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Surprised by Paradox: The Promise of And in an Either-Or World
What if certainty isn't the goal?
In a world filled with ambiguity, many of us long for a belief system that provides straightforward answers to complex questions and clarity in the face of confusion. We want faith to act like an orderly set of truth-claims designed to solve the problems and pain that life throws at us.
With signature candor and depth, Jen Pollock Michel helps readers imagine a Christian faith open to mystery. While there are certainties in Christian faith, at the heart of the Christian story is also paradox. Jesus invites us to abandon the polarities of either and or in order to embrace the difficult, wondrous dissonance of and.
The incarnation―the paradox of God made human―teaches us to look for God in the and of body and spirit, heaven and earth. In the kingdom, God often hides in plain sight and announces his triumph on the back of a donkey. In the paradox of grace, we receive life eternal by actively participating in death. And lament, with its clear-eyed appraisal of suffering alongside its commitment to finding audience with God, is a paradoxical practice of faith. Each of these themes give us certainty about God while also leading us into greater curiosity about his nature and activity in the world.
As Michel writes, "As soon as we think we have God figured out, we will have ceased to worship him as he is." With personal stories and reflection on Scripture, literature, and culture, Michel takes us deeper into mystery and into worship of the One who is Mystery and Love.
In a world filled with ambiguity, many of us long for a belief system that provides straightforward answers to complex questions and clarity in the face of confusion. We want faith to act like an orderly set of truth-claims designed to solve the problems and pain that life throws at us.
With signature candor and depth, Jen Pollock Michel helps readers imagine a Christian faith open to mystery. While there are certainties in Christian faith, at the heart of the Christian story is also paradox. Jesus invites us to abandon the polarities of either and or in order to embrace the difficult, wondrous dissonance of and.
The incarnation―the paradox of God made human―teaches us to look for God in the and of body and spirit, heaven and earth. In the kingdom, God often hides in plain sight and announces his triumph on the back of a donkey. In the paradox of grace, we receive life eternal by actively participating in death. And lament, with its clear-eyed appraisal of suffering alongside its commitment to finding audience with God, is a paradoxical practice of faith. Each of these themes give us certainty about God while also leading us into greater curiosity about his nature and activity in the world.
As Michel writes, "As soon as we think we have God figured out, we will have ceased to worship him as he is." With personal stories and reflection on Scripture, literature, and culture, Michel takes us deeper into mystery and into worship of the One who is Mystery and Love.
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First published May 1, 2019
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About the author
Jen Pollock Michel
12 books133 followersJen Pollock Michel is the award-winning author of Teach Us to Want, Keeping Place, and Surprised by Paradox. Her fourth book, A Habit Called Faith, releases in February 2021.
Jen holds a B.A. in French from Wheaton College and an M.A. in Literature from Northwestern University. She's currently enrolled in the MFA program at Seattle Pacific University.
An American living in Toronto, Jen is a wife and mother of five. She is the lead editor for Imprint magazine, published by The Grace Centre for the Arts, and host of the Englewood Review of Books podcast. You can follow Jen on Twitter @jenpmichel and also subscribe to her monthly letter, Post Script, at www.jenpollockmichel.com.
Jen holds a B.A. in French from Wheaton College and an M.A. in Literature from Northwestern University. She's currently enrolled in the MFA program at Seattle Pacific University.
An American living in Toronto, Jen is a wife and mother of five. She is the lead editor for Imprint magazine, published by The Grace Centre for the Arts, and host of the Englewood Review of Books podcast. You can follow Jen on Twitter @jenpmichel and also subscribe to her monthly letter, Post Script, at www.jenpollockmichel.com.
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June 6, 2019
I have learned to love the tension of paradox, the way paradox disciplines me to allow two seeming contradictions to coexist. Jen Pollock Michel admits that much of her writing has been born from the tension between two ideas. This book is her celebration of the many paradoxes of the Christian faith. With her trademark care and eye for detail, Michel sifts through her own memories of the world and her reflections on scripture to celebrate paradoxes she's come to love.
I will be writing a more thoughtful review soon, but I will mention here that my personal disappointment with the book was that she didn't dwell longer on the nature and beauty of paradox itself. The title should have been Surprised by Paradoxes, because the majority of the writing was about various paradoxes she appreciates. While I enjoyed her tour of the paradoxes that undergird our faith, I was hoping for more time discussing the nature, power, and beauty of paradox. Perhaps I'm the only one who was expecting this, but I wanted a celebration of the way that practicing with paradox can help us be "perplexed but not in despair" when we discover new mysteries (2 Corinthians 4:8). But I generally loved the way she was able to allow paradox to surprise her rather than insisting that mystery submit itself to her own understanding. She models a curious, gentle, persistent faith that longs for truth and revels in complexity.
My full review:
A clock radio was the most sophisticated piece of technology in my childhood bedroom. Late into the night, I’d tune the crummy radio to stations that played pop or country or classics, the volume set just barely above a whisper so my parents wouldn’t hear. I would fall asleep with my ear pressed against the speaker, music swirling through my waking and sleeping. It was in these not-quite-conscious moments that I first learned to listen for harmony.
Lying still, I could hear the notes around the melody. I can still remember the sheer joy of recognizing certain harmonies, the clarity of two singers holding a chord or letting the tension build or resolve as their voices rose and fell together. It felt like an invitation I couldn’t resist. I would sing along with every song where I could find harmony. Eventually I could hear the possibility of new harmonies, notes that no one sang but seemed to hang just above or below the melody. I began experimenting with my own harmonies, inserting my voice and delighting in the ways a new harmony enriched my favorite songs.
Harmony might be the best way to understand paradox. A paradox is two possibilities at once, two distinct ideas that seem as if they cannot co-exist but turn out to be true together when investigated more closely. Like two notes that sound at once, each note distinct but somehow transformed by the presence of the other, harmony produces the possibility of beauty rather than conflict. In her new book Surprised by Paradox: The Promise of "And" in an Either-Or World, Jen Pollock Michel brings ideas that seem to be at odds with one another into lovely harmony—ideas that seem appear contradictory somehow exist at once, interpenetrating one another without diminishing each other.
