A NIGHT OWL REVIEWS BOOK REVIEW | Reviewed by: Audrey
“Being Christian is not something we do, but a relationship we nurture and live out every day of our lives.” With that small sentence, Fabian and Lumbert introduce the purpose of their book. A discussion of the different paths individuals have taken in the Catholic faith, Why God Matters is neither a push towards Catholicism nor a discussion about why the faith is the true faith. Rather, Fabian and Lumber’s work is a portrayal of different pathways and lifestyles that led multiple, disassociated individuals to the Church.
Far from preachy, Why God Matters examines the pushes that draw individuals to the Catholic Church and how the Church affects their later lives. History, family background and values are just a few of the internal factors that push real-life, imperfect human beings that are the subject of the book’s stories to their faith.
Truly a gem in its lack of religious zealousness, Why God Matters is one of the few religious books that draw a reader in without the use of majestic scenery or miracles. Truly a portrayal of an average American looking for something more, the book assist skeptics and interested believers in understanding the tenants of the Faith and why it attracts so many from such varied walks of life. Not to be missed by those curious about their own spirituality who seek to comprehend more of what they feel.
Oct 04, 2010 | 9780982256534
5 - Rare Top Pick | 4.5 - Top Pick | 4 - I Liked It | 3.5 - Enjoyable | 3 - OK | 2.5 - It just didn't click
Book Blurb for Why God Matters
Learn how to strengthen your relationship with God by seeing His presence in your daily life.
Many times one sees Roman Catholicism explained using either closely reasoned theology or an appeal to ancient writers of the Church. While both are legitimate approaches, the average reader looking to explore the faith is often left cold. In their collaboration, Why God Matters, Deacon Steven Lumbert and his daughter, Karina Lumbert Fabian, delineate the Catholic Faith as experienced by a pair of average, everyday people like the great majority who make up the 24 percent of Americans who share this religion.
In the stories of this pair, one see both ways people come to Catholicism, by birth (“cradle Catholics”) and by conversion. Their descriptions of their separate paths thankfully lack the religiosity of the all too common "and then a miracle takes place" school of religious experience. Rather than blasts of light, fiery swords, spiritual fistfights, and angelic choirs, theirs is the long religious slog of the everyday. The effort that one must put out each day in the long trek to Heaven.
What is Catholicism really like? One would be hard-put to find a better verbal painting of the faith so many call their own.
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