The Sacredness of Questioning Everything

leondumoulin.nl: The Sacredness of Questioning Everything (Audible Audio Edition) : David Dark, John Patrick Walsh, Zondervan: Books.
Table of contents

Dark's thesis is, essentially, to un-entrench yourself from your beliefs, to listen to the beliefs of others with sincerity and curiosity, to analyze your actions rather than your words in order to discover what you really worship. These messages obviously have universal application, but I would have appreciated it if Sacredness had read quite so much like a Christian devotional. The book in its entirety is motivated by love for humanity and faith in the capability of your mind and mine. Dark is enamored with language, quoting passage upon passage of favorite poets, calling their moments of shocking lucidity "cosmic plainspeak.

He implores you to join him, swayed by his own biases but also aware of them, talking over you a little bit at a dinner party, but apologizing and shutting up after he realizes it. In short, Dark is passionate: These are two of my favorite passages, and I think they represent well what drew me so much to his philosophy: And the reality comes to us when we cast aside our categorizing impulses and our armored suits of offendedness and enter into the dangerous and redeeming space where people, all kinds of people, enter into this blessed work of actually listening to each other.

Like the God in whose image people are made, people are irreducible. There's always more to a person -- more stories, more life, more complexities -- than we know. The person, when viewed properly, is unfathomable, incalculable, and dear. Stated differently, it is a book about loving people and the truth. Aug 12, Longfellow rated it really liked it Shelves: As one who is filled with doubt about almost everything, I confess this book feels a little unnecessary.

When I feel strongly about something, strongly enough t As one who is filled with doubt about almost everything, I confess this book feels a little unnecessary. I do love the references themselves, though, as many of them credit some of my favorite musicians, writers, shows and movies. Well into the book, I finally started to absorb its content at a more engaged level, beginning with the chapter mentioned above on questioning interpretations. To summarize his big idea in an unfairly succinct manner: Let's be careful about being so self-assured.

Let's think twice, or four times, or seventy times seven, before convincing ourselves we have corralled any single truth into a corner. Oh - and our thinking should be driven by questions. By the time I finished The Sacredness of Questioning Everything , I had confirmed my remembrance that Dark is one of my favorite thinkers within the many who write from the perspective of Christian faith, and it is his insistent questioning and responsive depth of analysis that finds me both in agreement and thrown into fruitful yet challenging self-reflection.

As a bonus, my read of this publication led me to the discovery that Dark published his fourth book just a few months ago in February of May 13, Kristina rated it it was amazing Shelves: Rocks the boat while holding firm to faith that Jesus won't let it tip over. I've long thought that "give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach him to fish and you feed him for life" needed to be challenged.

I want to pass the pond completely and go meet the guy who owns it. But one will never get there sitting on the dock screwing around with the tackle box. It's possible that I just like someone who validates my kind of thinking, but I don't think so. Dark is onto something. No, some Rocks the boat while holding firm to faith that Jesus won't let it tip over. He effectively demonstrates how humor paves the way to opening dialogue about uncomfortable subjects in a chapter entitled "Truthiness", quoting Colbert's "If Truth be beauty and beauty be Truth, then I look fabulous tonight!

It is, after all, a kind of weirdness and going against popular opinion,that got people screaming "crucify him". He does this in several ways, including a reminder that Mark Twain and his ilk were not always given the honor and respect for candor we now value dearly. Every time I hear the cliche, "it's like peeling an onion", I'm reminded that onions make people cry and people don't like to cry. Such a huge market for how not to cry while peeling onions exists, to my way of thinking.

That we get our tidy catharsis in a theater setting where we don't have to actually look at each other is an astute observation on his part. Yes, you could call this book subversive, but overall I maintain that he's trying to remind us that "The Bible isn't a collection of voices that learned, over thousands of years, to stop questioning, to silence protests and lamentations. It is a relentless kicking against the status quo, even and especially when the prophets fer that it's their one true God who's somehow endorsing it. He seriously calls into question "Love your neighbor as yourself" and what that might look like.

