Read on my Kindle!
Genre: Non-Fiction: Theological
Book Summary: The authors explore the problem of living in a society where your Facebook status, blog, and even the way you dress and interact with others can be all about false fronts and making yourself look better than you are. They encourage people to see the harm in this kind of living and the remedy: a life of following Christ and growing in deep relationship with Him and others.
Indulgent Book Talk: Knowing that the authors are both seminary graduate students helps to understand the way this book was written. It has the same cadence as a philosophical conversation over coffee with friends, and, frankly, the same disjointed, speculative, roundabout nature. This book was interesting, though repetitive, and well into the first couple chapters, I was starting to wonder what the thesis was and what conclusions would be drawn, or whether this book was one long introduction to…not sure what. It was very hard to nail down the point and purpose of this book, since it jumped around so much, often stating what could be a very large topic to expand upon in a sentence or two, and then moving right along to something different. While reading, my mind felt inundated with lots of big ideas that never really got resolved in a satisfactory manner.
Glorifying Elements: This book makes one major point that I thought was very important, especially to those of us who happen to be immersed in wealthy, Western society: We are frequently taught, even by the most well-intentioned among us, to always be happy, healthy, and beautiful, and if we are not feeling that way or even are that way, to make sure the rest of the world thinks we are. As someone who finds herself far too often preoccupied with what others think, this was a convicting reminder to return to what is important, and that is a growing relationship with Jesus and authentic relationships with others that are not confined to computer screens and sentence-long status updates. This book made me realize that despite its convenience, online profiles and blogs are a poor substitute for real human interaction that can often be messy and imperfect. It was a good reminder in that sense, and a gentle call to change those patterns that very easily develop in all of us.
Worldly Elements: I don’t want to say this book was “worldly.” These two authors are no doubt brothers in Christ who are muddling their way through big questions of faith and how those play out in real life just like the rest of us. Overall, I appreciated their thoughts, their hearts for seeing people interact with Jesus and with others in ways that change lives, and their passion for moving beyond the superficiality in which our culture is so entrenched. I am thankful they were willing to say some very difficult things about a culture that is hard to criticize when you’re living it out on a daily basis.
I think the biggest problem of this book might have been marketing. If it had been presented as less of a theological problem/solution treatise and more of a memoir, along the lines with Blue Like Jazz, it may have been easier to accept for what it is (Disclaimer: I am not comparing the theology of the two books or recommending the latter; rather, I’m just using it as an example of what I mean). As it is, however, Veneer tries to be academic and systematic and just fails at that. It brings up true and valid points, and I wouldn’t say it is heretical by any means, but it is disorganized, introduces ideas it never develops, and doesn’t really seem to land on a major thesis that is fully expanded (do I sound like an English comp teacher or what?).
Two problems though that bothered me (and may or may not bother you), included:
1. The use of multiple Bible translations to fit what they wanted to say in any given moment.This really bothers me. My opinion is, if you are going to write theological material, stick with one solid Bible translation and only switch if you know the Greek or Hebrew and another translation really does say it better. Fitting the Bible to what we want it to say can be really dangerous. Again, no heresy committed that I noticed, but doing this is playing with fire.
2. Putting Jesus in modern contexts. One of my fellow book club members pointed this out and I agree with her. Let me explain what I mean. There is absolutely nothing wrong with looking at the way Jesus behaved and trying to understand how we should likewise behave two thousand plus years later. On the contrary! But, as my fellow book club member pointed out, Jesus was born in the time period He was born in for a reason and a purpose, and sticking him in modern contexts is a little fanciful, and isn’t the best way to illustrate a point, because you risk misrepresenting Him and His message.
General Recommendation: So I told you it would happen, and it finally has: this is a book I reviewed that I didn’t actually finish. Part of the reason for this was because the book was extremely repetitive, and as I read on, I didn’t really see anything new being brought up or developed. I could be wrong. The risk I take is a conclusion too quickly jumped to, and I acknowledge that. And as I’ve already said, and I hope I’ve been clear: this is a book by, as far as I can tell, real Christians who love the Lord and are growing in the knowledge of Him. This is not a book to dismiss for any worries of heresy or major doctrinal error. There are some great points that are well-worth considering as we all grow to be more like Jesus. However, as I read this book and the authors’ assertions, a thought kept coming to mind: This has been said before. By John Piper. And he said it better and with more Scripture. Many points in this book seem to be those made by Desiring God (I wouldn’t be surprised if the authors had read Desiring God and been influenced by it), and reading this book made me want to pick that one up again to get more theological meat behind the truths. So, if you want a less meaty, maybe more approachable introduction to some of the heavier stuff John Piper talks about, this book could be good for that (Still another disclaimer: I in no way imply or suggest that Piper has endorsed or recommends this book or doesn’t, the comparison is mine alone). But it really falls short in a lot of ways, and may be better for new Christians or curious skeptics at the beginning of figuring out what it means to be a Christian and how we really can look different to the culture and world around us.
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