Customer Reviews

A Conversation with God: If You Could Ask God Anything What Would It Be?

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If you could ask God any question, what would it be?

That's the subtitle to the book, but still an interesting question. In A Conversation with God, author Alton Gansky uses a question-and-answer format to discuss basic Christian theology. It's a refreshing approach to familiar topics.

A Conversation "asks" 55 questions about God, humanity, the Bible, pain, the future, etc.

"The material for the fifty-five questions is set in contemporary times and is meant to speak to the lives of twenty-first century people" (page 11).

Questions such as, "How do we know the Bible is accurate?" and, "Why is there so much suffering?" and "Can I lose my salvation?" are answered by a panel of experts. God (as the Father) and Jesus do most of the talking, but we also hear from Abraham, Job, Peter, Moses, and Urbanus, among many others.

Gansky acknowledges the inherent gravity in speaking for God, but explains that the answers are rooted in scripture. The Q&A format is meant to be more engaging than "dry philosophy and theology" (page 11).

So, is it?

Not really. Most of the answers are good, but every attempt I've seen at creating a compelling "conversation" through printed dialogue misses the mark. I just don't think it's possible. It's still simple theology; it just uses different pronouns.

However, the book seems designed for a specific target audience, and it speaks well to it. It looks like something a church with a budget would make available to new believers, or maybe a baptism gift. The questions are basic ones. The chapters are short. The content is well organized. A reader could quickly and easily jump around in the book as he wished, and return to it for convenient reference as needed.

Not to mention it's pretty, and is printed on a heavier-than-normal paper stock. The first thing I noticed when I got it was how heavy it is for its size. The second was that the pages are semi-glossy. (Which is nice, but also kind of a pain in that it catches a glare at almost any angle.) It's definitely designed with gift giving in mind.

If you've been a Christian, attending church for six months to a year, you might be bored with this one. I certainly was. It took me forever to get through just because I could never read more than a few chapters at a time, and once I'd put it down I didn't pick it up again for days at a time.

But if you're leadership in a ministry, and if you agree with all of the theology, it would make a great new believer/baptism/etc. gift. I don't agree with the pre-tribulation-rapture chapter, but if you're into that kind of thing you should check it out, the rest is pretty basic.

I really, really wanted to love this book!

Unfortunately, I must settle for a cordial "like".

Let me explain why...

Many years ago, I got caught up in the writings of Neal Donald Walsch, who has a book series by a similiar name. After inquiry, studying the Bible and seeking advice from christian leaders that I trust, I found that Mr. Walsch's works were misleading and must be read with care, if read at all.
I mention this, because this book brings up many of the same concerns and must be handled with care.

First, I will say that Mr. Gansky's book is very well packaged... impressively so. I read alot of books and carry them with me as I go, often times giving them a pretty rough passage and putting their durability to the test. There was absolutely no concern as to whether it would hold up. It did.

Secondly, each portion of this book that held my attention was solidly founded in scripture. I enjoyed that there were a few different perspectives given from various people like God, Jesus and even Judas Escariot. But, that was also a little confusing... as the book was supposed to be a conversation with God.

Lastly, and to sum up my thoughts on this book, I feel that it was an interesting read. For the young christian, it can open a dialogue about pressing questions yet, the answers should be handled with care, just as any paraphrase of scripture should be.
As I eluded to earlier, this book did not really hold my attention but I do feel that it is worth spending some time with. It is beneficial and helpful in being a conversation started moreso than a final answer to the questions discussed within it's pages.

I am grateful for Booksneeze, who provided me with a complimentary copy of this book, in exchange for my honest review.

Honestly I received this book a long time ago. Way too long ago to not have already posted a review. This book was not as satisfying as I had thought it would be. In my hunger for more and more information I could gleam about God I thought this would be a great resource. This book is set up as question/answer type of book using first person response - with God and other key Bible characters.

