A story is told of a dark force as old as history and as strong as desire, which humanity has tried to either defeat or befriend. Yet this power has no intention of being tamed, for it wants nothing less than to destroy us. Who or what is this evil that threatens our very existence? It is self-centeredness. It is what global warming, religious extremists, marital discord, criminal activity, and temper-tantrums all have in common; and no amount of negotiation or legislation will quiet its determination. The problem is: we have mixed feelings about self-centeredness. It makes us happy, yet it is the reason behind everything painful and ugly in us and in our world. What are we to do? It has so wrapped us in its clutches that strangling it feels like it would suffocate us. Its story has become our story. Gratefully, our story does not need to end in despair. There is another story, and it is about one who conquered this narcissism and established love in its place. It is a story that allows us to rethink our own life story. By thoroughly exploring God’s story, iGod explores the relational crisis in which we find ourselves and outlines how we can find personal freedom, lasting peace, and eternal hope through Jesus Christ.
Greg Mitchell (born 1947) is the author of more than a dozen books. His new book (2020) is "The Beginning or the End: How Hollywood--and America--Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb" (The New Press). His previous book, from Crown, has been optioned for a major movie. It is titled "The Tunnels" and explores daring escape tunnels under the Berlin Wall in 1962--and the JFK White House attempts to kill NBC and CBS coverage of them at the height of nuclear tensions.
Mitchell has blogged on the media and politics, for The Nation. and at his own blog, Pressing Issjes. He was the editor of Editor & Publisher (E&P), from 2002 to the end of 2009, and long ago was executive editor at the legendary Crawdaddy. His book "The Campaign of the Century" won the Goldsmith Book Prize and "Tricky Dick and the Pink Lady" was a New York Times Notable Book for 1998. He has also co-authored two books with Robert Jay Lifton, along with a "So Wrong For So Long" about the media and Iraq. His books have been optioned numerous times for movies (including "Joy in Mudville" by Tim Hanks). He has served as chief adviser to two award-winning documentaries and currently is co-producer of an upcoming film on Beethoven with his co-author on "Journeys With Beethoven."
There was one chapter which stood out but otherwise the discussion regarding technology and worshipful lives was either a little mute or were cliché in my opinion.