Comments by Readers
This link is the official place for comments by those who have read my book. So if you HAVE NOT READ the book your COMMENT WILL BE DELETED in respect to those who have gone through the effort. I invite open, honest, and respectful thoughts, as long as they are informed. So add to the dialogue. And thanks for stopping by!
Jason, the book just arrived in the mail. I am looking forward to it. Thanks!
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i've decided the best way to describe your book is that it's an honest and gritty apologetics book for the spiritually cautious/ downright cynical.
there is no beating around any bushes. i despise bush beating. there is no fluff based solely on long-winded references from texts and people no one's heard of. i hate superfluous writing. your book- straight on- gives account to questions and issues that most, if not all, nonchristians have. it's real writing and, if any christian is honest or at least in touch with themselves, it speaks for all of us as believers.
i've already told my husband we need to buy more. my list of people who have got to read this is growing daily.
i like this book because it spoke to me, encouraged me in my walk, and excited me to continue to talk about my faith.
thanks so much for taking the time and writing it. God bless.
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I like how you wanted to establish yourself as a regular guy and then wrote a book that people without PhD's could understand. I wouldn't take you as seriously as an "everyman" if the book was filled with Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic up the ying-yang. So despite your frequent warnings between yourself and your wife, "being yourself" in this case is quite a good thing.
That said, there were some times when I would have appreciated a bit of reference for your arguments, specifically when referring to the Old Testament. There was the one chapter where you had footnotes referring to passages in the Bible which I liked. Or giving a brief synopsis of the various kinds of Bible translations. But other places, like when you were talking about God telling the Israelites to kill a group of people, when in reality it was in self-defense. That had me quite intrigued, and as someone who admittedly does pride myself on my intellect (however good or bad it may be) it would have been cool to follow up on that.
This kind of ties into the first point I made, but I appreciated what I saw to be your authenticity in dealing with various subjects. It comes across in the way that you describe your beliefs without attempting to be dogmatic about them to your readers. I think you pulled that off well. It has actually given me a new appreciation for your blog, in which I had previously hadn't been following as closely due to my uncertainty surrounding the nature of your political comments (I happen to be left-er leaning in my own political persuasions). I have known people who so closely associate political beliefs with spiritual ones to the point that they wouldn't allow any fellowship of the latter without fellowship of the former. But your book dispelled me of that notion and I apologize for my presumption.
Many of the things you struggle with I have as well, and so I could relate. Halfway through one section where you were talking about forgiveness, I actually put my book down and fired off an email to an ex I hadn't talked to in months and apologized for some nasty things I had told her when she dumped me.
Bottom line, when I actually put myself to it, I read your book and liked it. Despite some disagreements on some issues, I think I could relate enough to the point where I didn't really care. For someone who misguidedly thinks he's smart, I applaud you for that. Well done.
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Hey Jason,
I really enjoyed reading your book, and I to struggle with the same issues that you outlined in your book as well. As a Christian, everyone expects that we have all the answers about God and Christ, but that is far from the truth, the bible and my faith seem to create as many questions as they answer. What was comforting to know is that I am not the only one in the world, as a follower of Christ that can't answer questions about their faith exactly in a manner that is clear to others who do not believe.
Furthermore, your examples really hit home, as a father of two myself, when you talk about your children not only does it make your story and arguments more realistic, but as a reader I can relate - oh yeah -"boopa" to you to buddy, I laughed at that section of the book and picture my own kids following my wife and I around when we vaccumn!
I owe you a review on my site and I will sit down this Easter weekend and write an awesome review. Great job, great book, I highly recommend it to anyone who is a believer and still has questions (it is OK to have questions!).
God Bless!
Josh
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Jason, the book just arrived in the mail. I am looking forward to it. Thanks!
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Jason,
Before I get into how I felt about your book, I'd like to make it known that I'm slightly biased...
When I was an angsty 14 year old, trying to make sense of my shallow understanding Christianity, I was given a copy of Atonement. That record was very instrumental in kicking down a lot of the proverbial walls for me. It became somewhat of the sound track for "working through the frustrations of faith" back then. So, when I found out that the lead singer of Strongarm was writing a book, I had to read it.
But yeah, here's what I thought about it...
I found it to be very "accessible." If I had to compare it to the works of Dietrich Bonhoeffer that I've read, I'd have to say that I enjoyed your book a whole lot more. I could mow through a chapter and not have to take a nap once I finished. I appreciated the experiences you shared in this book... some I could relate to, others I'm glad that I couldn't. But either way, they brought a great deal of prospective to the issues covered in this book, and made the whole experience of reading it very "real."
Now some other comments...
The "my-mommy-bought-a-new-Honda" part had me laughing audibly in public.
The story of Tom the Rhodie made me sick to my stomach.
Perhaps you should consider offering a "10 Things/Atonement" package deal around the holidays... what a great stocking stuffer!
Anyway, thanks again, I look forward to reading your next one.
-- Johnny
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Finally had some free time this weekend and finished your book. Thought it was intuitive, brutally honest and heartfelt. I loved that your great sense of humor reared it's ugly head so often! It's a book I can relate to and will definitely recommend. Well done, Jason.
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I found the book to be a breath of fresh air! Finally some one was able to articulate the feelings I have had. It helped me to better understand myself and my relationship with God. Also it has challenged me to re-think some of my views. This is a must read book in my opinion.
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I found this book honest, insightful, and humorous in places. I could really relate to some of your frustrations, Jason. I appreciate your candor in sharing your feelings, and enjoyed seeing how you were working through them to come to a more mature faith. Congratulations on a good first book!
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The dedication to Jason Berggren’s 10 Things I Hate About Christianity says it all, “to those who continue to doubt, are curious about spiritual ideas, and are courageous enough to search them out.”
Berggren takes you on a page by page journey of his life through the eyes of a child, a student, and finally a father and husband as he searches for his personal path to the almighty. Regardless of your faith, this book will be a pleasant read, filled with humor, drama and moral lessons that don’t come across as preachy or proselytizing.
At times, Berggren uses personal quirks that we might not all share, but that we can all relate to on some level. We all have things in our life that we constantly struggle to keep at bay. For me, I am a Coke addict myself, so when his book started out that way – I chuckled to myself.
You see, I have known Jason since high school, where he was my bus-mate for a magnet school; that meant we spent a great deal of time together as we transitioned from place to place and challenge to challenge in our pursuit to find out who we were. He was always the really cool, down to earth “Christian” guy who I looked up to as an underclassman. He also had a three foot red mohawk but could carry out a theological or philosophical debate with anyone on the planet. This book shows me that he still can, and does.
The provocative title of the book has a double effect, in that it will draw away some “Christians” and possibly pull in some atheists.
But, it is like escargot, I didn’t know I liked it until I tried it. Jason’s book is a lot like that for me, I am glad I tried it, and it is GREAT with garlic (and Coke).
If you want to attack his arguments, you really can’t because he puts things in a personal perspective that defies theological criticism. Can anyone, can any one man,truly say they know what God is, what is the correct path to take, or even the right “voice” to use to get to him – or her. That is me talking by the way, not Jason.
But, it illustrates the point, finding God is a personal journey. So, pick up Jason’s journey, enjoy this book, don’t be taken aback by the title.
Be brave enough to read this book, and you will see how Jason came up with the title, it was another bit that made me chuckle.
And, Jason, I think God would be very proud of you – and the other Jason as well . . . I shall always consider you my friend.
Rick Swift
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