I did find this book somewhat hard to read from beginning to end, but the author even suggested skipping around. Since there are 55 chapters and each chapter is a different question/answer, there is a lot of covered material. It was hard to adjust to the first person platform, the fact that the author was speaking for God and many of the other Bible characters was a little awkward. Also the answers, at times, fluctuated back and forth between the same two people causing more confusion.

The book posed questions such as: why there is so much pain and suffering the world, what is heaven like, and is there really such a place as hell. These questions and more I thought were very relevant and often asked. Each answer was drawn from the Bible and most answers had scripture references, but all the references were in the back of the book. It would have been so much more convenient to have the references built into the chapters themselves.

Would I recommend reading this book? That's actually not easy to answer! Yes I would if you are just starting to learn the Bible and if you are comfortable reading this book from the first person response. Also, if you are looking for more of discussion or reference book - I believe it would fit in well with those categories.

OK, I admit that I'm a tad behind (well, maybe more than a tad behind) in my book reviews so I'm going to try to catch up tonight and get back on track =)

Conversations with God is an interesting book that asks some basics questions such as "What is Heaven like?", "If God loves us, why is there suffering?" and the like. Good basic questions that most everyone wonders at one point or another in their Christian walk. The answers are done in the form of being answered in a conversational form by God and others in heaven.

The author acknowledges that he is not in the place to speak for God and it is his goal to answer the questions Scripturaly while he does use the format. I understand his goal but to be honest, I'm not too nuts about the format (for some of the same reasons I am not a fan of "The Voice" Bible translation.)

When it comes to the questions of life, answer them with Scripture and personal commentary but leave God to speak for himself. We all know that two people can read the same Scripture and get different impressions. It's vital that the Holy Spirit is in the driving seat for this. If you give me your views, I am invited to consider your impressions as I study the Scripture and submit to the Spirit. If you give me your thoughts in the form of God's, it makes me a little uncomfortable.

Truth is, most people are smart enough to make the distinction but for my taste, it's not the best writing style available.

I received a copy of the book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest (though late) review.

The novel, "A Conversation with God" was not at all what I expected it to be. That being said, it was still an excellent read and I found that I could not put it down. The book gives the readers a chance to get answers to many different questions from God and other educated biblical scholars. Some of the questions included in the book are:
What is Heaven like?
Who really rules this Earth God, You or Satan?
If you love us why do we suffer?
Each answer is drawn from within the text of the Bible, and most answers provide scripture references, which are inconveniently located in the back of the text. My feelings as I read this book were pretty mixed. The theology, for the most part, was good and there are many sections that Christians could really benefit from reading. That being said, I did not like how some questions were in the point of view of God. The author does state that "no one can speak for God but God, but as I was reading the novel, it seemed like he was trying to speak for God and for other important biblical figures as well. All in all, it was a good read, and with the right mindset and idea of what the book is all about, it is a very beneficial for all Christians to read.

I received this book for free from BookSneeze.com, for this honest review.

Who wouldn't want to have a conversation with God and find out what the real answers to life are? Of course, this book isn't actually written by God, it's written by Alton Gansky. I was a little skeptical when I first saw the book....how could a mere man speak for God and know how God would answer our questions about life? But the author actually does a really good job of searching the Bible (which is, of course, God's Word) to find the answers to questions that people wrestle with....."God, How can we believe you created us?"...."How do we know the Bible is accurate?"....."Is Jesus really Your Son?"...."What is Heaven like?"....."Is there really such a place as hell?"....and many others. The author also has Jesus, Luke, Peter, Lazarus of Bethany, and many other Biblical characters answering the questions as well. As you read the book you may want to check for yourself the actual Scripture passages that the author has gleaned the answers from......they can be found at the back of the book. So....if you have unanswered questions or know someone who is struggling with questions about Christianity and you want to know how to help them, take a look at this book.

I found this to be a very intriguing book. While it did answer a lot of the questions that I have had, in some ways it still left a lot of things unanswered.