To acknowledge where you find paradox is to confess your expectations. It is to say, “I thought that this was what grace meant.” Or, “I thought the kingdom of heaven was going to look like something else.” In one of her more compelling personal confessions, Michel acknowledges her apprehension about her husband’s generous salary because she assumed the kingdom of God was meant for those with empty hands. The paradox she discovers is that somehow the kingdom is large enough to bless the poor as well as the privileged.
The book reads less like a cohesive album and more like a playlist. Loosely connected observations about paradox flow from Michel’s personal stories and what she has learned from the Word. Michel ponders an assortment of paradoxes, such as the truth that hard words that can also be a means of God’s grace; that our God is one who both reveals himself and hides himself; that the kingdom of God is both unstoppable and vulnerable; and that “the spiritual life, for all its presumed holiness, can be so distinctly unspiritual.”
Michel does not try to ease the tensions presented by each paradox. Instead, she collects them like curiosities, picking up one paradox at a time to explore their surprises. In four sections— Incarnation, Kingdom, Grace, and Lament—Michel explores paradoxes both big and small, turning over foundational concepts of the faith to find the points of tension. By embracing paradox, Michel models how we can be “perplexed, but not driven to despair” when we encounter the mysteries of our faith (2 Cor. 4:8). She writes about “faith in its lived-in condition—as it abides complexity rather than resists it.”
Allowing paradox to exist without trying to explain it away or simplify is a sign of a mature faith. It seems to me that a great deal of heretical thinking begins with a discomfort with tension and a need to simplify, clarify, and reduce complexity. Paradox, like harmony, elevates each distinct idea without calling for a compromise.
When Michel describes the paradox of lament, she recognizes that even our complaint is a “practice of faith” as we seek to reconcile our trouble with the faithfulness of God. The Bible is filled with laments that “seem to violate all the rules we assume must govern our conversations with God,” but even these complaints demonstrate “the persistence of faith that hounds God until he answers.” Describing the paradox of grace, Michel reminds us that grace is not simply leniency. Rather, “the cross speaks a thundering word about the cosmic big deal that is sin.” The cross is a paradox because it speaks both of leniency and violence. Both are required to fully understand grace. To understand God’s work in the world is to recognize that ideas that seem like they ought to cancel on another out actually exist together, like distinct notes played simultaneously to produce a chord.
And therein lies the heart of Surprised by Paradox. It is a book that seeks to find the harmony by choosing and instead of or. It is not a comprehensive exploration of the counterintuitive complexities of our faith nor is it a full explanation of paradox itself. It is, however, an invitation. Much like the harmonies in one song invited me to find the harmony in other songs, Michel’s love of paradox will usher you back towards your own faith journey to notice the paradox.
After reading Michel’s words, I want to go back to the Word prepared to see the fruitful tensions that enrich our theology. As Russ Ramsey points out in the foreword, paradox is an admission that we only know in part, and this admission helps us make the important distinction between theological understanding and faith. “Studied rightly,” Ramsey insists, “theology should lead to awe and wonder.” Michel offers a tour of the paradoxes that have surprised her so that we can all learn to “appreciate the knowable—and welcome that which is vast, untamable, mysterious, and awesome.” For when we approach paradox, we come to the end of our understanding. And the end of our understanding can be the place where we learn to pause, but also to praise.
(For Fathom Mag)
I will be writing a more thoughtful review soon, but I will mention here that my personal disappointment with the book was that she didn't dwell longer on the nature and beauty of paradox itself. The title should have been Surprised by Paradoxes, because the majority of the writing was about various paradoxes she appreciates. While I enjoyed her tour of the paradoxes that undergird our faith, I was hoping for more time discussing the nature, power, and beauty of paradox. Perhaps I'm the only one who was expecting this, but I wanted a celebration of the way that practicing with paradox can help us be "perplexed but not in despair" when we discover new mysteries (2 Corinthians 4:8). But I generally loved the way she was able to allow paradox to surprise her rather than insisting that mystery submit itself to her own understanding. She models a curious, gentle, persistent faith that longs for truth and revels in complexity.
My full review:
A clock radio was the most sophisticated piece of technology in my childhood bedroom. Late into the night, I’d tune the crummy radio to stations that played pop or country or classics, the volume set just barely above a whisper so my parents wouldn’t hear. I would fall asleep with my ear pressed against the speaker, music swirling through my waking and sleeping. It was in these not-quite-conscious moments that I first learned to listen for harmony.
Lying still, I could hear the notes around the melody. I can still remember the sheer joy of recognizing certain harmonies, the clarity of two singers holding a chord or letting the tension build or resolve as their voices rose and fell together. It felt like an invitation I couldn’t resist. I would sing along with every song where I could find harmony. Eventually I could hear the possibility of new harmonies, notes that no one sang but seemed to hang just above or below the melody. I began experimenting with my own harmonies, inserting my voice and delighting in the ways a new harmony enriched my favorite songs.
Harmony might be the best way to understand paradox. A paradox is two possibilities at once, two distinct ideas that seem as if they cannot co-exist but turn out to be true together when investigated more closely. Like two notes that sound at once, each note distinct but somehow transformed by the presence of the other, harmony produces the possibility of beauty rather than conflict. In her new book Surprised by Paradox: The Promise of "And" in an Either-Or World, Jen Pollock Michel brings ideas that seem to be at odds with one another into lovely harmony—ideas that seem appear contradictory somehow exist at once, interpenetrating one another without diminishing each other.
To acknowledge where you find paradox is to confess your expectations. It is to say, “I thought that this was what grace meant.” Or, “I thought the kingdom of heaven was going to look like something else.” In one of her more compelling personal confessions, Michel acknowledges her apprehension about her husband’s generous salary because she assumed the kingdom of God was meant for those with empty hands. The paradox she discovers is that somehow the kingdom is large enough to bless the poor as well as the privileged.
