Not sure...

I don't know how I feel about The Tent. At first I was put off by its introduction. Paulsen writes about Christ as if He were just a fable or another person in history. I know that's Paulsen's perogative. If that's what Paulsen believes, then that's what he believes. But it doesn't fit right with the end of the story. The introduction seems out of place after reading the ending, or maybe it's the ending that feels out of place. Ether way, the two parts don't mix well. But I am getting ahead of myself. The premise of The Tent was very interesting to me. Steven and his father are dirt poor. Mom has split with another man and jobs are few and far between and Steven's dad, Corey, can't make ends meet. Corey decides that he is going to become a tent preacher and travel around to little Texas towns, passing the collection plate and getting rich. It works pretty well. It works really well when Corey and Steven are approached by two men who have worked with other fake preachers in the past. These men fake ailments during services and then are "healed" by the preachers, thus garnering a lot more dough when the plate is passed. At first Corey and Steven feel guilt but then the money and greed take over and most of the guilt is gone. I don't want to spoil the ending, because this book is definately worth reading and it's only 86 pages, but I can say that the book addresses a lot of issues that I've thought about a great deal. Should a pastor be rich? Is poverty a virtue for which all Christians should strive? Where do showmenship and charisma fit in the life of a pastor? All in all a thoughtful book. I'm glad I gave Paulsen another try.