This book is comprised of fifty-five questions and has answers from 'God', 'Jesus', and other people from the Bible. The questions cover everything from the end times, to abortion, to heaven and hell. I loved the way that the book was laid out and the answers that the author gave.

But there was still something lacking. Some of the answers ended just as they started going somewhere, they ended or changed direction. I was hoping that there would be a lot more 'meat' to this book than there was.

This is one of those books that has an utterly fantastic concept but just seems to fall a little bit short for me. I would recommend this book, but probably only to a newer Christian. Someone who is looking for a deeper understanding will probably be disappointed with this book.

I got a copy of this book for free from Thomas Nelson Publishers through their Booksneeze program. I was not paid or my review or required to give a positive review. All thoughts contained in this review are my own.

When I first got this book, I was not sure if I would enjoy it or not. I was hesitant, as always, when people try to tell others what God would say. I find it odd, that many try to duplicate this sort of train of thought, but I suppose it's basic economics. Where there is demand, there is a supply.

For me, this book was okay. It had some appealing points and quotes, but overall this book is not very appealing for me. I can sit and read a book front to back usually very quickly. This book was half the size of my normal readings, and took me months. It quite frankly bored me to death. I'd rather read the scriptures myself and come to my own conclusions, rather than paragraph after paragraph of someone telling me what God and Jesus are saying to me.

I did not agree with everything written in this book; however, I realize this is one author's perception and opinion of what the Bible is teaching us. I definitely would recommend it as a "read with an open mind" to someone that is just learning about God, Jesus, and the Holy Bible.

As far as the layout of the book, it was actually written well. The book could be written front to back, or the reader could choose to skip around. This is good for the topics that one may not find interesting, however; I still found the information a bit on the boring side. There was a lot of repetitiveness about the book as well; which kind of got annoying after the first few chapters. Each time, there was "God"'s answer, other important people in the Bible answered, sometimes "Jesus", ect. This was probably my biggest issue with the book. I suppose one should have assumed that would be the way it was written by the title; but I was expecting something else.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com <[....]> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 <[....]> : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

A Conversation with God by Alton Gansky is a good read for someone wanting to have a basic overview of theology in easy to understand laymen terms. The book consist of questions in which the author speaks on behalf of God to answer. In general it was not as awkward as I had expected. It some ways I believe this did limit the author. The depth of discussion could have been deeper by allowing the reader to wrestle with varying theological positions within Christendom. The format of the book does not allow for that level of thought. I do recommend it to those that want a basic theological overview. For this reason, I plan to add this book to our church library.

I was disappointed that there was not a chapter on the church. I was hoping that "God" would have a higher view of the church. On page 50 the highest compliment given toward the church was, "Church is a resource that shouldn't be overlooked." Really? The living organism founded by Jesus is treated as an add-on. Unfortunately, this is true for the God most Americans worship. In spite of this I liked the book over-all

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program.

Have you ever said, "When I get to heaven I have a few questions for God"? I know I have.
If you've pondered the why's of this universe or are wondering about where we go from here, you may find your answers within these pages. Author Alton Gansky answers 55 questions in the voice of God, Jesus, and biblical characters from Abraham to Urbanus. Topics addressed include God, Bible, The Future, Pain and Suffering, Jesus, Kingdom of God, Heaven and Hell, Humanity, Christian Living, and Today's World.
Questions range from the basic, "God, is Jesus really your son?" to the more complex, "Who really rules this earth, God--You or Satan?" Jesus and God's response to every question solidifies the oneness of Father and Son. Additional responses from other biblical characters reinforce the accuracy of scripture and Gansky's responses via God and Jesus.
Although I felt the book was too elementary in scope for a seasoned Christian, it would be an excellent resource to give new believers or non-believers seeking to learn more. The book's first person perspective lends an intimate feel to a very personal subject, one's relationship with God. The answers warmth and concern embrace the reader like a hug from a father to his child--a proper illustration of our loving God.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com <[....]> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 <[....]> : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."