A review by kadyjak
Once Was Lost by Sara Zarr
1.0
I tried with this one but the 7th Heaven vibe is a little too strong. Christianity is made out to be a total joke with no real substance. People who don't get Christianity really shouldn't attempt to write about Christians, let alone pastors and their families. It's not the kind of thing you can knowledgeably write about without actually understanding it and believing it. Mentioning a few routine prayers, a missions trip, and God or a Bible here or there doesn't cut it. At all.
I realize that there are those "pastors" out there who don't really know much about the Bible and view church as pep-talk time and more or less a big club, but it's not even a remotely accurate picture of actual Christianity. It's not all about community (although, yes, that is one element). It's all about God and the Gospel. God was barely mentioned, and Jesus and the Gospel weren't mentioned at all. I'm not surprised Sam is confused about God because apparently her father and the whole rest of the church don't know much about Him. How could she?
I'm not a pastor's kid, but I have known many great pastors and their families. They're not perfect and they don't pretend to be. And if a situation arises in their family that's so contrary to the teachings of the Bible - like the pastor's wife becoming an alcoholic and being ordered to rehab after a DUI - they understand that they no longer qualify to actually be in ministry. If that's even what you could call it in this book.
Being a pastor is about much much more than throwing together a sermon (that is apparently easily cut short when it's hot out) the night before and putting on a "confident pastoral mode" when you need to play that part in public. And being a Christian is about much much more than putting in your obligatory time at church (or youth group), and talking about your personal goals and realizations with other supposed Christians.
I could see myself just getting more and more irritated with this book, so I stopped somewhere in day 2.
Oh, and alcoholism is not a disease. Alzheimers, Leukemia, Parkinsons, Cholera, Malaria, - these are diseases. Becoming an alcoholic or a drug addict is 100% your choice. It always aggravates me when I hear someone say addiction is a disease because people suffer from actual diseases that they had no control over whatsoever, and calling something you choose to do to yourself a disease minimizes that in a really obnoxious way.
I realize that there are those "pastors" out there who don't really know much about the Bible and view church as pep-talk time and more or less a big club, but it's not even a remotely accurate picture of actual Christianity. It's not all about community (although, yes, that is one element). It's all about God and the Gospel. God was barely mentioned, and Jesus and the Gospel weren't mentioned at all. I'm not surprised Sam is confused about God because apparently her father and the whole rest of the church don't know much about Him. How could she?
I'm not a pastor's kid, but I have known many great pastors and their families. They're not perfect and they don't pretend to be. And if a situation arises in their family that's so contrary to the teachings of the Bible - like the pastor's wife becoming an alcoholic and being ordered to rehab after a DUI - they understand that they no longer qualify to actually be in ministry. If that's even what you could call it in this book.
Being a pastor is about much much more than throwing together a sermon (that is apparently easily cut short when it's hot out) the night before and putting on a "confident pastoral mode" when you need to play that part in public. And being a Christian is about much much more than putting in your obligatory time at church (or youth group), and talking about your personal goals and realizations with other supposed Christians.
I could see myself just getting more and more irritated with this book, so I stopped somewhere in day 2.
Oh, and alcoholism is not a disease. Alzheimers, Leukemia, Parkinsons, Cholera, Malaria, - these are diseases. Becoming an alcoholic or a drug addict is 100% your choice. It always aggravates me when I hear someone say addiction is a disease because people suffer from actual diseases that they had no control over whatsoever, and calling something you choose to do to yourself a disease minimizes that in a really obnoxious way.