November 2004

ARTICLE TOOLS

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Like a shaken snow globe, Donald Miller's newest collection of essays creates a swirl of ideas about the Christian life that eventually crystallize into a lovely landscape.

Miller (Blue Like Jazz) writes of his disillusionment with "the old God of easy answers, the God who was always wanting me to be rich or wanting my country to be better than other countries," and his embrace of a God who is "so incredibly other."

His sometimes-acid observations range from the church to Santa Claus, and along the way he makes his case for the balcony scene of Romeo and Juliet as Christian allegory. He also writes movingly about war, makes offbeat observations on Jesus' personal traits (he was ugly, he was kind, he was God), and expresses a concern that faith in America has been "hijacked" by the issues of abortion and gay marriage.

Miller is one of the evangelical book market's most creative writers. Readers tend to have strong reactions to Miller's writing (for and against) and this stimulating book is sure to provoke discussion.

Cindy Crosby is the author of By Willoway Brook: Exploring the Landscape of Prayer (Paraclete, 2003).

Copyright © 2004 Christianity Today.Click for reprint information.

An excerpt from Searching for God Knows What is also posted today.

Searching for God Knows What is available from Christianbook.com and other book retailers.

More information is available from the publisher.

More about Donald Miller, his books, and a short music video is available from his website.

A review of his earlier book, Blue Like Jazz, as well as a Dick Staub interview with Miller is posted on our website.