The book reads less like a cohesive album and more like a playlist. Loosely connected observations about paradox flow from Michel’s personal stories and what she has learned from the Word. Michel ponders an assortment of paradoxes, such as the truth that hard words that can also be a means of God’s grace; that our God is one who both reveals himself and hides himself; that the kingdom of God is both unstoppable and vulnerable; and that “the spiritual life, for all its presumed holiness, can be so distinctly unspiritual.”
Michel does not try to ease the tensions presented by each paradox. Instead, she collects them like curiosities, picking up one paradox at a time to explore their surprises. In four sections— Incarnation, Kingdom, Grace, and Lament—Michel explores paradoxes both big and small, turning over foundational concepts of the faith to find the points of tension. By embracing paradox, Michel models how we can be “perplexed, but not driven to despair” when we encounter the mysteries of our faith (2 Cor. 4:8). She writes about “faith in its lived-in condition—as it abides complexity rather than resists it.”
Allowing paradox to exist without trying to explain it away or simplify is a sign of a mature faith. It seems to me that a great deal of heretical thinking begins with a discomfort with tension and a need to simplify, clarify, and reduce complexity. Paradox, like harmony, elevates each distinct idea without calling for a compromise.
When Michel describes the paradox of lament, she recognizes that even our complaint is a “practice of faith” as we seek to reconcile our trouble with the faithfulness of God. The Bible is filled with laments that “seem to violate all the rules we assume must govern our conversations with God,” but even these complaints demonstrate “the persistence of faith that hounds God until he answers.” Describing the paradox of grace, Michel reminds us that grace is not simply leniency. Rather, “the cross speaks a thundering word about the cosmic big deal that is sin.” The cross is a paradox because it speaks both of leniency and violence. Both are required to fully understand grace. To understand God’s work in the world is to recognize that ideas that seem like they ought to cancel on another out actually exist together, like distinct notes played simultaneously to produce a chord.
And therein lies the heart of Surprised by Paradox. It is a book that seeks to find the harmony by choosing and instead of or. It is not a comprehensive exploration of the counterintuitive complexities of our faith nor is it a full explanation of paradox itself. It is, however, an invitation. Much like the harmonies in one song invited me to find the harmony in other songs, Michel’s love of paradox will usher you back towards your own faith journey to notice the paradox.
After reading Michel’s words, I want to go back to the Word prepared to see the fruitful tensions that enrich our theology. As Russ Ramsey points out in the foreword, paradox is an admission that we only know in part, and this admission helps us make the important distinction between theological understanding and faith. “Studied rightly,” Ramsey insists, “theology should lead to awe and wonder.” Michel offers a tour of the paradoxes that have surprised her so that we can all learn to “appreciate the knowable—and welcome that which is vast, untamable, mysterious, and awesome.” For when we approach paradox, we come to the end of our understanding. And the end of our understanding can be the place where we learn to pause, but also to praise.
(For Fathom Mag)
May 14, 2019
For non-fiction, Christian books, I often turn to the endnotes to determine whether or not I will read the book. Anyone who quotes Fleming Rutledge and Ta-Nehisi Coates in the same chapter will get moved to the top of my to-read list, and I was not disappointed with Jen Pollock Michel's new book. Divided into four sections (Incarnation, Kingdom, Grace, Lament) that come with reflection questions, this book led with more questions than answers. It was refreshing to consider the great mysteries of the faith, and be invited into the wondering, as she writes "Mystery is inherent to the nature of the gospel, whose wisdom confounds more than assists."
The section on lament resonated with me most deeply, and I would appreciate an entire book on lament, hope, and suffering from the author. There are no easy, pat answers given, only the opportunity to see that lament leads us back to God: "Lament isn't the road back to normal. It's the road back to faith."
Thanks to NetGalley for the Advanced Readers Copy in exchange for my review. All opinions are my own.
The section on lament resonated with me most deeply, and I would appreciate an entire book on lament, hope, and suffering from the author. There are no easy, pat answers given, only the opportunity to see that lament leads us back to God: "Lament isn't the road back to normal. It's the road back to faith."
Thanks to NetGalley for the Advanced Readers Copy in exchange for my review. All opinions are my own.
May 14, 2019
Jonathan Edwards, the great American theologian, believed in paradox. He believed that in God we see many traits that don’t seem to belong together: infinite greatness and infinite care, infinite justice and infinite mercy, and infinite majesty displaying itself as stunning meekness. So did G.K. Chesterton, who said, “An element of paradox runs through the whole of existence itself.”
I confess I’m not always comfortable with paradox. I like my theology neatly defined. I understand and accept the idea of paradox, but it sometimes makes me nervous.
According to Jen Pollock Michel, author of the new book Surprised by Paradox, paradox isn’t the exception in life with God; it’s the rule. “From the way Jesus’ life unfolds (from the incarnation to his public ministry, and then to his crucifixion, resurrection, and ascent), everything is full of surprise. God upends our expectations along the way, which seems to insist that we must approach theology with a great deal of mystery.”
Michel is no enemy of theological certainty. Her book is crisp with theological insight. I’m often taken when I read her by her grasp of good theology and her ability to express it clearly and beautifully. But Michel also knows that Scripture doesn’t resolve every apparent paradox. It leaves room for mystery. We live with tension and perplexity. We must worship with humility, wonder, and trust, understanding that there’s a lot we don’t understand.
Surprised by Paradox traces the paradox in Scripture contained within four biblical themes: incarnation, kingdom, grace, and lament. Michel takes us through the major events of Jesus’ life as she also reflects on the tensions and struggles in her own life.
Michel does a good job handling these themes, but that’s not the only reason to read this book. It’s also worth reading because it’s written so well. I decided a while ago that I would read every book that Michel writes. This one reminded me how much I enjoy her writing. Michel is artful. There are sentences in this book (for instance, “Pretense in prayer is a lot like kissing with your clothes on”) that made me put down the book and pray that I would one day be able to write half as well as she can.
