Strange Gods & Small Groups: A Match Made in…Heaven?

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 12:24 am by Elizabeth Scalia

Strange Gods & Small Groups: A Match Made in…Heaven? 2015-03-13T00:24:04+00:00 Elizabeth Scalia

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I’m looking forward to using this book with my students this year. We belong to a very small English speaking group in our parish in Göteborg, Sweden. Two of my students have made their Confirmation already and two of them will be making it in the Spring. I think your book will be a huge asset to me and my class and help further our discussions and our learning.

— Sam E.

I am in the process of prepping my annual Suggestions for Lenten Readings, but on the advice of a few friends, I’m first going to bring up that book with study-guide, again.

I’m not doing it because I think it’s the greatest book in the world, but because — for reasons I cannot ascertain so I will ascribe to the Holy Spirit — I have been opening my email to find generous reviews and the most heartening notes from people, telling me that Strange Gods: Unmasking the Idols in Everyday Life has been a big hit with their local book club; that parish study groups are really enjoying working through the book and its study guide; that its become a part of their RCIA program and Confirmation instruction.

I read your book, Strange Gods this weekend. I plan to re-read it and it’s not leaving my shelf-it is a keeper. I don’t write particularly well (so bear with me) but I read a great deal of Catholic books and blogs. When I read a book that’s really had an impact on me, I do like to let that author know. I know your book came out some time ago. I read the reviews, read an excerpt. I could not bring myself to read it. I knew it would make me uncomfortable. I wasn’t ready to be uncomfortable. I picked it up this weekend — clearly meant to read it now. Many words come to mind to describe this book but the bottom line is it made me think-really think, like no other book has in a long time. I must re-read it.
– Colleen K.

It’s unimaginably gratifying to receive such great feedback on Strange Gods, and even on social media, where now and then I see my name tagged on a discussion of the book, either on Twitter or Facebook, with some very kind remarks.

For the record, I concur: Paul Thigpen’s Manual for Spiritual Warfare is quite possibly the must-have book of 2014, as the world seems every day to move more and more quickly into the power of its princes.

We had the privilege to read your book, Strange Gods this month for our Catholic women’s book club. It’s been a wonderful and thought-provoking read, especially to enlighten our consciences to all the subtle ways we easily fall into choosing false gods and putting them before our Heavenly Father. I really enjoyed reading it and identifying areas that I need to work on. :-)
Words cannot really describe how helpful those thoughts were. Truly a God moment when reading this.
— Carleen S.

I am working on some things to be published in our Church bulletin during Lent and I would like to include a few paragraphs from your book (exactly reprinted, context unchanged and properly cited, of course). One I know I want to use, is about why following the First Commandment renders the other commandments moot. It is very powerful and I think would resonate with my congregation.
– Judi C.

My Lenten Recommendations will hopefully be up later today, or tomorrow morning! In the meantime, let’s think about how important it is to keep the first of the Commandments in mind, particularly in Lent.

You write so powerfully and honestly about your struggles with your siblings. “Because I was secure in the truth, there was no reason for me to insist on being believed or accepted, validated or even loved: and besides, I couldn’t make anyone feel a thing they did not want to feel. When something is true, there is no point in arguing. We cannot make anyone believe anything, which is why I did not argue with my family and why God does not argue, plead, cajole or negotiate with us…I could not and would not trade reality for a polite fiction-inauthentic, but convenient for others.”
– CK

Related:
Just in time for 2016’s World Youth Day, in Krakow: Award-winning Strange Gods, now published in Polish.

