I couldn't put it down! Crazy Talk is a fun adventure in words about God

books:

	• Crazy Talk: A Not-so-stuffy Dictionary of Theological Terms (Crazy Talk) Karl N. Jacobson, Marc D. Ostlie-Olson, ... Augsburg Fortress Publishers, 2008 - 160 pages average customer review:based on 4 reviews view larger image
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I couldn't put it down! Crazy Talk is a fun adventure in words about God

"Crazy Talk" is a humorous devotional "dictionary" of theological terms.

Rolf Jacobson has put together a little book organized around the big and not-so-big words Christians use when talking about God. He calls theology "Crazy Talk."

Each entry starts with a tongue-in-cheek definition of the term and then a short humorous -- but accurate -- discussion of the term and why it matters to Christians.

The words considered by "Crazy Talk" range from the familiar -- Angel, Bible . . . Worship -- to more technical theology -- Adoptionism, Canon . . . Theodicy.

The authors are Lutheran and reflect that perspective. (They even define some Lutheran theological words like "adiaphora" -- a word and perspective worth knowing!) But all Christians, regardless of their denominational tradition, will enjoy this book and benefit from its content.

You could read the book like a devotional -- a word a day. But chances are you won't be able to stop with just one word. Once I picked it up I couldn't put it down.

These words don't do the book justice. Just buy it and read it. You won't be sorry!

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Needed more copies!

Not only is the humor engaging, but as a Lutheran pastor, I found
the theological treatment of terms soundly explained. I bought more
copies to give to others-- including two Methodist pastor friends!

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Crazy Talk Crazy Good

This is not your grandmother's book about church. This might not even be your PASTOR's book about church. This book is more for that recalcitrant and earnest college student who thinks he's rejected the faith because he knows something about everything contained in the faith...or as Crazy Talk defines "agnosticism: the intellectual stance of doubting everything except one's own opinion. ...a school of theology that teaches: 'I don't know. You don't know. No one can know.' This position is the intellectual equivalent of a Do Not Disturb sign."

The book is sure to disturb and challenge and invite not just snickers and giggles but potentially even belly laughs. The writers seriously teach while refreshingly not taking themselves too seriously. Anyone who can not only define sin as "why and how people suck," (including themsevles in the definition, of course,) and then get to the heart of the matter--"The condition of sin has many unfortunate side effects. Instead of trusting and taking God at God's word, we place our trust in other gods--most often the one who wears our face and clothes"--has some mad teaching skilz, with a clear eye for the contemporary context in which serious Christianity finds itself. Again, it's serious stuff without taking itself too seriously, including such basics as God (under the series of questions posed to God by the everyman named "Duh," even my 4th grader rolled 'til there were tears in his eyes at one of Duh's queries), prayer, stewardship, and the Trinity, but also tackling theological terms like antinomianism, hypostatic union, and perichoresis.

I used the book this past weekend--having received it this past Saturday--while leading a mixed high school-adult worship retreat. The high schoolers LOVED it. So did some of the adults. Some, well...this is not your grandmother's book about church.

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I laughed snot bubbles - and I learned something!

Professor Rolf Jacobson has edited a wonderful little book that is bound to make people smarter. "Crazy Talk" is a wonderful collection of Christian words that the Church uses as short hand to describe often complicated ideas. Prof. Jacobson and his band of happy writers have distilled the meaning of these terms into sometimes humorous and always helpful short entries.

I recommend every Lutheran churchgoer (and even those who just are curious about what those crazy Christians are talking about) to purchase this handy reference guide - and bring it to church with you - check up on your pastor and see if he or she is using that churchy word correctly!

Rev. Tor Kristian Berg,
a sinner who sucks and a saint I hope others want to hang with
Parish Pastor
Trinity Lutheran Church
Pullman, Washington

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So much theology is confusing and intimidating. The concepts themselves are given weighty-sounding names, such as incarnation and justification, and the explanations of the concepts sometimes can be more confusing than the names.

Captivating, entertaining, and highly informative, Crazy Talk helps readers navigate their way through that complexity and offers a vocabulary that dares - and equips! - its readers to embrace their own faith in a new, well-informed way.

The purpose of Crazy Talk, says author Rolf Jacobson, is to render the heart of our Christian theology in a form that is accessible and appealing to everyone. The format of the book is similar to that of a dictionary of theological terms- but with a twist of humor! Each entry includes the name of the theological term, an ironic definition of the term, and a short humorous essay offering a fuller explanation of the term. In making the term understandable, Jacobson concentrates on the big theological issue that is at stake in the term - and why it matters. Includes over 50 black and white illustrations.

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