But here’s the main reason I recommend reading this book: because the older you get, the more you will recognize the reality of paradox. “This book began in a counselor’s office,” she starts — and that’s enough to get me interested. Michel does not write in the abstract. She writes as someone who has suffered, someone who has questions, and as someone who can relate to you and to me.
I think you’ve probably guessed by now: I loved this book. “As soon as we think we have God figured out, we will have ceased to worship him as he is,” she writes. Well, I want to worship God as he is, and to understand life as it is, and that means living with paradox. This book helps. Read it, enjoy it, and allow it to help you embrace both the certainties and paradoxes of Scripture and life.
I confess I’m not always comfortable with paradox. I like my theology neatly defined. I understand and accept the idea of paradox, but it sometimes makes me nervous.
According to Jen Pollock Michel, author of the new book Surprised by Paradox, paradox isn’t the exception in life with God; it’s the rule. “From the way Jesus’ life unfolds (from the incarnation to his public ministry, and then to his crucifixion, resurrection, and ascent), everything is full of surprise. God upends our expectations along the way, which seems to insist that we must approach theology with a great deal of mystery.”
Michel is no enemy of theological certainty. Her book is crisp with theological insight. I’m often taken when I read her by her grasp of good theology and her ability to express it clearly and beautifully. But Michel also knows that Scripture doesn’t resolve every apparent paradox. It leaves room for mystery. We live with tension and perplexity. We must worship with humility, wonder, and trust, understanding that there’s a lot we don’t understand.
Surprised by Paradox traces the paradox in Scripture contained within four biblical themes: incarnation, kingdom, grace, and lament. Michel takes us through the major events of Jesus’ life as she also reflects on the tensions and struggles in her own life.
Michel does a good job handling these themes, but that’s not the only reason to read this book. It’s also worth reading because it’s written so well. I decided a while ago that I would read every book that Michel writes. This one reminded me how much I enjoy her writing. Michel is artful. There are sentences in this book (for instance, “Pretense in prayer is a lot like kissing with your clothes on”) that made me put down the book and pray that I would one day be able to write half as well as she can.
But here’s the main reason I recommend reading this book: because the older you get, the more you will recognize the reality of paradox. “This book began in a counselor’s office,” she starts — and that’s enough to get me interested. Michel does not write in the abstract. She writes as someone who has suffered, someone who has questions, and as someone who can relate to you and to me.
I think you’ve probably guessed by now: I loved this book. “As soon as we think we have God figured out, we will have ceased to worship him as he is,” she writes. Well, I want to worship God as he is, and to understand life as it is, and that means living with paradox. This book helps. Read it, enjoy it, and allow it to help you embrace both the certainties and paradoxes of Scripture and life.
September 13, 2024
Surprised By Paradox
I am always on a lookout for theologically sound women authors. I read Michel’s contribution in the book Our Secular Age and appreciated her work there. I picked this book up with perhaps a lot of expectations. Here are some things I liked about it:
- her explanation of lament and its place in our Christian suffering.
- her chapter on the kingdom and exhortation to be counter-cultural.
- her emphasis on grace, both as givers and recipients of it.
- her not shying away from calling out sin, cheap grace, blind political party loyalty.
However, I also found some parts that left me wanting more explanation from the author:
- her making changes to the name of God, “the Great I am” to “the Great I and.” The Jews wouldn’t even utter God’s name, yet she alters it just to make a point.
- her claim that Renaissance humanism and scientific revolution changed the church’s view of the communion host, from being the actual body of Christ to just a memorial. This sounds like she is affirming the Catholic view of transubstantiation is the original and right view.
- She mentions Mary’s “leaky breasts” twice. What’s the point of that graphic description? I’m female and got distracted by that thought in my head.
- What is a spiritual director? The author has one.
- I understand she is perhaps upper middle-class, but her mentioning of having a housekeeper, nanny and going on expensive vacations make her somewhat unrelatable.
- her comparing Trump’s Christian supporters to the German National Church embracing the Nazis during WW2. I’m no Trump fan, but there is a stark difference between the two situations.
- It seems any Christian book written nowadays needs to include a mention of the oppressed minorities and the unfairness white America has caused. I’m not white, but I find it tiring to be reminded how oppressed my people have been. Let’s just move on, please.
I don’t want to end with a negative attitude because I think the book, despite the above list, has commendable parts. Here are some of my favorite quotes:
“Sin, according to Schmemann, was not simply that man loved the material; it was that he loved it for itself. Sin severed the material from the spiritual—the food from God.”
“Out of his own surprising goodness, God made a world and invited us to be his honored guests in it. He set the table. He made the meal. And even more surprising, when we abruptly left that table to heed another dinner invitation, he cleaned up the mess.”
“A book about paradox is a book about spiritual posture: the posture of kneeling under God’s great big sky and admitting that mystery is inherent to the nature of God. As soon as we think we have God figured out, we will have ceased to worship him as he is.”
*** I received a free advanced copy of this book via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I am always on a lookout for theologically sound women authors. I read Michel’s contribution in the book Our Secular Age and appreciated her work there. I picked this book up with perhaps a lot of expectations. Here are some things I liked about it:
- her explanation of lament and its place in our Christian suffering.
- her chapter on the kingdom and exhortation to be counter-cultural.
- her emphasis on grace, both as givers and recipients of it.
- her not shying away from calling out sin, cheap grace, blind political party loyalty.
However, I also found some parts that left me wanting more explanation from the author:
- her making changes to the name of God, “the Great I am” to “the Great I and.” The Jews wouldn’t even utter God’s name, yet she alters it just to make a point.
- her claim that Renaissance humanism and scientific revolution changed the church’s view of the communion host, from being the actual body of Christ to just a memorial. This sounds like she is affirming the Catholic view of transubstantiation is the original and right view.
