Paula G. (Paulathegreat) reviewed When I Lay My Isaac Down: Unshakable Faith in Unthinkable Circumstances on + 154 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This book starts when Carol Kent's only child, Jason, is arrested for the murder of his wife's ex. He was motivated by stories of abuse and the victim's move to get unsupervised visitation with Jason's step-daughters.
Kent then goes on to explain the heartache and trauma of seeing your child go from being a successful young man to being a murderer. She eloquently explains how her family coped with Jason's trial and how they maintained their faith through the storm.
The analogy of the book is your Isaac is any trial you face, anything that God asks you to give up control of and put on the altar.
I liked the book and the positive message of hope it gave.
That being said I had some problem with the theology that verged on Calvinism, if not jumping right into it.
Kent spends a lot of time questioning why Jason was able to kill the other man. Why didn't God stop him? What was God trying to teach her?
God did not gun down Douglas Miller Junior in cold blood, Jason did. Jason did this because he wanted Doug to die. He is a free moral agent who made a series of decisions that ended with pointing a gun at a man and pulling the trigger.
God allowed it because he made Jason to be a free moral agent. God did not condone Jason's actions. He didn't encourage them. He didn't let them happen to teach Jason's mother an obscure moral lesson. He gave Jason the choice to make decisions for better or for worse. Sadly, Jason chose the latter.
There is in this book the assumption that God scripts the world and we just play out the script. This would be an evil god. He would have to have made Judas so that it would be better for him not to be born. He would have had to have made Jason to commit murder. A loving God, clearly could not. Instead, God allows us to make our own decisions and picks us up when we fall.
So while this is a well written and well thought out book, it does have a few moments to be cautious about.
Kent then goes on to explain the heartache and trauma of seeing your child go from being a successful young man to being a murderer. She eloquently explains how her family coped with Jason's trial and how they maintained their faith through the storm.
The analogy of the book is your Isaac is any trial you face, anything that God asks you to give up control of and put on the altar.
I liked the book and the positive message of hope it gave.
That being said I had some problem with the theology that verged on Calvinism, if not jumping right into it.
Kent spends a lot of time questioning why Jason was able to kill the other man. Why didn't God stop him? What was God trying to teach her?
God did not gun down Douglas Miller Junior in cold blood, Jason did. Jason did this because he wanted Doug to die. He is a free moral agent who made a series of decisions that ended with pointing a gun at a man and pulling the trigger.
God allowed it because he made Jason to be a free moral agent. God did not condone Jason's actions. He didn't encourage them. He didn't let them happen to teach Jason's mother an obscure moral lesson. He gave Jason the choice to make decisions for better or for worse. Sadly, Jason chose the latter.
There is in this book the assumption that God scripts the world and we just play out the script. This would be an evil god. He would have to have made Judas so that it would be better for him not to be born. He would have had to have made Jason to commit murder. A loving God, clearly could not. Instead, God allows us to make our own decisions and picks us up when we fall.
So while this is a well written and well thought out book, it does have a few moments to be cautious about.
Mary G. reviewed When I Lay My Isaac Down: Unshakable Faith in Unthinkable Circumstances on + 21 more book reviews
A very compelling book about faith and trusting the Lord
