Day 10: Book that changed your life

Now this is a topic! Wow...what is a book that has changed my life? Well obviously there are tons that would fit here. I am going to go with a book from my college years as a theology student though. The book that changed my life is

The Fall to Violence by Marjorie Suchocki

This book looks at sin in a different way than I had ever heard or imagined it before. The idea is simple really, but yet so very life changing for me! The author (a woman, so already I loved this book!) sees sin not as particular acts we do but rather as acts of violence that harm relationships. So drinking (to use a popular one in our community here at Trevecca) is not a sin in and of itself. It IS, however, a sin if it causes a tear in a relationship, which she calls violence. So to her you must maintain your relationships with yourself, with others, with the world, and with God. If the things you are doing are hurting ANY of those relationships then they are sin.

I have not kept up with my theology studies. I have a bachelors degree and a masters degree, but have not used them in several years. I know that many of my friends who are still studying it see this book as fairly elementary and have "moved beyond" this understanding. For me, though, it is how I try to approach life every day and with every decision I make. Is what I am doing hurting myself, hurting others around me, hurting the world in which I live or hurting my relationship with God...those are pretty big questions!

I believe that relationships, of all kinds, are the most important things in our lives. This book showed me a new way of looking at them and sparked all kinds of ideas and realizations in me. I can truly say I was changed by this book!

Karissa was changed by THIS book, check it out!