Dinner with a Perfect Stranger: An Invitation Worth Considering (Hardcover)

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Key Phrases: Mother Teresa, God That

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In Dinner With a Perfect Stranger, David Gregory relates the story of two men sharing a meal. The point of interest is knowing that one man believes he is Jesus. What will the other man think by the time the evening is through? The conversation begins, as one could imagine, scratching the dry hard surface of skepticism and doubt, but gently and persistently goes deeper and deeper, spiraling in from that starting point until they are eventually talking about the true stuff of life; the career drifting off-track, the marriage experiencing its own kind of strain, the life being lived where the philosophical questions of youth have given way to simply coping with modern day-to-day living.

Gregory's book is a refreshing reminder of what evangelical Christianity is at its very best -- a faith enlivened by the personal relationship between the Creator and the created. In the end, evangelical Christians are focused on who Jesus Christ is, and more specifically, who He is to them. Doctrinal stances, theological conundrums, questions about literal or non-literal Biblical interpretation, these are all beside the point for the certain type of Christian whose central focus is the life and person of Jesus.

In the Narnia series, C.S. Lewis touched on some of the core questions of religion, from the Christian viewpoint (is there a hell? What is heaven like, really? How can other religions be wrong, and just one be right?) Taking his cue from Lewis, Gregory does the same, realizing that questions like these come alive when they're in the context of a story, and we can be the third party, watching with interest while they are put on the table and considered. In the end, Gregory's book succeeds because of his willingness to approach interesting, hard questions like these. He is always, undoubtedly, aiming for the heart, but he realizes that to win the heart one must never forget that the mind has to come along for the ride. --Ed Dobeas

From Publishers Weekly

In this didactic inspirational novella, Cincinnati workaholic Nick Cominsky accepts an invitation that he assumes is a gag: to have dinner with Jesus Christ himself. He soon finds out it's no laughing matter, and, despite his doubts and initial misgivings, he engages in a long conversation with the deity (who has jettisoned the long locks and sandals in favor of a Brooks Brothers haircut and blue suit). That conversation constitutes the novella's light plot. As the courses of their elegant Italian meal are delivered, Nick and Jesus discuss the dichotomies of sin and salvation, grace and works, organized religion and personal faith. In his quest to prove why Christianity is superior to other religions, Gregory has Jesus make misleading statements about Hinduism, Buddhism and particularly Islam. These unfair caricatures add to the book's heavy-handed feel, as do strawman arguments for the veracity of the Bible and the resurrection. What's appealing about this book is that its Jesus is refreshingly down-to-earth; he digs good food, draws theological illustrations from Star Trek, and quietly chafes at wearing a necktie. But that can't disguise the fact that Gregory has not written a story so much as a dressed-up and controversial sermon. (July 19)
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Product Details

• Hardcover: 112 pages
• Publisher: WaterBrook Press (July 12, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1578569052
• ISBN-13: 978-1578569052
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 4.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (151 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #4,872 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

82 of 85 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I'm a Skeptic, October 22, 2005

By	Eric Wilson "novelist" (Nashville, TN United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

I'm a skeptic when it comes to little books that are supposed to pack a big punch. They seem shallow, glib, and over-simplified. Usually.

I read "Dinner with a Perfect Stranger" in one sitting. Yes, it's short; yes, it's simple; but it's also profoundly moving. There are no big surprises--a few little ones--and no hit-you-in-the-gut emotional twists. Instead, the author moves us through this meal with Jesus in such a way that I wanted to kick back and have coffee and dessert too. I wanted to meet Jesus face to face and ask some of my own questions.

The author handles many subjects within his dinner conversation, and he does so with grace and wisdom. Nick Cominsky, our main character, deals with Jesus in sarcastic tones, and Jesus responds in ways that seem downright believable, wise, and funny. I liked this realistic tone of the dialogue. Sure, the author could've gone much deeper into certain issues, but he leads us to the bottom line of Christianity: a personal relationship with Jesus based on faith instead of good works.

If you believe the Bible, this book is a breath of fresh air; if you don't believe, this book may cause you to reconsider things. Either way, it's well done and well worth an hour of your time.

113 of 123 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A quaint look at christianity, August 2, 2005

By	Katphish "Katphish" (ny) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dinner with a Perfect Stranger: An Invitation Worth Considering (Random House Large Print (Cloth/Paper)) (Hardcover)

I received this book from an aunt who has recently "rediscovered" her Christian-self and ever-since has been proselytizing to me, in an effort to convert me I suppose. While her intentions are pure and her motivation is love, I must confess I wasn't exactly excited to hear she had another book for me.

I almost tossed this book to the side, but upon inspecting it further - it looked like a quick read. I skimmed through it a bit, and the premise seemed at once both intriguing and a bit silly. But after thumbing through some pages and finding enough food for thought to at least catch my interest for an afternoon I actually ended up reading it in one sitting.

I was pleasantly surprised with what I found. The book is told from in a first person narrative form, as an average modern man receives a dinner invitation from Jesus. He thinks it is a practical joke, or a ploy from a local church - but later finds it is the real deal.

