Embracing the Mysterious God: Loving the God We Don't Understand [Hardcover]

James Emery White (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2003

One of Christianity Today's 2003 Books of the Year!We give ourselves to God and then struggle profoundly with the relationship. We are drawn in and then want to flee in fear. We move from faith to doubt, trust to confusion, intimacy to a feeling of abandonment. Coming to faith is like falling in love. It can be a head-over-heels rush to the altar or a slow acceptance that slips into a heartfelt embrace. Either way, eventually romance crashes headlong into reality. Often we make things worse either by feeling guilty about our struggles with doubt or by trying to dismiss them as unimportant or insignificant. We may even become resentful that God does not simply step in to clear up our confusion.When we find ourselves in any of these predicaments, the only way out is to face our uncertainties about God--deliberately and directly.In Embracing the Mysterious God James Emery White explores these struggles we all face--struggles of heart, soul, mind and strength. And struggles to love our neighbors as ourselves. Here you will find your tough questions about God addressed. Better still, you will find the way to renewed faith.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

While many recent books have addressed the difficulties of maintaining a deep, intimate relationship with God, White's contribution offers remarkable clarity of thought. The founding pastor of Mecklenburg Community Church and author of several books on spirituality structures his discussion around the "Great Commandment": to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, and then to turn that love outward to others. He begins with the struggles of the heart, addressing the problem of evil and the scandal of the gospel's exclusivity, then moves on to conflicts of the soul, the mind, the "strength" and relationships with others. He candidly describes often-denied doubts that believers have in areas both major (the silence of God, the will of God) and minor (the fact that there are people we just don't like). Without giving simplistic answers to any of these questions, White provides insightful and encouraging guidance for all of them. He also contributes extremely helpful distinctions (e.g., different uses of the word "tolerance") that thoughtful Christians will be quoting for years to come. The book's moving, well-crafted illustrations-from the faith wrestlings of a young Mother Teresa to a moving story from Corrie ten Boom's childhood-give color and depth to the discussion. Reflecting a breadth of knowledge, this book will appeal to more educated readers, yet its accessibility and brevity will give it a much wider audience.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 180 pages
• Publisher: InterVarsity Press (August 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0830823778
• ISBN-13: 978-0830823772
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,224,069 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dealing with doubt, October 31, 2003

By 

Jon Miller - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Embracing the Mysterious God: Loving the God We Don't Understand (Hardcover)

This book is the best book I've read in years. Every believer who has ever stuggled with their faith, whose felt God is sometimes silent, or who wants to be able to answer the hard question that beleivers have about God should read this book. It ministers deeply to the soul and brings hope to all who've wondered about God's apparent silence. It's full of real life examples and interesting historical insight from hero's of the faith like C.S. Lewis and many more. It's a must read. James Emery White has done an excellent job on this work. God will use him greatly.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Faith in the midst of doubt..., November 12, 2003

By 

David Phillips "pastor" (Smyrna, DE USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Embracing the Mysterious God: Loving the God We Don't Understand (Hardcover)

There are things about God we just don't understand. And there are events that happen in our lives that make us question God...we so often wonder WHY?

Jesus said that the greatest commandment was to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and the second was to love your neighbor as yourself. James E. White takes this as his outline for the book and explores struggles in our life in loving and understanding God through each of these areas. How to love God while struggling with His silence is an example.

It is a refreshing book and encourages - while challenging - the heart. I highly recommend it.