Aug 01, Jedidiah rated it it was amazing Shelves: I think I can say without any hyperbole that this is the most thought provoking book on Christianity I've ever read. I'm sure it has a lot to do with me and certain honest questions I have that are "unaskable" in a typical church setting, but any way you look at it this is a challenging book. Paradoxically, one of the things I liked most about this book is that it's full of questions but doesn't really offer up any definitive answers, that's something you mostly have to work out for yourself.

I f I think I can say without any hyperbole that this is the most thought provoking book on Christianity I've ever read. I found this very refreshing and I think it completely separates itself from the repellent mass-market knee-jerk sentiment that it seems most churchgoers substitute for genuine religion now. My only real complaint about the book is that Dark continually references works of literature, music, film, etc.

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Sometimes they work the section about the Arcade Fire song Antichrist Television Blues is fascinating, for instance but enough of them seem forced that it starts to get annoying. However, this is an ignorable complaint in consideration of how much this book caused me to reexamine my views of what being a Christian means. I would find myself reflexively disagreeing with whole sections basically just based on my upbringing, only to reread it after I had time to think about it and end up agreeing with Dark. That's not to say I agree with everything in the book, but for the most part it's pretty spot-on.

Perhaps my favorite idea in the entire book is that your witness is something that is conferred on you based on your actions and is not something you can claim. I live in Lubbock and have been thinking about this exact thing especially in relation to Johnny Landrum google him for an interesting article from the local paper , somebody I pass every day on the way to work.

I don't really want to discuss this here, but it's very encouraging to me that other people talking about Dark here share a more dynamic view of being a witness than the traditional church models of late. All in all I can't wait to see what Dark writes next. I hope more Christians are exposed to his writing because I know they will be better off for it. Feb 23, Kevin Lanzone rated it liked it. Pretty good, I enjoy Dark's stories, but thought a lot of it felt pretentious and written in a way that is largely inaccessible.

It can definitely ramble on. Was also just not what I was expecting, but that's on me. As a whole, it gave me some thing to think about, which is a success, but I can't say that I'd truly recommend it to anyone. Jun 21, Laryn rated it it was amazing. I highly recommend David Dark's latest book.

It's woven together from personal anecdotes, scriptural phrases, and cultural artifacts in an entertaining and provocative manner. Take a look at the topics he delves into taken from the table of contents to whet your appetite: Dark champions the power — and the spiritual necessity — of the open mind. Asking questions of our convictions, assumptions, perversions, religions, is the only way to let the light and air into them.

Questioning our God s , our government, our eschatology, our language or our lusts, opens them to the possibility of rehabilitation, redemption and ultimately resurrection. Aug 31, Tamara Murphy rated it really liked it. In this book, author David Dark persuades and inspires us to take up the practice of Sacred Questioning. Browse through the table of contents for a glimpse of how far and wide and deep our questions can go: I'm not sure why or how I haven't yet read any of his work. Maybe I mistrusted him because his last name conjured up a Severus Snape sort of image? In reality, Dark is anything but.

He is sunny, enthusiastic, loving, and funny. He deftly mixes references of pop culture with teachings from the Church fathers my favorite sort of convergences while increasing our imagination for daily actions of compassion and imagination. See more of this review, and my favorite excerpt from the book at my blog: Mar 25, Leah rated it it was amazing Shelves: I feel like I've been reading this book forever, and when I finally came to the last page, I had the sense that I was ending a conversation with a good friend. David Dark is an incredible thinker who puts ideas in such a way as to be challenging and evocative.

Not one line of this book is filler or fluff. If you plan to read, be prepared to be seriously engaged. Dark questions media, God, government, the future, our passions, even our history, all in such a way that deepens one's faith and reall I feel like I've been reading this book forever, and when I finally came to the last page, I had the sense that I was ending a conversation with a good friend.

