What I’m reading: Blue Like Jazz
On Monday evening I went to bed feeling sick, and felt no better when I woke up Tuesday morning. I ended up spending most of the day curled up with the dog in the overstuffed chair in my living room, finishing Donald Miller’s Blue Like Jazz.
Blue Like Jazz has gotten plenty of rave reviews, so I won’t bore you by offering yet another. Suffice it say it’s an excellent read.
But it’s definitely unlike most Christian books you’ll ever read, which, I suppose, is part of its appeal. The writer takes issue with fundamentalist interpretations of Christianity, as well as fundamentalists’ and evangelicals’ penchant for supporting conservative politicians and conservative political causes. He also presents cursing, drinking alcohol and smoking in a positive light.
Suffice it to say this is probably not a book you’re going to distribute to members of your church or use for discussion in your small-group Bible study. At least not at the church I attend.
But if you’re willing to overlook all of this, Miller offers plenty of profound insights into Christian faith, including love, evangelism and tithing.
I could write pages about this book, but I won’t. Instead, I offer one of my favorite passages, one of the first that made me laugh out loud. It reveals Miller’s views on the subject of television while demonstrating his prowess at offering a good yank to the proverbial beard.
When you are a writer and speaker, you aren’t supposed to watch television. It’s shallow. I feel guilty because for a long time I didn’t allow myself a television, and used to drop that fact in conversation to impress people. I thought it made me sound dignified. A couple of years ago, however, I visited a church in the suburbs, and there was this blowhard preacher talking about how television rots your brain. He said that when we are watching television our minds are working no harder than when we are sleeping. I thought that sounded heavenly. I bought one that afternoon.