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31 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Hear Her Breathing", July 28, 2009
This review is from: It's Really All About God: Reflections of a Muslim Atheist Jewish Christian (Hardcover)
When Samir Selmanovic's manuscript landed in my lap, I was mildly curious as to what this media-savvy, pop culture-literate, former pastor of a thriving evangelical Christian church in southern California might have to say. By the time I finished the prologue, in which a Wiccan woman offers prayer for a gathering of pastors (and asks to pray to God as Mother), I was hooked. Selmanovic's call for community among God's peoples--all of them--is compelling, lyrical at times, thoughtful. And funny.
Selmanovic demands that we look at the flaws and drawbacks of organized religion, and that we admit our failure to adhere to the core teachings we believe. The book explores finding God in the "other", but Selmanovic doesn't mean the cliché of finding God where we least expect to. He's talking about finding God--really God--where we have determined God isn't. Like in a support group for atheists. Like in a case of hemorrhoids so severe you can't get your head out of your ass. With warmth and wit, Selmanovic tells us all--Christians, Jews, Muslims and anyone else who feels God can be quantified, qualified, and packaged in one True Religion--to, well, to get our head out of our collective ass. To find unity in life, to celebrate the gift of life, to find the Kingdom of God at hand--right here.
Selmanovic keeps it lively with delightfully unfamiliar poetry from all sorts of nooks and crannies, Rumi to Bob Dylan. But the soul of this little God-book is its author's personal narrative, Selmanovic's stories from a rich and varied faith journey that begins in the former Yugoslavia, as the eldest son in a big, warm, loving, generous Muslim family where the rules are simple: "Enjoy life, and don't be a jerk."
At once poignant and funny, deeply spiritual and utterly human, personal and universal, the anecdotes and stories show unequivocally that God does indeed inhabit our world. Our whole world, not just the places we've designated.
This little book has a big heart. The stories, poetry, theology, and history exude a gentle, grace-filled, prodigal love, the kind of love I like to think God has for us, flavored with the writer's effusive personality and Croatian heritage.
If we listen, we can hear God breathing:
Another world
is not only possible, she's
on her way. Many of us won't
be here to greet her, but
on a quiet day,
if you listen carefully, you
can hear her breathing.
(Arundhati Roy, as quoted by Selmanovic)
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good things come to those who wait!, August 1, 2009
This review is from: It's Really All About God: Reflections of a Muslim Atheist Jewish Christian (Hardcover)
I have been waiting for this book to hit the shelves for a long time. Even though I had heard Selmanovic speak several times and had a good idea of where this book was heading, I was overwhelmingly and pleasantly surprised when I had an opportunity to read the finished product. This book is full of powerful Good News that paints a beautifully narrated picture of what faithfulness might look like if we get out of the God management business. Ever since reading Reza Aslan's great book, No god but God, I wondered when a voice with connections to my own Christian tradition would write a book that looked to the future of faith with hope. This is that book.
Selmanovic has creatively weaved together a book that is part theology, part personal narrative, and part poetry and the result is inspiring, humbling, and challenging. His voice and tone throughout is pastoral, open, and deeply human. The reader follows along from one important moment to the next in the journey through faith and doubt and back again. It will challenge your thoughts, touch your emotions, and gently nudge you to follow the same path towards a God that is much bigger and unpredictable than we may have previously imagined.
If you have God all figured out this book is not for you. But if you are tired of hearing people of faith proclaim "gospel" messages that are just reflections of their own narrow, homogeneous way of thinking and want to hear something new give this a try.
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I Highly Recommend This Book!, July 29, 2009
This review is from: It's Really All About God: Reflections of a Muslim Atheist Jewish Christian (Hardcover)
Perhaps I am just overly pessimistic, but based on its title this book wasn't what I expected. I mean that in a good way. It's Really All About God is an overflow of love and hope for the future of religion. Whereas many interfaith dialogs seek to blur distinctions, mixing the world's religions into a monochromatic stew of ethic teachings, Samir takes an alternative route. He asks, "Can God be found in those outside of my religious tradition?". As a result, It's Really All About God provides its reader with complimentary ways of understanding and experiencing God, despite their religious background.
For many, this will be an unnerving approach. However, it need not be. Samir carefully and calculatedly constructed a theological framework that speaks unilaterally, across religious divides. His framework is one of asking deep questions about how we, as religious people, understand power, community, the nature, and knowledge of God.
Do we only participate in conversations we can control? Must we have the last word? Is a singular belief necessary for Spirit-filled community? Are our religions equitable to the presence of God? If not, how does that change how we look at religion?
Samir is interested in deepening our faith and opening our communities, rather than proselytizing a particular faith or ideology. Taking the role of a prophet, Samir is careful to limit the answers he provides. He merely confronts the reader with tough questions and allows the discomfort and silence of unanswered questions. His hope is that, through the subsequent silence, God will make Godself heard and known.
However, this book is not just for theists. Taking a road far less traveled, Samir also dedicates much of this book to discussing how non-theists may participate in and contribute to the conversation about God. He argues that non-theists have valuable critiques to offer those of us within religious communities. Moreover, he also argues that non-theist (or "atheistic") faiths are fellow sojourners, rather than adversarial opponents. Samir carefully offers a theological framework that allows each tradition to develop and grow through dialog, even traditions generally considered outside the religious conversations.
Though far from flawless, I applaud Samir for It's Really All about God. Many authors have attempted to facilitate inter-religious dialog, but few have done it with the pastoral care and artisanship of Selmanovic. This book is a window into his life, his family, his struggles, and ultimately his trans-religious experiences of God. Many may fault Samir for this transparency and for publicly confessing how God has spoken through religions besides his own. I, however, have been deeply moved by this book and find myself both challenged and transformed.
I highly recommend this book.
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