Official Review: Autobiography of God by Rajan Schrenick

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revna01
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Official Review: Autobiography of God by Rajan Schrenick

Post by revna01 »

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Autobiography of God" by Rajan Schrenick.]
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3 out of 4 stars
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Most people have a uniquely subjective idea of who God is, and author Rajan Schrenick is no different, offering his personal take on the matter with his book, Autobiography of God. He prefaces the controversial material with an introductory clause about who should-and who should not-read the book. With this, he is defining his intended audience and it doesn’t take long to understand the necessity behind his advice.

The book is broken into two approximately equal parts, denoted as “Book One” and “Book Two.” The first book portrays the formation of the Universe and the creation of Man, as told by God. God reveals his relationship with Man, whom He views from a perspective that changes drastically over time. At first, God sees man as a plaything to entertain Himself with, but as He observes Man acting independently, He begins to form a fatherly bond with his creation. Before long, Man stops playing by the implied rules and the relationship takes an unfortunate turn.

The second book is almost a mirror image of Book One, with some adjustments allotted to incorporate a down-and-out ex-God. Told from Man's perspective, it is he who brings God into the picture to distract humanity from the path they are traveling, thus setting them into alignment with his will. Man carefully selects a God with the right attributes to gain popularity with mankind. Eventually God gets a big head from all the worship and forgets his place as Man's creation. As subsequent events unfold, we witness a power struggle on the heels of an increasingly complicated relationship between the two.

The reason the author's preemptive warning exists is that God (as is routinely regarded outside this book) is not painted in a complimentary light. He is reduced to a weak and basically human persona that is conjured by mankind, gaining undue credit from people too blind to recognize He isn’t real. Although I do not share the author's atheistic viewpoint, I was not offended by this book as it is an expression of the author's creative mind and simply tells a story. More than the content of the book, it was the author's writing style that really stood out: Vocabulary, grammar, punctuation, and flow are virtually flawless and marvelously executed. I especially enjoyed the clever subtleties hiding in the story as it unfolded.


I did encounter some negatives, however. While my interest endured throughout Book One, it began to falter just several pages into Book Two, when I felt like I was reading Book One all over again, just from a different perspective and with small variations. I would have liked to see more diversity in the storyline as opposed to such a closely paralleled narrative. Additionally, the book is not broken into chapters, although there are frequent scene breaks. I would have preferred for the format to read more like a novel and for the “Books” to be eliminated in lieu of “Parts.” I believe this would help the book achieve a more polished presentation.

All things considered, I have rated this book 3 out of 4 stars. Although the story is somewhat repetitive, the author's writing is superb. I would like to reiterate to potential readers that the book isn't intended to weigh in on the debate of whether or not God exists as the Creator of the world. It is assumed in this writing that God is whomever the human mind has made Him to be; an idea created to meet a need. Readers interested in apologetics would be wasting their time here.

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Autobiography of God
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Post by kandscreeley »

Well, thanks for letting me know. Since I do believe in God, I'll be skipping this one. It is interesting, though, as I would have thought it would be the other way around with the title. Thanks.
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Post by AmySmiles »

The title is misleading it seems. So it is not actually a true autobiography of God, but a fictional autobiography of God. (If that makes sense). I believe in God, but I enjoy reading others perspectives about God. It does not hurt one to read others ideas, it helps us as humans to determine what our own beliefs are. I will be adding this to my list to read. Thanks for the review.
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Post by gen_g »

This seems like an interesting read, as the author seems to state that religion serves a coping mechanism (thus the concept that God is an idea). Thanks for the detailed review!
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Post by Sahani Nimandra »

This sounds interesting. The author's perspective about the people and their belief about God is very interesting, but this won't be my first preference as a book to read though. Thank you for your review!
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Post by DathanReeves »

This book would be a curious counterargument against the book of Job.
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Post by Kat Berg »

I could read an article on this or a short (flash fiction) story, but not an entire book, no matter how well written. I do appreciate that he starts things out with a warning. Thanks for the review.
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Post by Riszell »

I do believe in God but I also can't help sometimes to wonder why He let some certain things happen, particularly bad things to people who don't deserve them. It would be nice to have some perspective through this book but then again, it all comes down to faith in Him.
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Post by Helen_Combe »

Great review. Certainly a controversial subject which sounds very interesting. Pity about the repetitiveness.
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Post by Helen_Combe »

Katerina Katapodi wrote: 14 Jun 2018, 06:14 Thank You, all the Best!-Your advice is useful...
Just in case, I meant the repetitiveness in the book, I wasn't criticising your review. :shock2:
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Post by Helen_Combe »

Thanks
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Post by María Andrea Fernández Sepúlveda »

The concept is certainly very engaging. I don´t share the author´s point of view either, but I think it would be very interesting to hear things from God´s perspective. I´m sure He has a couple of things to make clear. Book Two, I´m not so sure. The flawless writing is very much appreciated, and makes reading much more enjoyable, in my opinion.
The only other detail I´d have to add is that I think the cover could be much more compelling for such a strong topic.
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Post by revna01 »

kandscreeley wrote: 13 Jun 2018, 09:00 Well, thanks for letting me know. Since I do believe in God, I'll be skipping this one. It is interesting, though, as I would have thought it would be the other way around with the title. Thanks.
I know what you mean, thanks so much for reading my review
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Post by revna01 »

AmySmiles wrote: 13 Jun 2018, 09:22 The title is misleading it seems. So it is not actually a true autobiography of God, but a fictional autobiography of God. (If that makes sense). I believe in God, but I enjoy reading others perspectives about God. It does not hurt one to read others ideas, it helps us as humans to determine what our own beliefs are. I will be adding this to my list to read. Thanks for the review.
I agree with your assessment, thanks for reading and commenting on my review :)
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Post by revna01 »

gen_g wrote: 13 Jun 2018, 09:53 This seems like an interesting read, as the author seems to state that religion serves a coping mechanism (thus the concept that God is an idea). Thanks for the detailed review!
Thanks for your comments!
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