- She mentions Mary’s “leaky breasts” twice. What’s the point of that graphic description? I’m female and got distracted by that thought in my head.
- What is a spiritual director? The author has one.
- I understand she is perhaps upper middle-class, but her mentioning of having a housekeeper, nanny and going on expensive vacations make her somewhat unrelatable.
- her comparing Trump’s Christian supporters to the German National Church embracing the Nazis during WW2. I’m no Trump fan, but there is a stark difference between the two situations.
- It seems any Christian book written nowadays needs to include a mention of the oppressed minorities and the unfairness white America has caused. I’m not white, but I find it tiring to be reminded how oppressed my people have been. Let’s just move on, please.
I don’t want to end with a negative attitude because I think the book, despite the above list, has commendable parts. Here are some of my favorite quotes:
“Sin, according to Schmemann, was not simply that man loved the material; it was that he loved it for itself. Sin severed the material from the spiritual—the food from God.”
“Out of his own surprising goodness, God made a world and invited us to be his honored guests in it. He set the table. He made the meal. And even more surprising, when we abruptly left that table to heed another dinner invitation, he cleaned up the mess.”
“A book about paradox is a book about spiritual posture: the posture of kneeling under God’s great big sky and admitting that mystery is inherent to the nature of God. As soon as we think we have God figured out, we will have ceased to worship him as he is.”
*** I received a free advanced copy of this book via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
March 13, 2019
Things aren't always either/or and maybe they aren't supposed to be. Faith can be much more beautiful and reciting when things that seem contradictory are held as true without need for resolution. Jen Pollock Michel does a fantastic job of showing beauty in mystery and uncertainty.
God becomes one in whom we are drawn more deeply into through paradox and uncertainty. Our faith is enhanced when experienced as a journey without the constant push to have the correct ideas and understandings.
God becomes one in whom we are drawn more deeply into through paradox and uncertainty. Our faith is enhanced when experienced as a journey without the constant push to have the correct ideas and understandings.
June 24, 2019
Summary: In a world where things are often defined in either-or terms and a quest for certainty, Michel proposes there are many things, beginning with basic biblical realities that are both-and, inviting our continuing curiosity.
Whether it is schism in the church, political divides, or just a good old marital conflict, the parties often have defined things sharply in either-or terms, one way or another. Jen Pollock Michel explains how she began to look for a third way, and to write this book. A family member had been lying to her, repeatedly. She described her dilemma to her counselor.
"...I needed light for groping my way out of this tunnel with two exits: should I suffer lying or sever the relationship?
'What if there's a third way?' she asked gently. Her language sounded like a struck bell, especially because 'third way' language was something my spiritual director often used with me. It was as if here was yet another invitation to find a sure-footed way on some undiscovered path--to find and where I had previously imagined only either and or. Here was an invitation to 'lean not on my own understanding' and find wisdom in the way of paradox" (pp. 22-23).
She discovered that paradox ran through the pages of scripture, that Christian orthodoxy is full of and, beginning with the incarnation, this idea that the Son of God came to earth, fully God, and also fully human. If paradox is at the heart of the nature of the Lord we trust and follow, might we look for God in the and, rather than insisting on answers to either-or questions. This paradox also suggests that we find the spiritual in the material, the living God in the stuff of everyday life. It also suggests that to conform to God's ideal for our lives, is to live fully the "one wild and precious life" that is ours, expressing in our own uniqueness, the image of God in our lives.
She goes on to explore three other paradoxes. There is the paradox of the kingdom, which is already here and not fully come, where the least are the greatest, where we both give lavishly and enjoy lavishly what we are given, and where strength takes the form of vulnerability whose crowning hour is the cross. Grace confronts us with other paradoxes. Treasured, yet not for any personal excellency. Finding favor when the wrath we deserved falls upon his favored Son. Michel writes, "We don't get grace because we change our lives--but our lives are indelibly changed because we get grace. Finally there is lament, the raw, unvarnished plea to God of people in pain that God has not shielded them from, that is a paradoxical kind of faith. It takes God seriously enough to become angry, to speak with blunt honesty rather than pretty pieties when what has happened in one's life doesn't square with our understanding of who God is.
Michel is a compelling author, one who can relate the depths of theology to teaching her daughter to drive, and her need for grace. She weaves scripture, teaching of the theological "greats," contemporary realities, images, and personal stories into a narrative that sings and helps us examine with fresh eyes what we thought we knew down pat, helping us by asking, "did you notice this and this?"
A friend once observed that when we try to get rid of the tensions in our faith, or our lives by getting rid of one side of the tension to focus on the other, we make life simpler, but also smaller and more confined. Jen Pollock Michel invites us to live with paradoxes, and to celebrate the ands of God. She proposes that this opens us up to mystery, to surprise, and to the depth of the riches of knowing our God and what it means to live in the and of his purposes, to experience how grace transforms our work, and how our laments in all their perplexity may be among the most robust acts of faith. What might this "third way" mean as Christians are present to a world mired in "either-or?"
________________________________
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
Whether it is schism in the church, political divides, or just a good old marital conflict, the parties often have defined things sharply in either-or terms, one way or another. Jen Pollock Michel explains how she began to look for a third way, and to write this book. A family member had been lying to her, repeatedly. She described her dilemma to her counselor.
"...I needed light for groping my way out of this tunnel with two exits: should I suffer lying or sever the relationship?
'What if there's a third way?' she asked gently. Her language sounded like a struck bell, especially because 'third way' language was something my spiritual director often used with me. It was as if here was yet another invitation to find a sure-footed way on some undiscovered path--to find and where I had previously imagined only either and or. Here was an invitation to 'lean not on my own understanding' and find wisdom in the way of paradox" (pp. 22-23).
