Free Ebook BookGum Geckos and God A Family Adventure in Space Time and Faith

Free Download Gum Geckos and God A Family Adventure in Space Time and Faith

Free Download Gum Geckos and God A Family Adventure in Space Time and Faith

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Gum, Geckos, and God: A Family's Adventure in Space, Time, and Faith Gates of Vienna After being taken down twice by Blogger within a single week we got the message: Its Time To Go. Gates of Vienna has moved to a new address: Archives - Philly.com Archives and past articles from the Philadelphia Inquirer Philadelphia Daily News and Philly.com. Environment: News features - The Telegraph Latest environmental news features and updates. Pictures video and more. News: Breaking stories updates - News Telegraph Latest breaking news including politics crime and celebrity. Find stories updates and expert opinion. Rank: #1759603 in eBooksPublished on: 2009-05-26Released on: 2009-05-26Format: Kindle eBook 8 of 8 people found the following review helpful.Both Reflective and Profound. A Fun Read!By Tim ChalliesI don't think it takes very many years of child raising before every parent realizes that he is in over his head. I am no stranger to this feeling. As I was walking my eight-year-old son to school just last week he turned to me and said, "Dad, why is it that people think killing one another will solve the world's problems" My first instinct was that it would be a simple question to answer. But a moment's reflection made me realize that a proper answer would have to touch on all kinds of issues of theological significance. Thankfully my son is quite a good listener and we were able to turn his question into a good chat.Author James Spiegel, professor of philosophy at Taylor University, did not realize the challenges he would face in talking about God to his children. Perhaps as a philosopher he felt he would be equipped to answer. But he quickly learned that even seemingly simple questions are often difficult to answer adequately. What is God like Why does God love us Why is it hard to be good If heaven is so great, why am I afraid to die These questions offer ideal opportunities to teach children while challenging our own assumptions about the Christian faith. These questions, and the answers to them, are the subject of Spiegel's new book, Gum, Geckos and God: A Family's Adventure in Space, Time and Faith. As Spiegel says, "If you can probe the sticky topics of faith and life's meaning with a kid while he probes the sticky recesses of his nasal cavity, then you can discuss theology with anyone."Parents will enjoy this book as they will no doubt realize that they have faced many of the same questions and have struggled to provide adequate answers to them. These words may well sound familiar from your experience: "Whenever Amy and I see an opening for some theological discussion, we dive right in. Sometimes we land in the deep well of our kids' hearts, gaining insights into their perspectives on life and God. Other times we hit dry land." This is not a book that seeks primarily to teach parents how to communicate to their children about Christian topics, though certainly through example it models ways of doing so (try "Everyday Talk: Talking Freely and Naturally about God with Your Children" by John Younts for that purpose). Instead it is, as the subtitle indicates, a sort of adventure with the family. The back cover says rightly, "As you read, you'll step into a new depth of Christian doctrine as you come to know and enjoy the Spiegel family and follow their journey of spiritual growth."The book teaches rich theology and in a way that is engaging and deeply applicable. It wonderfully mixes narrative with teaching, humor with depth. Spiegel's background in philosophy allows him a unique perspective on the issues. Though his answers are generally simple, he avoids being simplistic. The reader will not only absorb some ideas for talking about faith with his children, but he'll grow in his understanding of doctrine as well. Both reflective and profound, Gum, Geckos and God is the kind of book any reader can enjoy.4 of 4 people found the following review helpful.Nourished by questions, Spiegel shares family and faith.By Aaron M. HarrisonAs a single who wishes someday to be a parent, picking up this book was an experience between my dreams for the future of my family and the memory of my own childhood. Growing up as a Christian, many of the conversations Dr. Spiegel has with Bailey and Sam reminded me of some of the questions I had growing up. Who made God Where do things come from How will I recognize Jesus when I see him Why does God love us These childlike questions are not uncommon, but the seriousness with which Spiegel takes them is. This is courageous. In this book, Spiegel faces straight on these questions, and in the end produces what I think is a unique catechism, a teaching experience first shared within his family, and now with readers.Often Christians will quip about having faith like a child, but sometimes will not deeply consider the shape and form and fearlessness of childlike faith. Often, we find ourselves squelching the questioning nature of childlikeness, uncomfortable as it can be, and untolerated as it is among our culture. At the books outset, Spiegel, through the story of Socrates, exposes the congruency between Ancient Athens and our own day when it comes to questions. Above all what I think this book gets right is to expose a graceful and tender attitude to the questions of children. This piece of wisdom is a theme throughout the book, the respect for questions; they do not act in disrespect of faith, but rather are the nourishment of it.In this regard, as a single person, this book is about the experience of growing in faith as much as it is about