Dark questions media, God, government, the future, our passions, even our history, all in such a way that deepens one's faith and really challenges the reader to live a life of truth, to be genuine in such a way that might cause others to look at you and want what causes you to live the way you do. At the end of each chapter are questions that make your brain work even harder than it already is while reading the chapters.

I really want to go through the book again, slower, so I can really wrap my brain around what he's saying and perhaps make it part of my daily life, this sacred questioning. Mar 26, Steven Waters rated it really liked it. There are times that I hesitate to venture into a realm where I'm concerned that I will be challenged and won't have a response.

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Starting this book was one of those times. But, the concern was immediately disappated as I found myself resonating with the premise of the book which is essentially the Socratic maxim, "The unexamined life is not worth living. Part-way through the book he seemed to transition and started to bring more of his evangelical certainty to the table. At first I bristled at it, but it was never over-the-top and it was clearly coming from someone who was not afraid to question the certainty. Two-thumbs up on this book. I think the most important idea from this book is that we need to be open to questioning our ideas because we desire to be in relationships.

If we are unable to question then we are unable to relate to those that are unlike us. Another very good section was on how we need to be able to laugh at ourselves and our beliefs. If we cannot laugh then we cannot really get to a point where we can look at what those beliefs really mean.

It has 10 chapters, each about how to question a diffe Short review: It has 10 chapters, each about how to question a different area government, future, history, interpretation, God, religion, offendedness, passion, media and language. Some chapters were better than others, but on the whole this was very good. Longer review on my blog at http: Aug 15, Kristin rated it it was ok Shelves: I read this as part of a book discussion group, and in that capacity, I might give it a 3, because I enjoyed the conversations that came out of it, but as a book itself, I may have quit reading it if I hadn't had the group to keep me turning the pages.

It feels very scattered and in need of a good editor. The copious examples distracted as often as they enlightened. It would have been nice to explore some of the topics in more depth and see the nuance, especially since as a book that's supposed t I read this as part of a book discussion group, and in that capacity, I might give it a 3, because I enjoyed the conversations that came out of it, but as a book itself, I may have quit reading it if I hadn't had the group to keep me turning the pages.

It would have been nice to explore some of the topics in more depth and see the nuance, especially since as a book that's supposed to be about questioning, and nuance, and grayness, it came off as very black and white at times. I also found his use of "clever" little phrases distracting.

With this, and with the excessive pop culture references, it seemed like he was trying a little too hard to be hip. Mar 01, John rated it it was amazing. I've read a lot of Christian books, this one still remains a favorite for me. I'm not sure why but I think it has something to do with knowing the writer is an imperfect English teacher who listens to good music thinks about it and finds ideas about God within. I could drink tea or coffee with this guy. Our conversations filled with what I think of as true community. That is what I feel this book is, a conversation.

It's a conversation about one of the most important spiritual ide I've read a lot of Christian books, this one still remains a favorite for me. It's a conversation about one of the most important spiritual ideas, doubt. By writing in a familiar tone the author allows a sense of transparency and personality at the same time. To me it allows for a well written piece of rhetoric that is logos and pathos inter-joined in a mingle of excitable writing. Jan 03, David rated it it was ok Shelves: I enjoyed the first chapter, but I had a hard time getting into the rest of the book and ended up not finishing it Maybe it says more about me than about the book that, with so many other books to read, I didn't want to take the time to analyze what he was saying.

I especially liked the discussion questions at the end of each chapter and his use of popular culture. I didn't like that it was so hard to follow where he was going w I enjoyed the first chapter, but I had a hard time getting into the rest of the book and ended up not finishing it I didn't like that it was so hard to follow where he was going with his ideas, and it seemed like he took way to long to get to his point.

I'll give his other books a try though. Feb 08, Eric rated it really liked it Shelves: A refreshingly progressive evangelical voice arguing for a critical and faithful engagement with any ideology that seeks to determine the conditions of conversing and loving our neighbors. I really enjoyed it.