She discovered that paradox ran through the pages of scripture, that Christian orthodoxy is full of and, beginning with the incarnation, this idea that the Son of God came to earth, fully God, and also fully human. If paradox is at the heart of the nature of the Lord we trust and follow, might we look for God in the and, rather than insisting on answers to either-or questions. This paradox also suggests that we find the spiritual in the material, the living God in the stuff of everyday life. It also suggests that to conform to God's ideal for our lives, is to live fully the "one wild and precious life" that is ours, expressing in our own uniqueness, the image of God in our lives.
She goes on to explore three other paradoxes. There is the paradox of the kingdom, which is already here and not fully come, where the least are the greatest, where we both give lavishly and enjoy lavishly what we are given, and where strength takes the form of vulnerability whose crowning hour is the cross. Grace confronts us with other paradoxes. Treasured, yet not for any personal excellency. Finding favor when the wrath we deserved falls upon his favored Son. Michel writes, "We don't get grace because we change our lives--but our lives are indelibly changed because we get grace. Finally there is lament, the raw, unvarnished plea to God of people in pain that God has not shielded them from, that is a paradoxical kind of faith. It takes God seriously enough to become angry, to speak with blunt honesty rather than pretty pieties when what has happened in one's life doesn't square with our understanding of who God is.
Michel is a compelling author, one who can relate the depths of theology to teaching her daughter to drive, and her need for grace. She weaves scripture, teaching of the theological "greats," contemporary realities, images, and personal stories into a narrative that sings and helps us examine with fresh eyes what we thought we knew down pat, helping us by asking, "did you notice this and this?"
A friend once observed that when we try to get rid of the tensions in our faith, or our lives by getting rid of one side of the tension to focus on the other, we make life simpler, but also smaller and more confined. Jen Pollock Michel invites us to live with paradoxes, and to celebrate the ands of God. She proposes that this opens us up to mystery, to surprise, and to the depth of the riches of knowing our God and what it means to live in the and of his purposes, to experience how grace transforms our work, and how our laments in all their perplexity may be among the most robust acts of faith. What might this "third way" mean as Christians are present to a world mired in "either-or?"
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
May 1, 2021
I loved this fresh look at the paradoxes of the Christian faith and the challenge it offered me to dive into understanding where I could and accepting the mystery where I can’t. I have an appreciation for paradoxes and find so many in my own life. As I’ve aged, I’ve become more comfortable holding two seemingly contradictory truths about myself, knowing that both can exist in the same space. Those things are just part of what makes me, me. This book taught me the same thing about points of faith. The Savior, who is God AND man. The gift of grace AND the work that follows it. Throughout the book, Michels uses her beautiful writing style and robust theology to guide the reader not to black and white answers, but more profound questions. To understand, as the tag line says, the promise of and in an either-or world.
May 13, 2019
Wild extremes live on the bandwidth that comprises Christian faith. At one end of the scale are those who believe scarcely a thing at all, but even this is not as frightening to me as those on the end of the spectrum who have God all figured out. With algebraic precision, they are able to reduce God to his component parts. Their certainty factors out mystery and puts unyielding parentheses around an orthodoxy with no room for questions–and no surprises.
In Surprised by Paradox: The Promise of “And” in an Either-Or World, Jen Pollock Michel asserts that biblical faith “abides complexity rather than resists it.” (4) She wonders aloud about doubt and certainty, humility and hope, and then settles into the examination of four themes in Scripture in which paradox abounds:
1. Incarnation: God and Man
Nowhere is God’s delight in both/and over either/or more apparent than in the truth that the incarnate Christ was fully God AND fully man. This is a mystery that defies logic, and it invites believers to delight in our own duality. We are intensely physical beings with appetites and space/time limitations that anchor us in the quotidian and the earthy. And yet, our spirits commune with The Spirit, our souls will live forever, and we have been created in the image of an unseen God who is wholly spirit.
The incarnation brings unity to the spiritual and the material, the secular and the sacred, and we find, to our great surprise that “in Jesus Christ, we are more unimpressive than we ever dared admit, more glorious than we ever dared dream.” (57)
2. Kingdom: Plain Truth and Mystery
Jesus wasted no time in announcing that he represented another kingdom, far removed from the Roman Empire or the religious hierarchy of Judaism. Reading his story with the Kingdom of God in mind uncovers “the scope of God’s ambitions. He wills to reign. And he will reign over more than human hearts.” (71)
However, it is clear that the righting of our upside down world which began with Christ’s resurrection is not readily apparent and often seems completely missing in a world so larded through with suffering and injustice. In the meantime, those with little find their places alongside those blessed with much, and we all trust for grace to do life with those who don’t look like us, who vote in ways we find scandalous–and who are positively indispensable in our process of learning to set our hope fully in Jesus alone.
3. Grace: Rest and Response
If God had bones, grace would be in his deepest marrow. This is good news, for how else would any of us find our way into relationship with the Most Holy?
The paradox of grace lies in God’s requirement for obedience and his rejection of legalism; the gift of hard words delivered with love; and the invitation to rest while carrying his yoke. The reality of grace means spiritual disciplines that look like work and feel like deprivation are the very thing that clear the channels for grace to flow freely into our lives.
4. Lament: Howling Prayer and Confessing Faith
North American Christians with our lives of relative ease rely heavily upon inspired words for our language of lament. There we find faithful Jeremiah pausing dead center in Lamentations to gulp air, declare God’s faithfulness, and then resume his tearful mourning over lost Jerusalem. Habakkuk and Job sing testy songs of impatience with God’s slow mercy, and psalms of lament read like “nasty letters to the editor.” (155)
Ironically, it is only those whom we trust and value who will receive the brunt of our anguish, disappointment, or rage. We affirm belief in a God who is there by railing at him when he feels absent. Our forays into lament keep sorrow from unraveling into despair.
God’s promise of And in this Either/Or World means that “just because it can’t be explained doesn’t make it false.” (24) The dissonance we feel when we bump into God’s inscrutable ways is an invitation to worship and to find, buried within the struggle to understand, the gift of wonder.
Many thanks to InterVarsity Press for providing a copy of this book to facilitate my review, which, of course, is offered freely and with honesty.
