Book Review: Finding God in the Dark

 

Finding God in the Dark: Faith, Disappointment, and the Struggle to BelieveFinding God in the Dark: Faith, Disappointment, and the Struggle to Believe by Ted Kluck
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

As a listener to The Happy Rant for however long it was dropping into podcast feeds, I am somewhat pre-primed to appreciate a book from Kluck and Martin. Some of Kluck's other writing also pre-disposes me to engage with anything I see from him - he's a really good writer. The title/subtitle of the book are also instant hooks for me, as someone who has often felt what Philip Yancey once described as Disappointment with God.

Having said that, this book didn't quite hit where I'd hoped it would. Martin's sections are good, especially when he is diagnosing himself and his own sin. Some of his summaries of Scripture are less appealing, at times distracting. I thought chapter 6 (Blue Mondays) was his best work here.

Kluck's portions were mixed. I don't agree with some of the other reviewers here who think he's trying to show off "how good" he really is. Quite the opposite, I think he is showing you that those very sinful thoughts and temptations were the very substance of what God convicted him over in his 35th year (see chapter 5, Killing Big T). But I do think it read as if a lot of his struggles were distant enough to not feel visceral in his writing, but near enough that he hadn't drawn clear resolution and conclusions. Most of his chapters read like someone still processing what God was teaching him, and were therefore not as coherent as I expected.

Anyway, if you're a Kluck or Martin fan, definitely worth picking up. If you're wrestling with the issues herein treated, it may be - but that will probably depend on whether the personalities of the authors draw you in or repel you from what they have to say. And I can't really predict that for you.

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