Sunday Afternoon Book Review: The Sacredness of Questioning Everything by David Dark

Jun 19, Alison rated it it was amazing Shelves: I think this book might be one of my all time favourites! David Dark is poetic and funny and profound. The book wasn't necessarily ground-breaking in all of it's content- some of the ideas have been on my mind for a while- but Dark has an incredible way of articulating, encouraging and challenging the reader with each new page and story an anecdote.

Brilliantly written and a timely book for a world chaotic with knowledge and consumption. May 23, Daniel Pool rated it liked it Shelves: I like David Dark and I respect what he's getting at with this book, but I have to admit that I grew tired of his referential style about halfway through and gave up.


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Dark is a great writer, but some of his cultural illustrations felt forced at best, corny at worst. Ultimately he spent so much time trying to avoid forcing a viewpoint on his readers that the book ended up being about nothing at all. Mar 28, Paul rated it liked it. There are some great things about this book, and certainly the first few chapters are some of the best I've read on religion in ages.

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There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later. Dark is an engaging author, and for those wrestling with fundamentalist views of God, this can be a helpful book. What I found ultimately disappointing was that the title is misleading. This book is not about questioning everything, in order to find what is true. It is about questioning some things within the Christian paradigm, but not questioning the paradigm itself.

As someone who is wrestling with the latter, I had hoped it might offer some insight into the larger question, not whether one's understanding of some of its finer points are correct or not. One person found this helpful. I won't attempt to write any sort of official sounding review, but instead write here what this book made me think about. Dark is obviously a brilliant man, who is extremely well-read and thoughtfully creative. Whether or not his ideas are "correct", it is worth reading because of how he deconstructs how so many people view the world. To question everything means to question the very way you question, to question the reason you question, to be honest about your willingness to accept the outcome of your questioning, and to be ok with always questioning.

This book further freed me from obsessing over black and white definitions, blindly accepting unchallenged conventional wisdoms, and from absurd feelings of offendedness. Maybe he could have covered more church history or something along those lines, but I think that's another book entirely. The main thing I would have changed which may not have been possible considering Zondervan is the publisher would be the perspective from which he writes. This book has the potential to challenge and change so many people, but since it's written from a "Christian" perspective, the audience becomes much, much smaller.

There are wonderful ideas in this book, but I am nearly positive that if I suggested it to certain friends and family, they'd read the back or see the publisher and dismiss it immediately. If you have an open mind and are willing to be challenged, check it out! I have referred back to this book numerous times, given a copy to the pastor of my church - and simply delight in David Dark's writing style and worldview. Now, what is it helpful for? Expanding one's possibilities of experience within the Christian Faith Community framework.

Creating one's own parables, and a model of the Divine that is actually possible while separating or at least becoming conscious of the underlying mythology that shapes our often times limited spiritual worldview. Every once in a while, I encounter a book that breathes life into me by the way it communicates profound truth. The interesting thing is that books like this almost always take me by surprise. I had heard of Dark, but had never read anything by him. The title intrigued me, so I opened to the table of contents Table of Contents 1. Everybody to the Limit--Questioning Our Offendedness 4.

Spot the Pervert--Questioning our Passions 5. Survival of the Freshest--Questioning Interpretations 8. Halfway through the first chapter I was hooked.

The Sacredness of Questioning Everything: David Dark: - leondumoulin.nl

At times, he seems to be virtually channeling Kierkegaard in the context of 21st century Western culture. Dark offers us a thing of beauty, a life-giving breath of fresh air. His book invites us to take God a lot more seriously by taking ourselves a lot less seriously.

He calls for us to cut through the propaganda, and resist any "powers that be" that would seek to subvert or co-opt the Way of Jesus. He beckons us to journey down a path that is characterized by faith, hope, and love rather than certainty. Pick up this book. You won't be disappointed. Not an easy read, but certainly a provocative one. I love the high value in every chapter of building relationships with ordinary questions.


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Kindle Edition Verified Purchase. Provocative and challenging but enlightening, also. Dark makes me feel OK about being a skeptic! A good guide to thinking about "everything" with an open and yet critical mind.

Question everything

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