Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Letters to Heaven by Calvin Miller

Letters to Heaven by Calvin Miller should be more aptly titled Letters to Dead People. This is a memoir of sorts, detailing how certain people shaped the authors life, his ministry and his thinking. It's a nice tribute to those mentioned (some he knew, some he did not), but to assume that all of these folks are in heaven seems a little juvenile, not at all what a seasoned minister ought to think. Of course, he does make mention that he is a Baptist minister and his thoughts of Penecostals are made known. That left me with a sour taste in my mouth.

Parts of this book seemed like he was tooting his own horn (when he mentions time and again that he pastored a rather large church). While I don't think that was his intention, it arises from time to time in the midst of the letter-stories.

One account that I enjoyed was the letter he wrote about a woman and how she was remembered as a woman of God. The description of her was so beautiful that I could only hope that others remember me the same way.

Letters to Heaven is an interesting look at how other people can have an influence on one life.

This book was provided for review by PR By the Book and is published by Worthy Publishing.

You can purchase a copy for yourself here.

2 comments:

Catherine Rogers Jonsson said...

Thanks for writing a review of this book. I got a blurb from beliefnet about it. About assuming the various people are in heaven... it is a stretch. As a Swedenborg Christian I believe our engeries and proclivities determine where we end up. Low-lifers end up being attracted to other like-minded people. Enlightened people end up attracted to souls like themselves.... and so on. So heaven and hell have gradations. Something like Dante described in the Divine Comedy.

Suzanne said...

Thanks for visiting, Catherine. I believe what the Bible says about heaven and it has nothing to do with being enlightened or being a low life. Believe in Jesus as your Lord and savior and you go to heaven. If you don't believe in Him and live for Him then you've chosen to spend eternity in hell.