Previous Post

February 9, 2015

Patheos Blogger Gives Countercultural Witness to Marriage Vocation

Next Post

February 9, 2015 Sr. Mary Ann Walsh: A Humble Way of Mercy

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category "Remaking" Ourselves 'Remaking' America 9/10 Mindset 9/11 trials Abortion ACORN Adoration Advent Advent 2008 Advent 2009 Advent 2010 Alternative Energy Alternative Media America American Catholic Church American Church American Genius Ameridolatry ANCHORESS BOOKSHELF Anglican-Roman Reconciliation Answers & Questions Anti_Semitism Archbishop Hilarion Ayn Rand Bad Mass Barack Obama Baseball Benedict Benedict & Islam Benedict in UK Benedict XVI Benedictine Bill Whittle Birth Control Blogs and Blogging Blogs and Blogging Bloodless Coup Bobby Jindal Bookchat Breitbart Bride at every wedding... Bride at every wedding... Buckley Bullies Bush Bad? Bush Good Buster Capitalism Catholic Fiction Catholic Vocations Catholicism Celibacy Chaput Charitable Stuff Chesterton Chile Chris Christie Christians in Exile Christine O' Donnell Christmas Christmas Gift Ideas Church Hates Science? Church hates women Communion of Saints Compline Conclave 2013 Confession Constitutional Stuff Conversion Crisis & Opportunity Critical Thinking Crooks and Liars Crucible of Faith Cuba Culture of Life Culture of Life/Death Culture of Treason? Dancing Death Dialogue re Islam Dick Meyer Divorce and Remarriage DOJ Domestic Terrorism Dominican Order Don't try me too high Dowd Dumb Democrat moves Dumb GOP moves Economic woe Education Egregious Harry Reid Elder Son Elder Son's Sweet Girlfriend Elderly Election '10 Election '12 Election '16 Election 2004 Election 2006 Election 2008 Election 2010 Election 2016 Elena Kagan Elitism Embryonic Stem Cell Research End Times? English language Enhanced Interrogation Erosion of Rights Eucharist Euthanasia Exorcism Extraordinary Synod Facebook Faith Faith and Reason Faith Friday Faith Perspective Faithful Friday Fascism Again Fascism in America Fatima FCC Feminism Film First Things Forgiveness Fr. James Martin Francis and Islam Francis in America Frassati Fred Thompson Free Speech? Freedom of Worship FutureChurch Global Pandemic GOP Congress Haiti Head Covering Health Care Here and Queer Hermits Heroes Hitchens Holy Spirit Holy Week '09 Holy Week '10 Hoo-Hah & BS Hoo-Hah & BS Icons Illegal Immigration In The Arena Interviews Interwebz Iran Uprising Iraqi Christians ISIL ISIS Islamic State Islamification/Islamofascism Islamification/Islamofascism Isra-El It's all about me! Me! ME! James Burke Jerry Lewis Jesus Christ Joblessness John Boehner John McCain John Paul II John XXIII Juan Williams Just Words Katrina/Rita King is a Fink Latin Mass Leadership Lectio Divina Lent Lent '08 Lent '09 Lent 2010 Lent 2011 Limbaugh Listen to Lizzie Litigious Society Liturgy Liturgy of the Hours Mainstream Media Manliness Marriage Mary Media Excess Medical Merton Michelle Obama Mighty John O' Connor Misc. Miss Ella Missionaries Mitt Romney Monasticism My brother S My Irish Aunties Mystic Monks Nanny Statism Nature NEA Neri New Media Newman Noonan Notre Dame NPR Stuff Nun News Obama Bad? Obama Good? Obama White House Oil Spill Online Retreat '08 Online Retreat Days Oratory Orthodoxy Our Hillary! Parenting Passionists Patheos Patheos Book Club Patrons Paul Ryan Penance Penn Jillette Philosophy PJTV Podcasts Poetry Politics-free zone Pop Culture Pope Emeritus Pope Francis Prayer Predictions Priesthood Pro-Life Public Sector Unions Purgatory Questions about Catholicism Quotes of the Day Quoting the News Race in America rants Recipes Remarried Catholics Reposts by request Retreat thoughts Rome Rudy Giuliani Russia Saints Sarah Palin Scandal Scott Brown SCOTUS Scriptural stuff Secularism Send in the clowns Serving up hot links Sexuality Sherrod Shroud of Turin Sisters and Nuns Social Entrepreneurship Social Media Social Security Socialism doesn't work Sports and Faith Stem Cells Strange Gods Suffering Synod Tea Parties Tea Party Terri Schiavo The 9/11 Commission The Catholic Answer The Constitution The Desert The Fourth Estate The Pelosi The Perpetual Adolescents The Rosary Third Party? Timothy Dolan Touch of evil TSA Tsunami TV/Pop Culture/Music TV/Pop Culture/Music Twitter Uncategorized Unemployment Unintended Consequences US Military Vaginal Musings Vatican Vespers video faves Vile Joe Biden Voter Fraud War by Litigation War on Terror War, What it good for? Why can't weeee be ... World Youth Days Year of Faith Year of the Priest

Select a Month August 2016 July 2016 April 2016 March 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 August 2004

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who dreamed of a ladder reaching heaven?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Elijah Paul Jacob Abraham