Ed Dobson was pastor of one of the largest churches in west Michigan for many years. Some time after he was diagnosed with ALS, he retired. I actually met him once, but, I am embarrassed to say, was probably quite rude. I was seated with him and Clarence Thomas's wife at a dinner. This was not too long after the infamous Supreme Court confirmation hearings. She was charming and wonderful to talk to, and spoke openly about their experience during the confirmation and the importance of prayer and faith through it all. I admit, I was a bit star struck, and I had no idea who this Dobson-guy-who's-not-related-to-the-Focus-on-the-Family-Dobson was. So, Mr. Dobson, if you ever read this, please accept my apology.
One day while listening to NPR, Ed Dobson heard an interview with A.J. Jacobs about his book, The Year of Living Biblically. Jacobs, a nonobservant Jew, decided he would try to follow Old Testament teachings as closely as possible. Writing more as a humorist than a theologian, he talked about growing his beard and not sitting in a chair where a menstruating woman had sat. But Dobson read the book and "was deeply convicted by the fact that someone had taken the Bible seriously enough to attempt to live it out." He began to wonder what would happen if he were to take the teachings of Jesus seriously and live like Jesus lived. This book is the result of his year.
Dobson learned much about himself and his faith during this year, but for many reasons, he seemed happy to see the year end. Similary, Dobson's book challenged me in a few areas and I learned a bit about following Jesus from reading it, but I was happy to see the book end.
For a seminary trained, experienced pastor and teacher with a Ph.D., Living Like Jesus struck me as very juvenile. It almost seemed like it should have been written by one of those 20-something blogger types who get an idea for a book while sitting around drinking with their friends late one night. He approaches some of the ideas and practices he explores with the naivete of an ignorant young person, not as a Christian statesman.
For example, he explores prayer practices of other denominations: praying the rosary (On a side note, my old boss, Fr. Robert Sirico, makes a cameo here, giving Dobson advice on praying the rosary.), using a Christian Orthodox prayer rope, and using Episcopal prayer beads. To me this mirrors the tendency of the emergent church (which is populated largely by disaffected 20-somethings) to grasp onto the symbols and practices of liturgical traditions in order to find more fulfilling faith practices. Dobson uses the prayer traditions of other churches to enrich his own prayer life, and we can learn from his experience as well. His stated goal, to pray more like Jesus did, led him to these traditions, which, following Jewish prayer, emphasize repetition and scripture, rather than the extemporaneous prayers of most evangelicals, which, I agree, often feature inanity and scriptural ignorance.
Another tendency Dobson shares with the emergent church is to drink alcohol, as if to say, My teetotalling past was unenlightened, and now that I am enlightened I will drink fine wine and beers and ales that you can only buy at boutique groceries. I don't care whether someone drinks or not; it's not a theological litmus test. But to say, as Dobson does, that to live like Jesus you have to drink alcohol seems a little silly. Then again, to say, with many evangelicals, that Christians should never drink alcohol is pretty silly, too.
One strength of the book is Dobson's honesty and humility. He does not hesitate to reveal the difficulties he had maintaining his commitment at times, and points out that while he struggled with some of the superficial elements, such as eating kosher, keeping the Sabbath, and wearing the right clothing, those practices only emphasized the greater difficulty of living like Jesus in the heart. Also, his struggle with ALS is a strand that emerges throughout the book. I admire the faith and strength with which he faces the disease.
I do have to address his take on politics. By way of background, Dobson worked at Liberty University and was close to Jerry Falwell. Dobson often acted as mouthpiece for the religious right, and still supports much of what they stood for. So he's no liberal, and no stranger to politics and political theory. So during his year of living like Jesus, he's faced with choosing for whom to vote, and decides that he will choose the presidential candidate who best reflects Jesus' teachings, which he boils down to : treatment of the poor, the marginalized, and the oppressed; treatment of one's enemies; and commitment to peacemaking. He ends up going against his pro-life convictions and votes for Obama, and seems quite pleased with himself that he's shocked many who know him.
Again, this seems so juvenile. First of all, he downplays the issue of abortion by saying that to be truly pro-life, one must consider the plight of widows and orphans and strangers and the poor, and be pro- their lives, too. But I am not comfortable with minimizing Obama's and the Democratic Party's view that abortion is OK just about whenever, including murdering living babies who have survived a botched abortion. Second, Dobson isn't asking whether the candidate reflects Jesus' teachings, but whether his policies do. Do I want policies that reflect Jesus' teachings? I know that I should give a coat away if I have two and my brother has none, but does that mean that if I have political power, I can coerce all owners of two coats to give away a coat to those who have none? The coercive power of the state is not in line with the teachings of Jesus, so it renders the point moot. The question should not be which candidate's policies most reflect the teachings of Jesus, but which candidate's policies would foster the kind of environment in which people are free to follow the teachings of Jesus?
I didn't hate this book, but I sure was disappointed. It should be read on the level of entertainment. Dobson tells some amusing stories, altought they're not as amusing as he thinks they are. The writing itself is disjointed, a conglomeration of journal, mini-sermons, and essays. On a devotional level, it's not totally without value. The greatest point I took away is the challenge to pray from the scriptures. He also made much of Jesus' tendency to associate with sinners. Dobson is right that much of church culture today prevents or discourages Christians from venturing outside of their Christian circles. I wish he would have spent more time on that kind of living like Jesus and less time on kosher food and prayer beads.
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