As another reviewer noted this book is really not much more than a sermon disguised as a story, but as sermons go this one was enjoyable, and thought provoking. I'm an agnostic myself, so I never claim allegiance to, nor deny any religion in particular. I found the view of Christianity portrayed in this book to be much less harsh than I expected. Very little in the way of guilt, god-fearing, bible-beating or any of that evangelical non-sense. In fact there's no fire and brimstone at all. While the book does present a clear-cut view, and certainly positions it's own view of Christianity as THE truth, it's more centered around the true values of the religion of Love, Trust in God, and God's compassion and love for us all, rather than focusing on the evils of sin and using guilt and fear. It draws readers in and uses the main character to invoke both empathy and critical thinking.

This less-conservative view is really more about the essence of Christianity, and less about the formalities. There's little in the way of preaching exact rules, and at times even puts down church hierarchy and organized religion. It very much stresses a personal relationship with God and Jesus - and in that sense could have been written by Martin Luther himself as it seems to have a very protestant informal view of the religion.

It does in the first half present a logical basis for both 1) The existence of God, and 2) that Christianity is the one true religion. Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam are all discussed in one way or another and are ultimately discredited. Islam in particular is dismissed as being misinformed, hypocritical, and plain erroneous in it's teachings. Buddhism and Hinduism and other religions with a pantheistic view are dismissed on flimsy argument that the universe MUST have a creator and that all cannot be one - something with which I disagree with personally. Jesus gets our story teller to admit that modern science proves the universe had a set beginning - which I really don't believe coincides with modern physics which has many theories which suggest the universe is a constant cycle of explosion and implosion. Judaism is never really referenced, because Christianity stems from it - but there is a discussion on how we can be sure Jesus really is/was the messiah, which seems to indirectly address modern Judaism which essentially just denies Jesus being the son of God and rejects the new testament.

While it successfully pokes holes into other major world religions and does do an ok Job addressing the most common questions and logical problems/misunderstandings of Christianity, I found the totality of its argument to be less than infallible. Those holes are where Jesus stresses trust. Paradoxes abound, we are never given complete answers - but the holes here we are told to just have faith, while the holes in other religions are used as proof for their being inherently flawed.

Still, I found the book enjoyable, interesting, and refreshing in a sense. Sure it's a sermon in a story, but it's a good-hearted one. And at least it's vision of Christianity is quaint and true to the quintessential nature of itself. The image of Jesus sitting down and dining humbly with an ordinary man, the emphasis on love, and the constant insistence that God's ultimate desire is not to be worshiped or to have you earn your way to heaven but to have you accept his free gift of forgiveness and love is very warming in an age where fundamentalism in all religions seems on the rise. Only momentarily does the book discuss hell or provoke any sort of fear or talk of damnation and it doesn't really go too much into that. Whether that is just to try and get you in the door or whether that is the author's view on his faith - that love and compassion, not fire and brimstone are what jesus was about - that's to the reader's own opinion.

All in all, if you're in the mood to contemplate religion, or want a glimpse of a humble and (I believe) more true look at what Christianity really is (or should be) all about - then read this book. This book may be selling something, but it's no telemarketer or car salesman - it's more of a helpful clerk in the electronics dept that will tell you just what they really think and let you decide for yourself. While I did not like how easily the book was willing to toss aside other schools of thought, nor how the book made it seem that evidence (historical and physical) was so clear-cut in Christianity's favor, I did enjoy reading it and if nothing else it reminds me just what a beautiful religion Christianity really is, something that can get lost on many in a day where the loudest voices are those of Jerry Falwell, the Christian Coalition and other militant conservative extremists.

My Aunt may be a long ways from converting me, but if she had to give me a book Im glad it was this one, as I did enjoy it over-all and found it an interesting read.

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Grand Invitation!, August 2, 2005

By	armchairinterviews.com (Minnesota) - See all my reviews

The invitation came to him at the office. Perfect in every respect from the Crane stationery it was embossed on to the choice of place-an upscale Italian restaurant. Only one problem, the invitation is from Jesus. It has to be some sort of joke. If it is, it's an expensive one.

Nick Cominsky is a 30-something strategic planner with a lovely wife, Mattie, and a toddler daughter, Sara. Life should be great, but it's not. His 60-70 hour workweeks have stressed his relationship with Mattie. And there are things going on at work that just aren't right, but Nick feels powerless to do anything about it.

So Nick spends the next three weeks thinking about the invitation, wondering who sent it, and saying nothing to anyone. And on the day of the dinner invitation he goes-more out of curiosity than anything else. And he meets a man his age in a blue suit who answers to the name Jesus and claims to have been born in Bethlehem.

For the next several hours Nick has more than a meal. He throws up every objection he has to organized religion in any form-and gets no argument from Jesus. Instead he gets answers to all the things that have caused him pain and grief in his life. That includes what he can do to heal his marriage and most of all what it means to have a way to God, rather than a path-and why the difference is so important. And he learns who put his dinner guest up to sending him the invitation in the first place.

For the reader who has had more questions than answers about God-this book is for you. For the reader who has found God, but doesn't know how to answer the question-"Why should there be only one way?"-this book is for you. And to readers who want their walk to match their talk-this book is for you. I highly recommend it.