Thought-provoking

The Sunflower:  on the possibilities and limits of forgiveness is a book I won't forget, recommended to me by one of the kindest and most beautiful souls I know.  This is some book.  I listened to it, so I wasn't sure who all of the respondents were, but wikipedia has a nice listing of them, that was very helpful.
Simon was asked by a dying Nazi to be forgiven for the crimes he had committed, well, one specific crime, one that kept him up at night.  Simon refuses to give an answer and he wonders if he did the right thing.
He asks the question, "what would you have done?" and at first, and actually, at second, I am just floored by the people who felt they could answer this question.  Granted, many who did answer the question admitted that they didn't really feel like they COULD answer the question, but they tried.
It just seems to me that I don't know what I would have done if I were Simon in this horrific situation. I can say with certainty that what Simon did was the right thing.  If he had chosen something different, that would have been the right thing, too.  I feel like he had every right to do what he felt led to do, with no comments that I or anyone could make being fair or worthy or moral.
While I have had great respect for the Roman Church in the past, I admit I am troubled by how many Roman Catholics felt the need to vote for now President-Elect Donald Trump because he is "pro-life."  While Mr. Trump may very well be anti-abortion now (he was pro-choice in the past)  he is not pro-life for Muslims, African Americans, Mexicans, and those of the LGBTQ community.
Additionally, I have been very outraged by the Reichskonkordat.  Of the 53 respondents, 10 said "forgive."  Of those 10, half were Roman Catholics, 2 were Tibetan Buddhists, 2 Protestants and one listed no faith.
10 people were "uncertain," among them were 3 Jews, 3 Protestants (one of Jewish ethnicity), 1 Muslim, and 2 who listed no faith.
The 43 others all said to "not forgive."  19 Jews, 3 Roman Catholics, 2 Protestants and 9 who listed no faith.
So 55% of the Roman Catholics said "forgive."
33% of the Protestants said "forgive."
100% of Buddhists said "forgive."
100% of Jews said "do not forgive."
I simply can't say that I would be able to forgive.  There is no way, no way that I could presume to put myself in that horrible, horrible position.  All I can say is that Wiesenthal did the right thing.  Not that he needs my approval, indeed, I think it is even presumptuous of me to say as much.  So instead, I will just pretend that I am at least more "moral" than the Roman Catholics who suggest that Mr. Wiesenthal should have forgiven the Nazi.  (Delusional, yes, but I am angry right now, and at least I know that most priests would forgive me, right?)
I had to give this 3 stars because the "forgive" responses troubled me so very much.  For Wisenthal's part- a 5 all the way.

In Perfect Harmony

Nic Sheff is a very interesting person and writer.  This is the second of his books I have written.  I read this one because of his name and also the cover looked fabulously scary.  Harmony House was scary.  I liked the way that he handled the religious aspects of the book.  I have complained about writers and movies that are inconsistent in their inclusion of religion in a book.  You know, the movies where houses of Baptists have crucifixes on the walls, that kind of thing.  But this was consistent.  This book does have a lot to do with religion.  And it doesn't really bash faith.  It just bashes faith that has turned bad.  Obsessive and twisted faith.  Radicalized Roman Catholics in this case. But as a person of faith, I wasn't offended by the material here, because it was clear that the depiction of faith in this case was to point out what happens when it goes awry.  The language was rough here, but I think people do sometimes talk this way, so it wasn't gratuitous, but if you can't handle bad language, you probably do want to skip this one.

Jesus isn't a Chiropractor SPOILER ALERT

The Demon of Brownsville Road:  a Pittsburgh Family's Battle with Evil in Their Home caught my attention because I worked in Brentwood for a time and found it be a very lovely community.  I also remember when Bob Cranmer when he the County Commissioner of Allegheny County.  He is coming to speak at my local library in March next year and so I wanted to read the book beforehand.  I was super excited to see that it was available for free on audio from Hoopla.
I can't recommend this book and I wrote why on goodreads.com:  ** spoiler alert **** spoiler alert ** I really didn't feel right giving this 1 star. I wish I could have just said "no rating" because this book left me with very complex feelings. It is very readable. I'm from Pittsburgh and worked in Brentwood for a time and so I was familiar with the author and the community.
The thing is though, I can't recommend it because contains many offensive references to "Indians" who brutally attracted settlers in the region. While the author does, very, very briefly, and not until the epilogue, mention that it's likely that these "Indians were just defending what they thought of as their land..." (Not exactly quote, but we all get the idea! Those natives not wanting to give up their homes and the land where they and their ancestors lived) the book is very, very racist.
Recently the book has attracted criticism, folks saying that Cranmer isn't telling the truth. I am not saying that Cranmer is lying, I really think that he believes that this happened.  But the thing that keeps me from believing that it was demonic possession and that made this quote from the article above shake my head in confusion:  "The book has become popular with people of faith — who see it as a testament to Mr. Cranmer’s devotion to Christianity — and those who are intrigued by the paranormal, boosted by a 2011 Discovery Channel documentary detailing the exorcism." is that Jesus isn't a chiropractor.
What I mean is, a few week ago I went to a chiropractor for the first time.  I had this pain in my hip that only occurred when I got up from a sitting or lying position and lasted until I took about 7 or 8 steps.  My dear friend, Sharon, has had wonderful success with a local chiropractor and she suggested that I go.  I had always thought that chiropractors were like LEGO Master Builders.  He or she could just pop and twist the spine and bones back to where they need to be.  One session.  Instant fix.  But no.  While the chiropractor I went to was super nice and I am sure she knows what she is doing, going to a chiropractor isn't a quick fix.  The doctor told me it would take at least a year.
I think that if Jesus was faced with any kind of demonic infestation, it would not take as long as it did here on Brownsville Road.  Why do I think that?  Well, Mark 5 for one.  And Mark 9:14-23.   Now that is not to say that God just POP does whatever we want and ask Him to do in seconds!  What I am saying is, though, when a demon comes around, he is no match for The Master.  So how can exorcisms really work like this?
Is the devil real?  Is evil real?
Yes.  I believe that the devil and evil are real.
But are they any match for our Savior?
Hahahahahah!  Um, no.
Not at all.