In Surprised by Paradox: The Promise of “And” in an Either-Or World, Jen Pollock Michel asserts that biblical faith “abides complexity rather than resists it.” (4) She wonders aloud about doubt and certainty, humility and hope, and then settles into the examination of four themes in Scripture in which paradox abounds:
1. Incarnation: God and Man
Nowhere is God’s delight in both/and over either/or more apparent than in the truth that the incarnate Christ was fully God AND fully man. This is a mystery that defies logic, and it invites believers to delight in our own duality. We are intensely physical beings with appetites and space/time limitations that anchor us in the quotidian and the earthy. And yet, our spirits commune with The Spirit, our souls will live forever, and we have been created in the image of an unseen God who is wholly spirit.
The incarnation brings unity to the spiritual and the material, the secular and the sacred, and we find, to our great surprise that “in Jesus Christ, we are more unimpressive than we ever dared admit, more glorious than we ever dared dream.” (57)
2. Kingdom: Plain Truth and Mystery
Jesus wasted no time in announcing that he represented another kingdom, far removed from the Roman Empire or the religious hierarchy of Judaism. Reading his story with the Kingdom of God in mind uncovers “the scope of God’s ambitions. He wills to reign. And he will reign over more than human hearts.” (71)
However, it is clear that the righting of our upside down world which began with Christ’s resurrection is not readily apparent and often seems completely missing in a world so larded through with suffering and injustice. In the meantime, those with little find their places alongside those blessed with much, and we all trust for grace to do life with those who don’t look like us, who vote in ways we find scandalous–and who are positively indispensable in our process of learning to set our hope fully in Jesus alone.
3. Grace: Rest and Response
If God had bones, grace would be in his deepest marrow. This is good news, for how else would any of us find our way into relationship with the Most Holy?
The paradox of grace lies in God’s requirement for obedience and his rejection of legalism; the gift of hard words delivered with love; and the invitation to rest while carrying his yoke. The reality of grace means spiritual disciplines that look like work and feel like deprivation are the very thing that clear the channels for grace to flow freely into our lives.
4. Lament: Howling Prayer and Confessing Faith
North American Christians with our lives of relative ease rely heavily upon inspired words for our language of lament. There we find faithful Jeremiah pausing dead center in Lamentations to gulp air, declare God’s faithfulness, and then resume his tearful mourning over lost Jerusalem. Habakkuk and Job sing testy songs of impatience with God’s slow mercy, and psalms of lament read like “nasty letters to the editor.” (155)
Ironically, it is only those whom we trust and value who will receive the brunt of our anguish, disappointment, or rage. We affirm belief in a God who is there by railing at him when he feels absent. Our forays into lament keep sorrow from unraveling into despair.
God’s promise of And in this Either/Or World means that “just because it can’t be explained doesn’t make it false.” (24) The dissonance we feel when we bump into God’s inscrutable ways is an invitation to worship and to find, buried within the struggle to understand, the gift of wonder.
Many thanks to InterVarsity Press for providing a copy of this book to facilitate my review, which, of course, is offered freely and with honesty.
July 31, 2019
I honestly don't know how to review this book so I'll leave a few thoughts.
The book is more spiritual formation than it lets on. However it is no where in the same class as Liturgy of the Ordinary: Sacred Practices in Everyday Life. Again, the author will barely discuss paradoxes in the Bible (one of my favorite subjects). Rather, it's more about moving beyond "either/or" situations.
The writing is good, but it's not as fluid. It's like she's writing an article for TGC instead of a personal spiritual formation book.
The section on grace was by far the best.
Ultimately I could have lived without reading it and I'm not too much better off reading it. While it is deeply quotable, nothing seems to stick.
Three stars.
The book is more spiritual formation than it lets on. However it is no where in the same class as Liturgy of the Ordinary: Sacred Practices in Everyday Life. Again, the author will barely discuss paradoxes in the Bible (one of my favorite subjects). Rather, it's more about moving beyond "either/or" situations.
The writing is good, but it's not as fluid. It's like she's writing an article for TGC instead of a personal spiritual formation book.
The section on grace was by far the best.
Ultimately I could have lived without reading it and I'm not too much better off reading it. While it is deeply quotable, nothing seems to stick.
Three stars.
July 31, 2019
In Jen Pollock Michel's third book, we see this author pulling on themes she explored in her first two books, but this time from a posture of wonder, awe, and mystery. She doesn't write about paradox from "the other side," as someone who used to be confused about how two seemingly opposite issues could coexist ... but now she's the expert who understands. Instead, Michel takes readers by the hand and walks them through a world where paradox is everywhere, into a faith that seems to thrive on paradox, and toward a God who saved the world through the paradox of his Son Jesus. This book asks more questions than it offers answers, diving into topics like suffering and grace and even our role in a kingdom built by God. Fans of Michel's earlier books will find another feast here, and those new to her work will find this a welcome introduction.
May 21, 2019
Simple and profound writing--a paradox in itself! I've loved Jen's writing ever since her first book, and she's only getting better, more succinct, more practical. Post-modernists and millennials will warm to the concept of paradox. Fundamentalists might be disturbed by it because it allows for truth beyond propositions.
To my strong tendencies to extremes and all-or-nothing way of living, Jen offers a gentle invitation to consider another way of looking at life, people, and God. It's freeing, beautiful, and true.
To my strong tendencies to extremes and all-or-nothing way of living, Jen offers a gentle invitation to consider another way of looking at life, people, and God. It's freeing, beautiful, and true.
May 13, 2019
In consideration of God, his ineffable world and ways, Jen Pollock Michel begins where most of us leave off: once we’ve given every possible answer to why and how divine realities and worldly complexities (paradoxes!) are what they are, we finally admit mystery--or “paradox”--as though admitting loss in Logic’s cruel game. Pollock Michel, on the other hand, repositions paradox from logic’s end to its beginning. Paradox here is not the unfortunate final word but an opening better word (or “posture”) which rightly positions us to see, hear, and receive God’s Word and world in all the rich complexities each offers. Put differently, she begins by presupposing that paradox is built in to the world as God has given it, and this opens us up to receive rightly and appreciate more fully the wonder of our great God and the world He’s made.
