Blue Like Jazz

Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality by Donald Miller

My review

rating: 1 of 5 stars
I was excited about reading this book originally, then I saw what some people had to say and thought it might not be as good as it was hyped up to be. I still expected it to be an enjoyable read. However, I was completely disappointed.



First, you can tell a lot about a book by the first chapter. This books first chapter was terrible. It was like a bad movie that jumped all over the place so much and so often that you come away seasick. There are times where you want to scream out "too much information" but that does not make the author stop. By the end of the first chapter, I knew I was not going to enjoy the book and it would take effort just to make it through the book.



Second, the author is not that gifted an author. There is something special about the use of language to convey ideas. You can have simple, flowing language to express deep truths, such as what you see used by Alan Paton in Cry, the Beloved Country. You can use everyday language to convey conversations without dumbing down the subject, as Samuel Clemens, a.k.a. Mark Twain, demonstrates in his literature. You can even jump all over the place from one thought to another like William Faulkner. You can tell that Don Miller, the author, is well read and intelligent, but his attempts at the use of language leave something to be desired. He tries to be too relevant to today's audience, and ends up dumbing down his thoughts. Books should make you think and be a challenge. His book purports to make you think, but it only made me think about how I did not want to be like this guy. I hope this book does not become a classic because it will portray our time period in history as one where we thought we were smart, but we were dumb.



Third, the author seems to be ashamed of the gospel. If a non-Christian reads this book seeking an understanding of Christianity and Christ, the non-Christian is going to see Christians as a bunch of self-loving whiners who do not know who God is. I was hopeful when I reached the last chapter that purports to be about Jesus because I thought maybe the author was building up to a presentation of the gospel. However, he did not communicate who Jesus was in the chapter. He just communicated that Jesus was someone to find. It left me thinking about Romans where it is made clear that no one seeks after God. No one can come to a saving knowledge of God without being told the gospel. Miller almost seems to be ashamed of this. The gospel would have been a wonderful climax to the book, but it was missing. The lack of gospel left a feeling of emptiness at the end of the book. If what Don Miller portrayed is the gospel, I want no part of it. Give me the cross of Christ where He took on my sin and imparted His righteousness to me instead. Once I have accepted the real gospel, then maybe I will not whine and complain about the church not doing this and not doing that, but be a part of the change motivated by my desire to live for God's glory.



Overall, I thought this book was based too much on feelings. Feelings change too much, as evidenced by the author being all over the place throughout the book. The Christian life has to be grounded on something bigger than feelings and emotions. It must be grounded on God's Word. I felt that the author lacked being grounded in something. Even chapters that purported to be about God (such as the chapters on love, worship and Jesus) ended up being about the author. Christianity is not to be self-centered but Christ-centered. This book lacked conveying that idea.



I seriously do not recommend that people read this book. Even more, I am disturbed that non-Christians are reading this book and thinking that this must be what Christianity is about. I know this review is a bit on the harsh side, but I think that the church needs to be more discerning about what it promotes to the world. A watered down gospel is no gospel at all. It is time to stop being ashamed and start living for God's glory.


View all my reviews.