God UN-Distorted

I was not certain I wanted to read this book.  I had some ambivalence towards it, but I am glad I read the book, God Distorted, by John Bishop.  In short, Bishop seeks to help those who have had less than ideal fathers by discussing a number of perceptions and realities we've experienced with our earthly fathers and how they shape our view of God.

He writes about ~

1. The father who was absent.
2. The passive father.
3. The demanding father.
4. The enabling father.
5. The controlling father.
6. The abusive father.
7. The accusing father.

After writing about this, he then contrasts these father images with positive images of God, writing about God the Father who is always with you, who is in perfect control, the God who is safe, and etc.

Finally, in the third section, Bishop attempts to get more practical and helps the reader put things together to better understand what they can do to cultivate a better relationship with God, even though their earthly father has helped skew their view of the true God.

Overall, this is a very good book and one which is helpful to read.  Bishop didn't have the idyllic life either.  His father died in a drunk driving accident when he was four years old.  As he wrote the book, his own son was in jail.  So, there is an authenticity behind much of what Bishop wrote.

At times, admittedly, it seemed a little slow, especially when reading areas which didn't necessarily apply to me, yet, I would recommend this book, as it can be a source of healing.

I was given this book for free in exchange for an honest review from Waterbrook Multnomah books from bloggingforbooks.org