Real life, real
miracles by James L.
Garlow and Keith Wall
First the good:
Some books are difficult to read
because they’re not written in a way that makes reading them easy. This book is
not one of those, instead it’s very easy to read and the stories do keep your
attention.
Now the not so good:
The book is supposed to be a collection
of, what the author calls real life “miracles”. Some of the stories are a bit
graphic for my taste. Like the story of a man who was stabbed. The book goes
into great graphic detail. Thankfully these kinds of stories are few. Most of the stories range from the spectacular
and hard to believe to the silly, like one story about a container of sour
cream that never went empty even though each time they went to get some out,
there was only enough for one portion. They would place the empty container
back in the fridge and the next time they went to get sour cream it had enough
for one more portion. God did this, we’re told in the book, because he cared
for a little girl who got tired of eating potatoes. That story seems a bit
silly and I don’t think God is working the miracle of the never ending
container of sour cream. Some of the other stories discuss people going to a “church”
service and going on stage to have a “pastor” lay his hands on them and pray
over them and they’re instantly healed.
There are stories in the book that
certainly show the hand of God but many of the stories are over the top and
seem to be, if not total fabrications then embellished a bit, at least that’s
the way it felt to me as I read the book.
I don’t recommend
this book at all. There are too many strange and silly stories that make me
question the reliability of the details. Do yourself a favor and avoid this
book.
Disclosure
of Material: I received this book free from Bethany House Publishers book review
program, which requires an honest, though not necessarily positive, review. The
opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with
the Federal
Trade Commission’s CFR Title 16, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of
Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
