Requests for Ideas For this Book Klub

[Geoffrey]

Hi Everybody.    Your brand spanking new moderator is reporting for duty. 

I love that this is one of the areas in the Book Klubs that still has activity in it.  And, I would like to see it become more of book klub for The Book as well as the current Prayer requests and such.  So, I'm coming and asking for ideas from those of you who post in here - as well as the many lurkers ...  I'm coming in with some ignorance.  I looked on Amazon and saw that the One Year Bible is a version broken down to allow reading it in the course of a year - but that's all I know about it.  What I'd like to see is a place were discussion is lead by a local (or Locals) in a format that everyone is comfortable with and where everyone feels respected.

But, what does that mean?  How would you like to see this done?   Is Weekly reading discussions from the agreed upon copy of the Bible exactly what's called for?  Is it something else?   would you want to also read other theological books (here I'm thinking Christian Philosophers like Aquinas or the Documents of the Vatican II, etc)? 

I am all ears.  Let me know your thoughts on how to make this Klub the best it can be ....

[Armadon]

I see a lot of Christian Fiction come across my desk, because I run a review site. And I highly recommend Almost Heaven by Chris Fabry. Almost Heave was the 2011 ECPA Christian Book Award winner, and has nothing but positive reviews on Amazon.

Grace and Peace,
John

[Maryann Faro]

I'm impressed that someone is taking this on! It's not that easy to have any kind of club that encompasses all Christians. We've all had such different journeys.

For example, I started out Catholic, became an Evangelical Protestant, then went back to the Catholic Church. Since I've reverted to the Catholic Church, I've had some Christians tell me my church is a cult, not "real" Christian, pagan, anti-Christ and so on. That language has never happened here, I'm just giving that as background, to help you understand the divisions among us.

When it comes to this specific part of the Internet, my impression is that most of the books called "Christian fiction" on these boards are from a Protestant Evangelical perspective. That's not a bad thing, since I still have many Protestant friends and books in my life, but I've seldom seen Catholic books, either fiction or nonfiction, discussed here. That's why I only lurk here occasionally. If I'm looking for a book that's specifically Catholic fiction, I go to other boards. For example, http://www.catholicfiction.net/ If there are any other Catholic readers lurking here, you might want to browse through that site.

Another issue is that Catholics have more books in their Old Testament than Protestants, so there's that difference right there. What bible to choose for a book club? Personally, I still have my Protestant King James Bible around the house and read it sometimes, but I think it would make some Protestants (like all my Baptist in-laws, for example) very uncomfortable to read a Catholic bible with the deuterocanonical  books. I won't go into that whole issue one way or the other, I'm just saying that right there we have a difference among Christians. It's sad that we are divided, but I think the similarities are bigger than the differences and we all love Jesus.

I guess my point is, it may be hard to have a board that encompasses all the facets and denominations within Christianity. When I browse through some of the titles mentioned here, it seems like they are either from a Protestant Evangelical or Amish perspective. And as I said before, I am ok with that. (And I wouldn't have the time to start a forum about Catholic fiction or nonfiction. There are other good sites that do that already, although you have to hunt around for them and sometimes they're smaller parts of bigger sites.)

But if there are other Catholic lurkers here who are in a similar position, where you feel like Evangelical Protestant fiction doesn't always speak to your faith journey, yet contemporary mainstream fiction can have more sex and violence than you're comfortable with...where do you turn?

Anyway, thanks for asking for feedback. Sorry I don't have any easy answers. For what it's worth, some Christian-themed (not Catholic) fictions books I've enjoyed are The Dirty Parts of the Bible and Peace Like a River. Also this The Almost True Story of Ryan Fisher: A Novel.                                                     

[Armadon]

In reply to MaryAnn:

Actually, most of the books we review on our site, do not have a theological message in them. Also, the themes of most Christian Fiction would not conflict with Catholic theology, themes like: Faith, Love, and Redemption, resonate with all who love Christ. The only dividing point is when speculation about Christian doctrine enters the story. Frankly, I don't care for those books anyway. I don't want a theological dissertation. I want something fun and captivating to read. The stories I write have Christian themes, but no theology is discussed. If you trust God and believe that He loves you, then you won't have a problem with the books I write, or most of the books I read.

Warm Regards,
John Michael Hileman

[Geoffrey]

Maryann,

That's good insight.  I know what you mean about the divisions within Christianity as I was raised United Church of Christ (very liberal), educated Catholic (not so much) and I live in Texas so I'm surrounded by Evangelicals of every flavor .... and I'm not actively any of those.  But, there is interest here in something christian so I thought I'd explore it.  Christian Fiction is good - I had thought about a Fiction klub but I also don't want to compartmentalize everyone away.   So I'm unsure what direction to pursue.  

A thought, though, if you or someone else is interested, would be to volunteer for a spin on the Book of the Month Klub and select something like Peace Like a River (too bad it's not available on kindle at the moment) to see how response goes ...

[Maryann Faro]

Armadon, thanks for the heads up on the books. They sound interesting.

Geoffrey, wow, you've had some eclectic exposures to the Christian world.  I was just kind of musing out loud in my last post, hope it didn't seem cynical (especially with my cynical Daria avatar!). I do think there's lot of potential for this club. One thing I was always looking for when I considered myself Protestant, and something I still look for now, is fiction with a Christian world view that avoids the lingo (like "fellowship" and "quiet time") and other cliches that we Christians can slip into sometimes. (I know I've used "Christianese" in some conversations without meaning to.)

I do have some Christian TBD novels loaded on my Kindle and maybe I will find some good ones on there. If so I'll post about them.

[intinst]

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