Official Review: Autobiography of God by Rajan Schrenick
Posted: 12 Jun 2018, 14:56
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Autobiography of God" by Rajan Schrenick.]
3 out of 4 stars
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Most people have a uniquely subjective idea of who God is, and author Rajan Schrenick is no different, offering his personal take on the matter with his book, Autobiography of God. He prefaces the controversial material with an introductory clause about who should-and who should not-read the book. With this, he is defining his intended audience and it doesn’t take long to understand the necessity behind his advice.
The book is broken into two approximately equal parts, denoted as “Book One” and “Book Two.” The first book portrays the formation of the Universe and the creation of Man, as told by God. God reveals his relationship with Man, whom He views from a perspective that changes drastically over time. At first, God sees man as a plaything to entertain Himself with, but as He observes Man acting independently, He begins to form a fatherly bond with his creation. Before long, Man stops playing by the implied rules and the relationship takes an unfortunate turn.
The second book is almost a mirror image of Book One, with some adjustments allotted to incorporate a down-and-out ex-God. Told from Man's perspective, it is he who brings God into the picture to distract humanity from the path they are traveling, thus setting them into alignment with his will. Man carefully selects a God with the right attributes to gain popularity with mankind. Eventually God gets a big head from all the worship and forgets his place as Man's creation. As subsequent events unfold, we witness a power struggle on the heels of an increasingly complicated relationship between the two.
The reason the author's preemptive warning exists is that God (as is routinely regarded outside this book) is not painted in a complimentary light. He is reduced to a weak and basically human persona that is conjured by mankind, gaining undue credit from people too blind to recognize He isn’t real. Although I do not share the author's atheistic viewpoint, I was not offended by this book as it is an expression of the author's creative mind and simply tells a story. More than the content of the book, it was the author's writing style that really stood out: Vocabulary, grammar, punctuation, and flow are virtually flawless and marvelously executed. I especially enjoyed the clever subtleties hiding in the story as it unfolded.
I did encounter some negatives, however. While my interest endured throughout Book One, it began to falter just several pages into Book Two, when I felt like I was reading Book One all over again, just from a different perspective and with small variations. I would have liked to see more diversity in the storyline as opposed to such a closely paralleled narrative. Additionally, the book is not broken into chapters, although there are frequent scene breaks. I would have preferred for the format to read more like a novel and for the “Books” to be eliminated in lieu of “Parts.” I believe this would help the book achieve a more polished presentation.
All things considered, I have rated this book 3 out of 4 stars. Although the story is somewhat repetitive, the author's writing is superb. I would like to reiterate to potential readers that the book isn't intended to weigh in on the debate of whether or not God exists as the Creator of the world. It is assumed in this writing that God is whomever the human mind has made Him to be; an idea created to meet a need. Readers interested in apologetics would be wasting their time here.
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Autobiography of God
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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3 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
Most people have a uniquely subjective idea of who God is, and author Rajan Schrenick is no different, offering his personal take on the matter with his book, Autobiography of God. He prefaces the controversial material with an introductory clause about who should-and who should not-read the book. With this, he is defining his intended audience and it doesn’t take long to understand the necessity behind his advice.
The book is broken into two approximately equal parts, denoted as “Book One” and “Book Two.” The first book portrays the formation of the Universe and the creation of Man, as told by God. God reveals his relationship with Man, whom He views from a perspective that changes drastically over time. At first, God sees man as a plaything to entertain Himself with, but as He observes Man acting independently, He begins to form a fatherly bond with his creation. Before long, Man stops playing by the implied rules and the relationship takes an unfortunate turn.
The second book is almost a mirror image of Book One, with some adjustments allotted to incorporate a down-and-out ex-God. Told from Man's perspective, it is he who brings God into the picture to distract humanity from the path they are traveling, thus setting them into alignment with his will. Man carefully selects a God with the right attributes to gain popularity with mankind. Eventually God gets a big head from all the worship and forgets his place as Man's creation. As subsequent events unfold, we witness a power struggle on the heels of an increasingly complicated relationship between the two.
The reason the author's preemptive warning exists is that God (as is routinely regarded outside this book) is not painted in a complimentary light. He is reduced to a weak and basically human persona that is conjured by mankind, gaining undue credit from people too blind to recognize He isn’t real. Although I do not share the author's atheistic viewpoint, I was not offended by this book as it is an expression of the author's creative mind and simply tells a story. More than the content of the book, it was the author's writing style that really stood out: Vocabulary, grammar, punctuation, and flow are virtually flawless and marvelously executed. I especially enjoyed the clever subtleties hiding in the story as it unfolded.
I did encounter some negatives, however. While my interest endured throughout Book One, it began to falter just several pages into Book Two, when I felt like I was reading Book One all over again, just from a different perspective and with small variations. I would have liked to see more diversity in the storyline as opposed to such a closely paralleled narrative. Additionally, the book is not broken into chapters, although there are frequent scene breaks. I would have preferred for the format to read more like a novel and for the “Books” to be eliminated in lieu of “Parts.” I believe this would help the book achieve a more polished presentation.
All things considered, I have rated this book 3 out of 4 stars. Although the story is somewhat repetitive, the author's writing is superb. I would like to reiterate to potential readers that the book isn't intended to weigh in on the debate of whether or not God exists as the Creator of the world. It is assumed in this writing that God is whomever the human mind has made Him to be; an idea created to meet a need. Readers interested in apologetics would be wasting their time here.
******
Autobiography of God
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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