Missions Resources - Bibliography
Cat & Dog Theology: Rethinking Our Relationship With Our Master
Authors: Bob Sjogren and Gerald Robison
ISBN: 1884543170
Publisher: Gabriel Publishing
Number of pages: 207
Type of cover: Soft Cover
Summary:
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This book is a well-written refresher on God, and us. Starting from an old joke about our favorite domestic animals (a dog says, 'You pet me, you feed me, you shelter me, you love me, you must be God.' A cat says, 'You pet me, you feed me, you shelter me, you love me, I must be God.'), Sjogren and Robison expand to humans and their maker and savior.
Light-hearted is not the same as silly, and this is a real book, with real and original thinking on a topic that is older than the trees. We continually mis-read scripture to skew God transcending glory and power on the one hand, and to overstate our own centrality to the universe on the other.
An important example is Psalm 46:10. Starting with the famous quote, "Be still, and know that I am God;" we usually stop there in mid-sentence. Read this way, this verse is a comforting reassurance from the man upstairs, that no matter how stressful the circumstances get, he will keep us. We can be still, like a baby in a cradle.
The verse continues: "I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." This is an entirely different matter. "Be still" turns out not to be a lullaby, but a command. You are not God; I am God, is the new meaning. It by no means changes God's promise to take care of us, but it changes the relationships. God protects us because in his absolute supremacy, he chooses to bless us.
To switch to a "Dog Theology", where God sits on the throne and we circle about him, submitting even our thoughts, feelings and impulses to him, means questioning all of our motives. It means recognizing the soul-warping scars of sin. Cat and Dog Theology is dead serious about challenging the reader here. At the same time, the authors skillfully avoid the temptation to abstraction: they remain grounded in real life and in the Bible.
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