parenting. You won't find any quick fix tips, check-lists, or nifty quote answers to give children the next time they ask those stumper questions. What you will find in reading this book are reflections, thoughts, and conversations that will help you imagine differently. Spiegel engages with readers to help them imagine conversations with their children, and even peers, proceeding in a different direction then they often do. For example, in one scene, Spiegel struggles to find balance between authoritarian dictums and over indulgence, yet maintaining a relationship of trust with his son. Its this kind of seeking an imagination which inspires others not to copy and paste simplistic principles, but virtuously improvise within the dramas of their own families and societies.This book has a catechismic quality to it. Each chapter is made on thematic questions, shifting between conversation and essay and personal reflection. Speigel does a good job sketching the characters of his family, making the dialogues fun and multidimensional. Sam and Bailey keep the conversations lively and the tangents realistic. They are not just mouhtpieces for Spiegel, but real children asking and doing and behaving as children do. But this catechism is not merely interested in baldly answering rote questions for a test. Rather, its relational quality makes for much richer theology than would otherwise take place. The questions Spiegel chooses to entertain in this book are certainly pressing, not only for children, but for adults. Cosmology, Chirstology, Morality and Ethics, Epistemology, Eschatology, and many other theological themes are spoken of in a way that is pertinent, and moldable to different contexts. One gets the feeling that this book is a time-slice of conversations the Spiegels will continue to have with each other for many years to come.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful.Childlike FaithBy H. HarbinThe title of Spiegel's latest work is unlikely for a book that seriously explores doctrines of the Christian faith, "especially where contemporary ideas, both within and outside the church, have strayed from orthodoxy." Instead, judging by the name, one might expect heartwarming stories of family pets and camping adventures. Gum, Geckos and God attempts to do both.It may sound like an unusual concept, but at the beginning Spiegel describes his roots in academia, from a PhD in Philosophy, to his current position as a Philosophy professor at a Christian, liberal-arts college. Spiegel describes how his wife and four young children changed his perspective: "While it used to be that my family played a role in my academic life..."now, Spiegel states, "...my work in philosophy and theology has informed my role as a father." Later, Spiegel shares that "the greatest practical value of my vocation as a Christian philosopher is how it equips me for this daunting task" of training his children to be wise.The strength of Gum, Geckos and God lies in it's holistic focus. By using the everyday questions of his children as his launching point, set in the mundane surroundings of small-town life, Spiegel roots his discussions in practicality and avoids the temptation of getting lost in theory, even though the questions are heavy and complex. The chapters move from "What is God like" and cover such territory as "How Can God Fix Us" and "Who Gets to Go to Heaven" Spiegel encourages his children to explore their own questions at greater depth and offers his own distinctive, philosophically-rooted thoughts on each matter. The answers Spiegel offers are thought-provoking, and don't necessarily give a cookie-cutter, Sunday-school response.This book is easy to read, and both refreshing and thought-provoking. At times, the transition from childhood anecdotes to explanations of orthodoxy and theory can feel a little rough, perhaps because spoken conversation is generally not geared towards teaching in the same way as a literary work or classroom. Even so, both the stories of the family and the theoretical passages are written in a manner that is easy to navigate, and the originality of the book lies in its attempt to tear down the barriers between a study of theology and the real lives of families.The descriptions of conversations Spiegel has with his kids hearken back the earnest questing of childhood to know more about the world. In Matthew 18:3, Jesus says, "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." I recommend this book to parents, to burnt out students of theology and seminary, to people who get frustrated with the "in-house" jargon of the church, and to adults who used to be kids. There is much to be learned from the questions of children. As Spiegel points out, "I never knew that topics as wide ranging as bicycles, gum, and baseball all lead to God. But as my children have shown me, nothing is too mundane to inspire an inquisitive mind."See all 25 customer reviews... Archives - Philly.com Archives and past articles from the Philadelphia Inquirer Philadelphia Daily News and Philly.com. Resolve a DOI Name Type or paste a DOI name into the text box. Click Go. Your browser will take you to a Web page (URL) associated with that DOI name. Send questions or comments to doi ... Gates of Vienna After being taken down twice by Blogger within a single week we got the message: Its Time To Go. Gates of Vienna has moved to a new address: Environment: News & features - The Telegraph Latest environmental news features and updates. Pictures video and more. PageInsider - Information about all domains Own a website? Manage your page to keep your users updated View some of our premium pages: google.com. yelp.com. yahoo.com. microsoft.com. Upgrade to a Premium Page AOL Video - Serving the best video content from AOL and ... 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