Book Review: Transcending Mysteries

Transcending Mysteries
Who Is God, and What Does He Want from Us?
By Ginny Owens & Andrew Greer

“We fell in love with Jesus. Then we had to decide what to do with God.” In Transcending Mysteries: Who Is God, and What Does He Want from Us? Andrew Greer and Ginny Owens take readers on a journey to answer the question: is the God of the Old Testament the same God we relate to and worship today?

I read and LOVED “how to pick up a stripper and other acts of kindness” last year and it was the first book in this “refraction” book series. I had huge hopes for this one and was excited to read it. The idea of trying to reconcile a God who judges in the OT with the loving sacrifical God of the new testament is a hotly debated topic. I was intrigued by what it would be like to read a book that tackled this but with two authors going back and forth.

Sadly, I think this one fell short. Both Ginny and Andrew are great artists and they for sure have a testimony to tell, but I think the concept was to big for their stories. What I mean is, you can read this book and find hope from their stories, but The theology portion was lacking. This would have been better as a story book that showed the faithfulness of God in their lives and through the dark moments. This disconnect created a read that was a bit of a chore because it never really theologically did what the title promised to do: connect the dots of OT and NT.

If this read like a back and forth blog post with different authors I may have enjoyed it, but instead it was two authors weaving completely separate stories to some how create a succinct thought. I don’t believe it work.

Again… Read this for the life stories because they are pretty great, but reading for anything else you will be disappointed.

1 out of 5 Stars

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this BOOK free from booklookbloggers for books to review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”