Author: Kevin Roose
One-sentence summary: A true-story account of a 19-year-old non-Christian’s semester at Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University.
B.A.D. Girls Book Rating: 7
Our favorite thing about it: Although there were several things we liked about this book, our favorite thing was probably Roose’s objectivity in approaching and analyzing his experience at Liberty. We really appreciated this about the book.
Our least favorite thing about it: It is hard to pick out something we didn’t like, especially about a book based on a real experience such as this one. It is probably more accurate to say that there might have been some things which bothered us, like the fact that the author had to pretty much lie in order to get an authentic experience. Like him, we had mixed feelings about this.
Main Topics of Discussion: Faith, Religion, Education, College, Spiritual Growth, Conversion, Christianity, Bible
Our favorite quote: “Okay, so the problem with calling a gay kid “faggot” is not that it hurts his feelings, but that it might make him more gay. Point taken.” (187)
Notes: I think we would all say that this book really made us think. It was so interesting to see what a non-Christian thought about some of the things we are used to (like prayer, church, spirituality, etc.). Some of the impressions were convicting. This immersion experience for Roose took place at the ultra-conservative Liberty University, the brain-child of the late Jerry Falwell, so in many ways, we agreed wholeheartedly about the assessments the author made about what he encountered.
As mentioned above, the author took great care to present his findings with an honest heart and with amazing objectivity. He did not hold back what he thought, but when analyzing things, he really and truly delved into the material and relationships with people before coming to any conclusions. He became involved in just about everything he could so as to learn the most he possibly could. He read books he probably would never have chosen for himself, went on a ridiculous Spring Break trip, joined prayer and support groups, and shared very openly about his spirituality and other things.
We enjoyed the writing style and the often witty writing. We wondered how his experience would have been different with in a slightly less conservative environment and also if he had encountered even more aged Christians. He gained most of his material from college students, who were themselves struggling to find their faith. However, that did not distract from the book at all. We discussed several things that bugged us about the brand of Christianity that Roose discovered and we discussed his moral dilemma of having to lie about his true past in order to be truly accepted at Liberty. Overall, we enjoyed this fast-read and gleaned a lot of insights into how we should act and speak as Christians. We look forward to possibly hearing back from Roose in response to our video “interview.”
Memorable Meeting Moments: We had our very first meeting at Amberly’s house (not just her new house!). We also celebrated Rachel’s birthday month, played the game, Imaginiff, and created a video of thoughts and questions on the book for the author. And we might have played a drinking game involving Lindsay’s spiritual exclamations.
What We Ate: Balsamic Roast Pork Tenderloin, Tortellini with Spinach Walnut Pesto, Frozen Fruit Salad, and Pecan Cheesecake Pie.
One-sentence summary: A true-story account of a 19-year-old non-Christian’s semester at Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University.
B.A.D. Girls Book Rating: 7
Our favorite thing about it: Although there were several things we liked about this book, our favorite thing was probably Roose’s objectivity in approaching and analyzing his experience at Liberty. We really appreciated this about the book.
Our least favorite thing about it: It is hard to pick out something we didn’t like, especially about a book based on a real experience such as this one. It is probably more accurate to say that there might have been some things which bothered us, like the fact that the author had to pretty much lie in order to get an authentic experience. Like him, we had mixed feelings about this.
Main Topics of Discussion: Faith, Religion, Education, College, Spiritual Growth, Conversion, Christianity, Bible
Our favorite quote: “Okay, so the problem with calling a gay kid “faggot” is not that it hurts his feelings, but that it might make him more gay. Point taken.” (187)
Notes: I think we would all say that this book really made us think. It was so interesting to see what a non-Christian thought about some of the things we are used to (like prayer, church, spirituality, etc.). Some of the impressions were convicting. This immersion experience for Roose took place at the ultra-conservative Liberty University, the brain-child of the late Jerry Falwell, so in many ways, we agreed wholeheartedly about the assessments the author made about what he encountered.
As mentioned above, the author took great care to present his findings with an honest heart and with amazing objectivity. He did not hold back what he thought, but when analyzing things, he really and truly delved into the material and relationships with people before coming to any conclusions. He became involved in just about everything he could so as to learn the most he possibly could. He read books he probably would never have chosen for himself, went on a ridiculous Spring Break trip, joined prayer and support groups, and shared very openly about his spirituality and other things.
We enjoyed the writing style and the often witty writing. We wondered how his experience would have been different with in a slightly less conservative environment and also if he had encountered even more aged Christians. He gained most of his material from college students, who were themselves struggling to find their faith. However, that did not distract from the book at all. We discussed several things that bugged us about the brand of Christianity that Roose discovered and we discussed his moral dilemma of having to lie about his true past in order to be truly accepted at Liberty. Overall, we enjoyed this fast-read and gleaned a lot of insights into how we should act and speak as Christians. We look forward to possibly hearing back from Roose in response to our video “interview.”
Memorable Meeting Moments: We had our very first meeting at Amberly’s house (not just her new house!). We also celebrated Rachel’s birthday month, played the game, Imaginiff, and created a video of thoughts and questions on the book for the author. And we might have played a drinking game involving Lindsay’s spiritual exclamations.
What We Ate: Balsamic Roast Pork Tenderloin, Tortellini with Spinach Walnut Pesto, Frozen Fruit Salad, and Pecan Cheesecake Pie.
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