The Time Mom Met Hitler, Frost Came to Dinner, and I Heard the Greatest Story Ever Told: A Memoir by Dikkon Eberhart (book review)
Just the title of Dikkon Eberhart's book is enthralling: "The Time Mom Met Hitler, Frost Came to Dinner, and I Heard the Greatest Story Ever Told." Right? Who wouldn't be curious to hear these stories? I was and so I read.
Dikkon Eberhart is the son of a Pulitzer Prize winning poet, Dick Eberhart. I have honestly never heard the name until I read this book. I'm not huge into poetry, though. Like, at all. I did recognize many of the names thrown around in this book: Frost, Ginsberg, Woolf, Hemingway, etc. Truly this Eberhart (the younger, the author of this book) grew up knowing many artists and walking alongside giants, it seems.
While the stories in the book, about his family's past and his mother's meeting with Hitler and his and his wife's conversion to Christ, were very interesting, I just couldn't fall in love with the book. I don't know if it was just too slow in most parts or too wordy. I'm not quite sure what I didn't like but one part I loved was his explanation about Jesus Christ:
"We're like youngsters. But we can't get our arms around God's neck. It's too far to reach. God's too - other. We'll get burned if we actually touch God. So what we nee dis exactly what God gave to us. He gave us Himself in a way that we can grasp Him and struggle with Him. He gave us Himself, but as one of us. He made Himself man but was actually God at the same time. That is, God became Jesus.
"So Jesus is the translation. He's God we can grapple with. And when we do, we are held so tight by Him that we know - we absolutely know - there's something stronger and bigger and more powerful than we are, no matter how angry or frightened we are, and that the stronger and bigger Thing loves us enough to wrestle with us, and to test us, and that we are therefore safe."
Isn't that perfectly the truth? The only part I disagree with is that God became Jesus because He already was Jesus - the whole Trinity thing: Father, Son, Holy Spirit. But this was written when Eberhart was just beginning to understand so that's understandable and a very complicated part of theology.
I love conversion stories, especially complicated ones like this where he grew up in a church, became Jewish, and then really understood the meaning of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I love how he wrestled with his faith - any faith - and still came to the truth. It's just amazing how God works in lives.
Disclaimer: I received this book in order to write an honest review. Others may not share my opinions on this book or its author.
Dikkon Eberhart is the son of a Pulitzer Prize winning poet, Dick Eberhart. I have honestly never heard the name until I read this book. I'm not huge into poetry, though. Like, at all. I did recognize many of the names thrown around in this book: Frost, Ginsberg, Woolf, Hemingway, etc. Truly this Eberhart (the younger, the author of this book) grew up knowing many artists and walking alongside giants, it seems.
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| image via Amazon |
While the stories in the book, about his family's past and his mother's meeting with Hitler and his and his wife's conversion to Christ, were very interesting, I just couldn't fall in love with the book. I don't know if it was just too slow in most parts or too wordy. I'm not quite sure what I didn't like but one part I loved was his explanation about Jesus Christ:
"We're like youngsters. But we can't get our arms around God's neck. It's too far to reach. God's too - other. We'll get burned if we actually touch God. So what we nee dis exactly what God gave to us. He gave us Himself in a way that we can grasp Him and struggle with Him. He gave us Himself, but as one of us. He made Himself man but was actually God at the same time. That is, God became Jesus.
"So Jesus is the translation. He's God we can grapple with. And when we do, we are held so tight by Him that we know - we absolutely know - there's something stronger and bigger and more powerful than we are, no matter how angry or frightened we are, and that the stronger and bigger Thing loves us enough to wrestle with us, and to test us, and that we are therefore safe."
Isn't that perfectly the truth? The only part I disagree with is that God became Jesus because He already was Jesus - the whole Trinity thing: Father, Son, Holy Spirit. But this was written when Eberhart was just beginning to understand so that's understandable and a very complicated part of theology.
I love conversion stories, especially complicated ones like this where he grew up in a church, became Jewish, and then really understood the meaning of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I love how he wrestled with his faith - any faith - and still came to the truth. It's just amazing how God works in lives.
Disclaimer: I received this book in order to write an honest review. Others may not share my opinions on this book or its author.
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