Customer Reviews

Good Goats: Healing Our Image of God

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Portrays God as a loving parent. We are told we cannot parent with the philosophy "Do as I say, not as I do", but the God that has been portrayed to us is exactly that type of parent "You forgive, but in the end I won't. Do not punish - that is my job." We have been told God loves us, but we are going to hell if we make a mistake-schizophrenic, right. No matter what your child does, you would not wish hell upon him/her. If you were all loving, powerful and knowing, you would find a way to save your child. This book explains that God has done that. The book quotes Meister Eckhart: "The seed of God is in us. The seed of a pear tree grows into a pear tree...a seed of God grows into God." A MUST READ if you are not convinced God has already won salvation for you. No fear-just live your life with love. You naturally conform to whom you worship-if you worship a loving, forgiving, caring God, you will become a loving, forgiving and caring person. That's how the saints did it; naturally, effortlessly. HOORAY FOR THE LINNS!

This book lovingly and insistently reveals the fatal flaws--and the societal dangers--associated with the the all too popular notion among many Christians that God is love, and God is good. . . and yet God will banish most of humankind to eternal damnation.

The book is written from a Roman Catholic perspective, but it also provides a wonderful antidote to the vengeful God of Protestant Fundamentalism.

The book is simple and direct, and it provides solid scriptural and contextual bases for its thesis that God loves each one of us immeasurably and will never give up on any of us. What a concept!

Although the authors' views are well grounded in scripture and are supported by highly respected scholars, they seem to remain largely hidden from mainstream popular Christianity. This will be a wonderful book to share with people who are sincerely struggling with these issues !

"Good Goats" is a gem of a book. First loaned to me by my spiritual director, it takes on the very reasons people should fuss with God. The Linns argue that the guilt of sin and the fear of hell are two very BAD reasons to give for believing in God - all that does is drive people away. They also grapple lightly but thoughtfully with Anselmian atonement (substitutionary atonement)as understood in today's religious environment, arguing that this theory simply makes no sense if God is indeed Love. Hooray! Excellent book for teaching. Authors are Roman Catholic and it shows, but this Episcopalian found this not to be an obstacle but a blessing in this Ecumenical Age.

I discovered this book by accident and am SO glad I did. While it was written by Roman Catholics it certainly is not exclusive to them. I am a Presbyterian and I have shared it with people of other faiths who enjoyed it as much as I did. "God loves us at least as much as the person who loves us most." This is the jumping off point for this book. If we can accept this idea then it follows that we need not fear divine retribution. God has and will continue to make an infinite number of attempts at reconciliation with us. Because He loves us. This is the only book I have ever felt compelled to share with my co-workers. Give it a shot. You won't be dissapointed.

Good Goats was immensely helpful to me in healing my image of God as an old white man with a beard. Somehow I could never see myself, as a woman, in that image! The healing for me in this book was powerful. Another powerful healing book for my image of God is a meditation book called SOUL SATISFACTION written by Elizabeth Rankin Geitz. I am grateful that books like these are finally being written.

All my life I've been burdened by a punishing and vengeful image of God. After reading this book, I feel that for the first time, I actually drew a peaceful breath. This book has given me a wonderful feeling of hope that I too will be saved. I think that no catechism should ever be distributed without a copy of this book. I love my new "God", even if he/she is just a cartoon image of love.

For all those who have misunderstandings of basic Catholic teachings, this book will free you of unwanted ideas about God. The readablity also makes this a great selection for all adult and teen readers. I recommend this to anyone who is looking for God but is caught in images that are not life giving. Pictures are humorous and also lead to a symbolic understanding as well as the cognitive input.

I found this book to be very well written. It was helpful to me as I search to better my understanding of God. This book informed, but did not put me down. I am presently re-reading it and getting even more out of it.

My first thought was that this was a children's book, however upon reading it, I discovered that it was indeed an adult's book with a message for the child we once were. It addresses the subconscious beliefs we carry around about who God is. If your feelings toward God are filled with ambiguity; if your relationship with God could be described as a love/hate or love/fear relationship; if the phrase "fear of the Lord" fills you with a sense of dread, then you will definitely want to read this book. If you're like me, your image of God will be transformed

This book is wonderful. It addresses questions that have likely haunted anyone raised in the Christian faith - not just Roman Catholics! I plan to keep it close at hand and to reread it so I can revisit these changes in perspective. Despite the simple language and straightforward approach, it will take more than one quick read for these thoughts to soak in as deeply as my previous misconceptions had!