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...story is a cross between ‘The Wizard of Oz’ and ’The Pilgrim’s Progress’ – a roller-coaster journey through a maze of religious belief. I’ve been a zealous Evangelical, Charismatic Christian, a disillusioned agnostic, a burnt-out school teacher, psychology devotee and more recently the receiver of two profound spiritual experiences. I feel a deep empathy with all those who’ve been damaged by religion of all varieties, especially those led by charismatic gurus whether Christian, Islamic or Eastern. I believe that when all the irrelevant bath water is thrown out, a deeply precious and profound ‘baby’ is left.which led me to a PDF version of his autobiography. I read his story with a sad sense of "been there, done that" ... and many of you who know of my interest in spiritual abuse will find his blog and book both familiar and yet fresh.
I have found the posts on his blog thought provoking and appreciate the opportunity to ponder things some might consider, well, AbiNormal.... ;^). This wee purple abbess certainly resonated with a book described as "A story of hope for those in pain."
After almost a year now, after final tweaking was finished, Dylan's book has been published. Hurray! Congratulations to Dylan on making his book wildly available to all budgets and styles: in ebook format (and the array of ebook formats supported is awesome), and at Amazon in paperback (do read the reviews at Amazon.com) and Kindle. Well done, indeed!
For those of you who enjoy the wonderful artistry of The Naked Pastor, you will be interested to know that the cover for the book is the work of Canadian artist David Hayward, whom Dylan regards a true soul brother.
Just as I say so very often: everyone has a story that is worth hearing. Some struggle with the telling of their story. I am grateful that Dylan chose to share his story, told so very well, with the rest of us on this journey.
Be blessed.
Abi
3 comments:
Very interesting and I'm definitely interested in reading his work. Everyone does have a story to tell, and I think those who do, somehow, make their way to telling their story, tell a similar story that so many feel unable to tell.
So, I'm always very excited to see when the stories are being told.
Yes, I agree ... and you will really resonate with his journey. It is all about the stories, isn't it?
"I believe that when all the irrelevant bath water is thrown out, a deeply precious and profound ‘baby’ is left."
Peg, the older and less wise I become, the more I see my own faith journey as mostly "irrelevant bath water" - the things I once valued as importantly "spiritual" I now see as little more than idols I embraced as part of a religious identity based in belief (rather than the transparency of love, care, and trust, as exemplified by the cross).
I'm becoming more convinced that Jesus came to free us from religious ideas, religious idols, and the pressures of conformity to socio-religious identity. It's so much easier to create an identity around a theological belief system than it is to die daily to our religious creations.
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