The God's Honest Truth
Darin Hufford
(Reviewer - Rebecca Brown)
2005 Master Press Publications
ISBN: 0967325021

In which a minister loses his religion & finds his way to God..

“As the final song was being played, I nervously approached the stage and posed a question to everyone in the room, a question that would change the entire course of my ministry... how many of [you have] been basically miserable for the largest part of [your] Christian lives? To my amazement, almost every hand... went up.” (p.22)

First & foremost, this is not my usual cup of tea, given that it's all about God & Jesus & Sinners & Repentance & all that jazz. However, when I pulled this book from its envelope (it had come unannounced in the mail) it felt welcoming, engaging, just like the little leather-bound prayer book I found in a woman's coat pocket in a secondhand store.

“If you want to find out what love is, then you must know God. If you want to find out who God is, you must know love.”(p.38)

So I started reading, just as I had that little Roman Catholic missal which I still read when the going gets rough... & was I surprised. Of course it is all about Christianity & how the author sees the state of crisis Christians are currently in, except, it's much, much more than that. It's really about a journey from your judgemental, critical & wounded head (read here “mind” & psyche) to your “achy-breaky” heart & soul. In fact, at the risk of sounding sappy: this is about romancing your stone cold heart into a love affair with God.

“We are eternal beings and we respond best to eternal things.” (p. 84)

Darin Hufford has taken all the best from the 1970's Human Potential Movement & re-souled it with aphorisms & stories for the Christian reader -- & for anyone wishing to understand Christians.

“We have built an entire religion on "because I said so."” (p.149)

Though I'm not a Christian in this Turn of the Wheel, I did find what Darin Hufford has to tell energizing & provocative, & because it's in book form, I can put it down when I need to ponder a bit with my own frames of reference, my own enthusiasm for life & my own heart & soul's path, or skip to other portions, for the same reasons. However, it's not a book you read in one gulp, more like a box of stories you delve into when you want something sweet for your soul.

“For any relationship to be authentic, the heart doors of both people must be opened.” (p.295)

If you're feeling numb in church & like a dog listening to the preacher go “blah-blah-blah-blah” or your experience of your religion is stale & dull, as in your heart's not really in it -- then Darin Hufford's lively insights into his relationship with God may be just the baptismal rinse you need to cleanse your jaded palate.

“When you allow that love to govern your life, rather than allowing your life to govern that love, you will have discovered the secret to "walking in the Spirit."” (p. 338)

While I imagine there'll be nay-sayers among all denominations, I'm as equally sure there'll be others who'll yodel “Right on! This man's stories about the path to religious joy & revival have changed my life!”

“Without honesty you cannot move another spiritual inch.” (p. 17)

I feel a bit odd offering such an unabashed & deeply committed Christian book, however, it's well & earnestly written &, my personal religious preferences notwithstanding, it opens up a whole other way of looking at, feeling about God & love, relationship & spirit, & walking an engaged conscious life.

I do indeed recommend The God's Honest Truth, what else could I say ;-)?
(05/21/06)

Rebecca