Amazon.com: Looking for God within the Kingdom of Religious Confusion (9780978856502): A. W. Schade: Books

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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If you are confused by religious confusion, and want to follow your own path, here you go, May 17, 2007

Craig Matteson (Saline, MI) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Looking for God within the Kingdom of Religious Confusion (Paperback)

As a believer in God, I am very much pre-disposed to appreciate expressions of faith - whatever they are. My own view is that any steps towards faith are better than steps away from it. I am also very sympathetic to the struggles of many sincere individuals to find a path they trust to be true when there are so many to choose from. This work of fiction by A. W. Schade presents what must be his examination of this issue of dealing with the issue of faith and what path to walk down.

The protagonist is Jacob, who is a Catholic. He sees his daughter, Jessica, killed in front of him when she is hit by a car and has a crisis of faith. In this book he talks to a variety of Christian ministers, priests, and teachers. We hear from Catholics, Protestants, and a Mormon. At one point, Jacob talks with an atheist and decides against non-belief.

Jacob also investigates the other two monotheistic faiths, Islam and Judaism. He hasn't much resonance with Islam because it is too rigid among other things. However, the conversation with the Rabbi actually provides Jacob with his most satisfying conversation.

The end of the book provides Jacob's judgment of what he has chosen to believe. The point of the book is that one need not be limited to a specific religious path. He rejects Jesus as being the Messiah or even the need for one and lists his what he now believes about God and its meaning for our life.

Frankly, though, I don't know what is so revolutionary about this. We live in an age of personally chosen faith. People make it up for themselves on a daily basis and change their beliefs about as often as they change their underclothes. It is no longer shocking or revolutionary. Is the author trying to free people from their commitment to being a member of a specific faith? Is he trying to recruit people to his views and start a new faith? The book doesn't say.

I also think the book shortchanges faiths that have an orthodoxy and a body of believers. A great deal of good can come from like minded people working together and living their faith. It is much easier to care for each other when you know each other well and when the other is in need. If we are all living individual lives it is hard for others to know how to help us. We all want to reach out to others. The author writing this book proves this point.

Also, as a believing Mormon, I was somewhat disturbed by the superficial treatment of our faith (and therefore I assume all the faiths). For example, the author gets the Tabernacle and the Temple confused. The Tabernacle is a large public place of worship and is the building that gives the choir its name. The Temple is only open to certain members for specific purposes such as marriage and sealing families. And like all faiths, it always looks different to the person outside looking than it does to the insider living that faith. I would point to other things as the important points of the faith than Jacob sees, however, that is the danger of a fictional telling. The person being a teacher of Mormonism can't be any more knowledgeable about the faith than the author. So, it doesn't ring as true as it would if he had interviewed an actual Mormon teacher and reported what they said rather than interpreting it and putting words in the fictional character's mouth.

Anyway, if you are interested in the kind of search Jacob goes through in this book, this is a pleasant read.

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17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Looking for God within the Kingdom of Religious Confusion, March 8, 2007

B. Doolittle - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Looking for God within the Kingdom of Religious Confusion (Paperback)

A journey of a tormented man searching for the only correct religious compass. An excellent review of the fundementals of the various religions practiced around the world today. This mysterious journey keeps the reader involved throughout the book. The conclusion was excellent.

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 'It is written', May 18, 2007

Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Looking for God within the Kingdom of Religious Confusion (Paperback)

And in the case of LOOKING FOR GOD WITHIN THE KINGDOM OF RELIGIOUS CONFUSION, it is written VERY well by AW Schade. There has always been a need for novels of this sort that explore the differences and similarities among religious faiths, but at this particular juncture in our history this book is extremely timely. While most of us are perplexed by world incidents - the terrorist attacks and threats, the seemingly interminable schism between Israel and Palestine, the fractured portions of Islam that are eroding the countries of Iraq and Afghanistan in civil wars, the splintering of the Catholic Church in various areas of the globe, the Fundamentalist versus the Liberal Christian dichotomy that divide the US - there are few solid answers as to why 'religions' that purport to respond to the wishes of the same God/Allah/Yahweh can wreak havoc on fellowmen. Is the Supreme Being a source of love and peace or a source of wrath?

Schade approaches this question with a novel: Jacob is a single Catholic father who, after enduring the atrocities of the Vietnam War, witnesses the brutal, accidental death of his only daughter. In anguish he sets out to find God and to search for the reasons of the cruelties he is witnessing. Jacob enters through the Gateway of Abraham to the mythical Kingdom of Religious Confusion, a place with many paths to take, each named after religious groups or sects. He has enlightened conversations with a Catholic priest, a series of Protestants including a Mormon practitioner, a Lutheran minister, various clergy from the Junction of Majority (Baptist, Anglican, Methodist, Disciples of Christ, etc), an atheist, a Muslim educator, and a Jewish Rabbi. Each of the interviews reveals insights to the various religions, tying the similarities to the differences in a manner that makes the kernel beliefs clearly understandable.

Jacob wants one-on-one proof that God exists and each of the generous learned people he meets can only go so far in making the concept of 'faith' credible for Jacob. After hearing from all the resources Jacob finds his own answers within himself. And for those whose background in religious training is scant, Jacob's journey is enlightening. Schade offers the tenets of these Western religions in a sound, instructive manner. After his struggle with all of the new information he has gleaned, he offers (through Jacob) the following: 'If, however, I have chosen the incorrect paths to follow, I believe a loving God knows the chaos I am trying to reconcile, and the ease in which a seeker can lose his way. I believe if I should travel the wrong path, God will know my journey has been in a righteous direction, not perfect by a long shot, and accept me for trying.'

This is a wise little book that not only a fascinating read, but also a resource for those who wish to understand the different religions of the world. Schade writes with fluid prose and with careful concern for his reader's database. We can only hope Schade's next similar and much needed book will embrace the Eastern religions, as he has proven himself a fine teacher as well as a fine writer. Grady Harp, May 07

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