Customer Reviews

Jaded: Hope for Believers Who Have Given Up on Church But Not on God

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Jaded is a helpful book for those experiencing disatisfaction with typical American church life. It is not THE answer, but it provides some answers and direction for those who are wrestling with their church relationship. Especially encouraging in reading what others are or have experienced, and it helped me in reaching a decision. The author makes numerous, relevant points regarding the net effect of corporate Church life on many believers who love God, love God's people, but have come to a place of gnawing disatisfaction and/ or spiritual letdown within their church. If you are struggling with your church relationship and you have been a Christian for several years, and you are not offended and angry with another believer or the ministry, then read the book.

I picked up this book because I liked the font that the binding was written in. I know, that's a bizarre reason to pick up a book, but then again, I can be a pretty bizarre person. The title attracted me further, as I have been visiting churches for the last 2-3 years and have been pretty discouraged with a lot of the stuff I've seen going on in churches. So I bought the book and fell in love with it.
The main reason I love this book is because Angela Kiesling writes not like an expert on the subject, but like a journalist. She merely tells people's stories and throws a few ideas out. There aren't any "answers" (another reason why I like this book!), just stories and ideas.
I'm not sure this book would have been so good to me had I not had all the experiences the people in the book talk about. But I have had them (well, most of them, I guess), so I can really resonate with everything Ms. Kiesling says. I highly, highly recommend this book to anyone who has had any kind of negative experience with the institutional church.

In this book, Angela Kiesling writes a very scathing review of the church. As a person who is dissatisfied with the church, I picked up this book hoping to find in it the truths that I have discovered over the course of the last few years. However, I found this book not as a source of comfort to me or even a source of ideas. I found this book merely an advocate of The Emerging Church. Kiesling doesn't seek to solve the problems of the church but to simply encourage the reader to give up on the Institutional Church and trade it for a house church so prevalent in The Emerging Church.

This book is not for those who are weak in faith, either. Keisling doesn't offer hope for the Church as we know it today. To her, the only hope lies in completely abandoning the Institutional Church and its fellowship and trading it in for small group gatherings (which should be part of the Institutional Church, not separate from it). All in all, this book was a disappointment to me. Instead of finding in its pages stories of those who seek to change the church, I found stories of those who redefined Church as something that met their needs (and whose sole purpose was to do so).

Keisling misses the point with this book.

Angela Kiesling does a fantastic job of bringing attention to a timely issue. A must read for everyone.

I agree with the review written by Nessa except for two things. My opinion is that two stars and the title "Not quite there" grant too much favor to this book. The writings in this book are disappointing and dangerously deceptive. The author generously paints true statements, good statements and Scriptures that seem to apply onto an underlying and antithetical theme.

The author quotes Martin Luther, "Unless I am convinced by Scripture and plain reason I do not accept the authority of popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other. My conscience is captive to the Word of God."

Because "authorities" includes authors of books and because this book is missing plain reason and convincing Scripture, I plan to trash this book. Literally.