elaborated on more. Would they have necessarily added to the story? I don’t know. I probably just have those questions because I’m curious.
All in all definitely worth a read. Hear No Evil is an easy, funny and thought provoking story.
And so for today’s giveaway: leave a comment below to be entered to win two of Matthew Paul Turner’s books — Churched & Hear No Evil.
For extra entries leave a seperate comment for each of the following:
1. Follow me on twitter.
2. Tweet about this giveaway with the following & be sure and leave your twitter name in the comments: @amykiane is celebrating her 1000th post at Ordinarily Extraordinary with a week of #giveaways.
