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Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality |  | Author: Donald Miller
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Category: Book
List Price: $14.99
Buy Used: $1.29
as of 7/29/2010 16:44 PDT details
You Save: $13.70 (91%)
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Seller: gdwil
Rating:  530 reviews
Sales Rank: 761
Media: Paperback
Pages: 256
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.7
ISBN: 0785263705
Dewey Decimal Number: 277.3082092
UPC: 020049024874
EAN: 9780785263708
ASIN: 0785263705
Publication Date: July 17, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
"I never liked jazz music because jazz music doesn't resolve. . . . I used to not like God because God didn't resolve. But that was before any of this happened." In Donald Miller's early years, he
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 530
If you want apologetics, look somewhere else... July 8, 2010
J. Morse (Los Angeles)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I have read the reviews of this book (always after I finish), and I think some of the criticism is merited that there is little Biblical foundation for Miller's thoughts and conclusions. However, I do not see this book as something that you should read if you need a foundational teaching.
This book is emotional; almost syrupy in places. It betrays the author as moody and the prose can be slightly arrogant at times.
I simply think that it does not matter. This is a collection of thoughts; a diary almost. It is not meant to be an apologetic Christian work (in my view). I like the cynicism he shows when talking about himself and others. I like that he is forthright about the flaws in the church subculture. I applaud him for being honest about the way he views the church and religion in general. He is critical but never brutal.
I cannot decide if he is ignorant of his tone or if he is simply trying to be transparent/vulnerable with the reader. Regardless, he comes across to me as honest. The book is fairly short, so there is no room to get bogged down. Some of the thoughts can be repetitive at times (self bad, love good; self bad, God good), but overall I thought he was funny and that the book was not overly long.
I like to know what others think especially if they are different than I am. Very simply, I liked the book and got quite a bit out of it.
 Excellent June 15, 2010
William C. Ayers (Beaumont, TX)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is an excellent book. It is thoughtful, humorous, and insightful. It is full of great stories. I will definitely read more of his books.
 did he have to mention names? June 15, 2010
Michael J. Riley (costa rica, for now)
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
Maybe its because I am reading it years too late, but all the "innovative" stuff he talks about is really not all that innovative.
Maybe its because I am misinterpreting his view, but I feel he is as blindly a Democrat despite their failures (of which there are many) and successes (of which there are many), as the Christians he accuses of blindly following the Republican party (with their many successes and many failures).
Maybe it is because I grew up overseas and lived on 4 different continents that I have a hard time reading about how Imago Dei have "figured out so much,"... can anybody really figure out an institution built around a man from Galilee who was adopted by a carpenter, never lived past 33, fully God, fully man, when they are so concerned with being "hip?" I am sure if you ask someone from imago Dei if they have figured it all out, they would say no. But, as a critique of the book...Don Miller, in his book, seems to believe Imago Dei has figured it out.
I am not an old man writing this. I am a hippie who works for nonprofit humanitarian aid organizations and attends church plants overseas. I am a Deadhead. I studied literature and Bible at college. I am a lot like Don Miller.
And, I could take all of the above with a grain of salt and enjoy the book...but what I CANNOT TAKE IS THAT HE NAMED NAMES!!!!!!!!!
It just seemed absolutely junior-high like, angry, unnecesarily mean, to talk about how dumb he thinks this is or that is... AND THEN NAME NAMES!!!!!
Sorry, Donald, I was following you until you got petty and began pointing fingers; at that point your book became an "I am better then Pat Buchanan" essay. and that is as unchrist-like as it comes.
Great read June 9, 2010
Mdave (USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I had seen and heard a lot about this book, but never took the time to read it until it was given to me by a friend a few weeks ago. I finished it a couple days ago and was really impressed-Miller took on a lot of difficult subjects-guilt, love, church life- and used his own experiences to make them relate to the average person. Not a very difficult read, but it definitely will get you thinking.
Simple and honest Truth. It doesnt get much better than that. June 8, 2010
K. Daileda
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Doubt is the one thing in our lives that causes us fear, it causes us pain, and it causes us to become misguided in many areas especially religion. But like water to a dying horse, Donald Miller's novel gives many readers the answers and the thirst they need in order to overcome their doubt. Whether or not the reader decides to go with, or against God, Miller helps his readers arrive at a conclusion through his very real experiences and his very honest, forward advice and thoughts.
To help make his point, Donald Miller uses a lot of his own experiences to help readers understand where he comes from, what he believes in and why he believes in Christianity. It also helps the reader relate or even realize something about themselves in their everyday life. One such instance is when Donald Miller begins to talk about an everyday event in the grocery store when on the subject of understanding grace. "...I realized that it was not the woman who should be pitied, it was me. Somehow I had come to believe that because a person is in need, they are candidates for sympathy, not just charity...by judging her, I was the one taking her dignity away." (84) As Miller discusses his encounter with the food-stamp lady, he also reveals a human intention to pity and to judge, and talks about how wrong it is to feel like this, and what this reveals about what the grace that God wants us to have in our lives, should cause us to live like in each day. Miller also discusses his very personal experiences about a pledge he made with other people to live like a "monk" and how it was almost ridiculous, and how even he began to doubt God in every sense of the word, and for what reasons he began to doubt his faith.
Donald Miller does not shy from the truth about his thoughts and experiences with God. He tells all, and discusses all honestly, without trying to force the reader to one opinion or the other. From his life, to your life, Miller hosts an honest and open discussion about the ideals of God. "Blue Like Jazz" is one such novel that is good for anyone with doubts, it is a novel that I as the reader would recommend to even those without doubts because of how true and beautiful this novel is.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 530
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