May 20, 2013

Parables: The Arrows of God - Megan McKenna

I really feel as though I don't have much to say about this book.  It was a good book and all, but I still feel as though I am in the middle of a "book hangover" after finishing Quantum Theology which was a great book.  It doesn't feel fair to review the two of them so closely together, as this book will end up with the short end of the stick!

The Lay Worship Leader course that I have been taking is drawing to a close.  We have met for the weekend 5 times over the past year and a half, and our last weekend together will be in July.  Each interval, we have been given assignments which have included reading and reflecting upon 3 books.  Usually, there have been 2 required books and one elective (chosen from a 12-page-long list of books). This interval is slightly different in that all 3 books are electives.  However, as I perused the 12-page-long list, I couldn't decided on only 3 titles from the ones that remained, so I ended up ordering 7 books.  Of those 7, I picked Quantum Theology to read first (I had wanted to read it ever since I spotted the title on the list), and this book to read second.

The book takes a look at several of the parables told by Jesus, and sometimes flips the conventional interpretation completely on it's head.  For me, one of the most important distinctions made by this book is the difference between allegory (items and characters are representative of another item/person/idea), and parable (multiple layers of meaning, multiple interpretations).  This new way of looking at the parables could prove useful to me as I am writing sermons.

But other than that, I don't have much else to say about this book.  It was an easy read and didn't present any roadblocks.  With Quantum Theology, I found myself slowing down half-way through the book, mostly because I didn't want the book to end.  With this book, I read it straight through in a week.

And that is it.  I feel as though I haven't done this book justice by comparing it to the last book I read, but so be it.

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