My Review of "Divine Applause"

I know God is there, all the time. But might there be ways I can catch his attention?

Jeff Anderson's Divine Applause: Secrets and Rewards of Walking and the Invisible God says yes.

And he writes with the goal of helping us to see our lives as God sees our lives.

His book begins largely with his own experience, in an effort to illustrate what he understands God to see about our lives. Then he goes on to encourage us to see God in every day moments, and live in a way that is pleasing to God. The third section of the book focuses exclusively on living "blamelessly".

I can understand why this book appeals to certain readers. But it's largely filled with so much personal experience, and very little biblical reflection. In that way, it's more religious psychology than genuine Christian faith. While I agree that our goal is to live in such a way so as to please God, I think what it means to "please God" can be less described from my life -- or from Anderson's life -- than from the life of Jesus himself.

If you're looking for a grounded, biblical reflection, try the more classic Brother Lawrence's Practice of the Presence of God or Jean-Pierre de Crussade's Sacrament of the Present Moment. Not Divine Applause.

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I received this book free, from the Blogging for Books program, in exchange for my honest review.

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