Review by Neoli -- Following Jesus by Dr. Mary Theresa Webb
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[Following is a volunteer review of "Following Jesus" by Dr. Mary Theresa Webb.]
Following Jesus in the Age of Trump written by Dr. Mary Theresa Webb is a Christian novel about the struggles of being an American Christian during the Trump administration. Through a simulated dialogue between the author and the reader, the problem with Trump’s administration is highlighted. Furthermore, using references from Scripture and history, the importance of being a devout follower of Christ is shown.
From the contents of the book, I believe that the author is quite knowledgeable about the Bible and Christian history. She expertly uses Scriptural passages to showcase how a Christian is ought to behave in general, while also using history to show how wrong priorities from influential Christian leaders could cause the downfall of a country, such as in the case of anti-Semitic German clergy.
On the other hand, I found this book to be quite confusing. Since the title included “in the Age of Trump”, I expected it to focus more on Trump and about the actions of the current church; however, the book barely focuses on those things, only dedicating one short section to him in the book. Additionally, while the author had a clear topic in mind, it felt like she lacked the cohesiveness that would allow the entire narrative to flow more smoothly. Every time I was reading a new chapter, I had a slightly difficult time seeing how it related to the previous one. It had seemed like there was a sudden jump from one topic to the next. In the same train of thought, I had some problems with the way the simulated dialogue was written. Personally, I found it a little condescending. It felt like the character named “MT” was talking down to the character named “CV”, which made it harder for me to enjoy reading it. Aside from this, it would have been nicer if an explanation of theological jargon was included. I had to search for the meaning in Google before I could fully understand what the author was trying to say.
Regarding the formatting of the book, I had some problems with the placement of images. Since some figures lacked an introduction, it felt like it was just randomly placed in the middle of the section, just like in the part “Enter Donald Trump”. Another problem was that some images were missing from the book. There would be a sentence saying, “Following is the chart…”, but then the figure would not be at the indicated location. I think this could have been addressed though if there were page numbers, since there seemed to be some photographs at the end of the book.
Overall, I would rate this book as 2 out of 4 stars. The content of the book was very informative and impressive, which made me not give it a 1 star. However, there were many things I found lacking in the writing style and formatting of the book, which made me not rate it higher. If the problems I mentioned were addressed, I think the book has the potential to be better.
Finally, I would recommend this book to both young and old American Christian adults who feel conflicted about their faith and political affiliation. Since this book tackles some challenges of Christian followers during the Trump administration, I think this book would help provide some answers.
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Following Jesus
View: on Bookshelves |
Following Jesus in the Age of Trump written by Dr. Mary Theresa Webb is a Christian novel about the struggles of being an American Christian during the Trump administration. Through a simulated dialogue between the author and the reader, the problem with Trump’s administration is highlighted. Furthermore, using references from Scripture and history, the importance of being a devout follower of Christ is shown.
From the contents of the book, I believe that the author is quite knowledgeable about the Bible and Christian history. She expertly uses Scriptural passages to showcase how a Christian is ought to behave in general, while also using history to show how wrong priorities from influential Christian leaders could cause the downfall of a country, such as in the case of anti-Semitic German clergy.
On the other hand, I found this book to be quite confusing. Since the title included “in the Age of Trump”, I expected it to focus more on Trump and about the actions of the current church; however, the book barely focuses on those things, only dedicating one short section to him in the book. Additionally, while the author had a clear topic in mind, it felt like she lacked the cohesiveness that would allow the entire narrative to flow more smoothly. Every time I was reading a new chapter, I had a slightly difficult time seeing how it related to the previous one. It had seemed like there was a sudden jump from one topic to the next. In the same train of thought, I had some problems with the way the simulated dialogue was written. Personally, I found it a little condescending. It felt like the character named “MT” was talking down to the character named “CV”, which made it harder for me to enjoy reading it. Aside from this, it would have been nicer if an explanation of theological jargon was included. I had to search for the meaning in Google before I could fully understand what the author was trying to say.
Regarding the formatting of the book, I had some problems with the placement of images. Since some figures lacked an introduction, it felt like it was just randomly placed in the middle of the section, just like in the part “Enter Donald Trump”. Another problem was that some images were missing from the book. There would be a sentence saying, “Following is the chart…”, but then the figure would not be at the indicated location. I think this could have been addressed though if there were page numbers, since there seemed to be some photographs at the end of the book.
Overall, I would rate this book as 2 out of 4 stars. The content of the book was very informative and impressive, which made me not give it a 1 star. However, there were many things I found lacking in the writing style and formatting of the book, which made me not rate it higher. If the problems I mentioned were addressed, I think the book has the potential to be better.
Finally, I would recommend this book to both young and old American Christian adults who feel conflicted about their faith and political affiliation. Since this book tackles some challenges of Christian followers during the Trump administration, I think this book would help provide some answers.
******
Following Jesus
View: on Bookshelves |
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