Not Your Average Christian Fiction

I will admit that I never would have read this book if Barnes and Noble had labeled it as Christian fiction when it was offered as a free NOOK book one Friday. Although I consider myself to be a Christian, I am not a teatotalling, Bible thumpimg, antichoicer like this author obviously is. Still the tale was quite gripping and I couldn't put it down. Although some of the phrasing made me want to roll my eyes (terminating a pregnancy was referred to as "getting rid of the baby"), the story was very well written overall. Perhaps some might think that the ending was a bit pollyannaish, but I am a sucker for a happy ending and enjoyed seeing Meg brought though the darkest point of her life by her renewed faith.

I wouldn't recommend this book for everyone, but if you are tolerant of different beliefs or share the author's beliefs this book is definitely worth a read.

God Is Calling...

Billy Graham, named after the famous televangelist, has been called by God himself to make a very special movie, a movie that will bring forth "the rapture." Faithful Christian that he is, Billy is willing to do whatever it takes to get "God's movie" made. Lying, stealing, and abandoning his family are all sanctioned by God in order for Billy to be able to get the movie made. God even shows him the way to pilfer the things that he needs the most and provides him with adequate lies to cover his divine misdeeds. Slowly, things began to unravel and Billy is forced to face the consequences of his actions and rethink his relationship with God.

This novel by Frank Schaeffer is both insightful and humorous. The outlandishly stereotypical characters made me want to laugh and cry at the same time. The outrageousness of the things Billy feels that God is calling him to do, and the feeling that the other characters in "New Midian" were more caricature than character made me laugh. The fact that I could name some folks that I know who strongly resemble these characters made me want to cry.

The ending is bittersweet, but I won't give it away. Read it to the very last page yourself. You'll be glad that you did.