May 1, 2019
Jen once again produced an excellent text for much reflection in "Surprised by Paradox." I was expecting this book to be a pleasurable read (I wish I could write like her!). What surprised me was just how riveting it was. I couldn't put it down! I'm already looking forward to reading it again in order to ruminate on the subject matter more fully. Jen writes with such depth and passion. She seems to have such ease in weaving beautiful word pictures to help bring to life theological concepts that could be onerous to consider if penned by a less gifted author. In our polarized world of black and white, Jen forces us to step back and ponder the possibility that there is perhaps more nuance and uncertainty than we would like. But that in the midst of our questions, we will discover a deeper, more reverent love for our Triune God, who cannot be fully comprehended nor narrowed down to serve our simple minds.
While I could share more quotes than the characters permitted here, this one was gold:
"Maybe the mystery of suffering isn’t only that this world could be so fragile; maybe it’s also that God could be so close, bending his ear to the earth to let every grieving heart crawl inside and find rest. Not answers, but comfort. Not certainty, but trust. And perhaps this is enough to tide us over till the dawning of a new world when the heavy boots of death are sent straight to hell and everything fragile is made unbreakable again, where falling becomes rising and faith becomes sight."
While I could share more quotes than the characters permitted here, this one was gold:
"Maybe the mystery of suffering isn’t only that this world could be so fragile; maybe it’s also that God could be so close, bending his ear to the earth to let every grieving heart crawl inside and find rest. Not answers, but comfort. Not certainty, but trust. And perhaps this is enough to tide us over till the dawning of a new world when the heavy boots of death are sent straight to hell and everything fragile is made unbreakable again, where falling becomes rising and faith becomes sight."
June 2, 2019
This book was exactly what I needed exactly when I needed it. The most life-giving book I have read in quite some time.
January 28, 2021
Exactly the type of conversation I want to be having with my Christian friends: what if we're inclined to make things too simple but also too complicated? What if the answers are both / and instead of either / or?
The discussion of Incarnation, Kingdom, Grace, and Lament leads to a concluding epilogue about wonder and worship. Wish I had multiple copies of this to give away, particularly to my grieving friends, who would be blessed by the chapters on lament.
The discussion of Incarnation, Kingdom, Grace, and Lament leads to a concluding epilogue about wonder and worship. Wish I had multiple copies of this to give away, particularly to my grieving friends, who would be blessed by the chapters on lament.
December 10, 2020
This was a wonderful book that prompted me to think deeply about issues of faith. There were great theological insights on the incarnation, the kingdom of God, grace, and lament. If you're looking for a Christian book to really sink your teeth into, this is it!
May 1, 2019
In the book Surprised by Paradox, Jen Pollock Michel examines four of the different paradoxes that are a part of the Christian faith. She argues that we need to learn to be comfortable with the word "and" when it comes to describing what we need and that accepting paradox does not mean that we are doubtful. Rather, it is a way to embrace the complexity of Christianity. I found the sections on grace and lament to be the strongest towards supporting the arguments of the book. Both of these sections deal with important paradoxes that are often overlooked on one side or the other in American evangelicalism. Michel supports her arguments with Scripture and thinkers both ancient and modern. I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in a deeper study of how the seeming paradoxes of Christianity can actually lead us into a deeper faith.
December 30, 2019
Jen Pollock Michel is both an astute writer and theologian. One of the things I love about her is that she takes a familiar concept or passage of Scripture and then turns it inside out and upside down so that we can understand it more deeply. In the process, she empowers us to ask hard questions and wrestle with our faith. Her third book, Surprised by Paradox, invites readers to explore the mystery of believing in a God who cannot be contained or controlled. She believes that if we’re willing to embrace the paradoxes of a now but not yet God, our faith will become more robust and compelling—and I totally agree. Don’t miss this book!
May 14, 2019
Surprised by Paradox is an invitation into the mystery and largeness of a God that is intensely knowable while so far beyond human comprehension. Michel brings a depth of theology and scholarship to the apparent contradictions of the Christian faith without losing touch with what makes that faith personal. I appreciated that she drew us into a place of wrestling with faith without giving easy answers.
May 13, 2019
Surprised by Paradox by Jen Pollock Michel is quite an interesting book. I thought this book would be really interesting from reading the description when the publisher sent over the excerpt of the book to join the book launch team. When I read the description, I sort of ignored the title. I didn’t think much of the book. It was not until I was invited to join the launch team that I realized the book was called Surprise by Paradox. The words surprise and paradox do not seem positive. When sharing those sentiments in with the book launch team, Jen asked about why the words are negative and off-putting. For surprise, I personally don’t appreciate surprises. I like to know what is going to happen and when. Paradox is such an off-putting word. The very nature of the word tells me to be contradictory to what is the truth and what I know.
The book was so good. It brought up many different things that caused me to think through many things. I really enjoyed the first chapter a lot. It’s hard to boil down the good parts of this book. I highly suggest reading it. There are so many different paradoxes that Jen brings up throughout this book. If I were to tell you one paradox in this whole book that really was enjoyable is the Great I And.
"The incarnation is God's burning bush: a mystery demanding a closer look" (24)- this is a really interesting idea. Not something that I would have ever thought about. It makes sense though with the knowledge that Moses did go up to the burning bush to check it out. I would say the incarnation is something that causes me to see the paradox of "The Great I And". The use of Psalm 19 in this chapter was done really well. I think that it is used well because it shows evidence for the incarnation of God being a burning bush.
I really appreciated and enjoyed the lines “In the incarnation, God embraced contradiction in his own being and sustained tension in his own flesh. The incarnation suggests to God’s people the holy possibilities of and, this little word that rests at the bottom of every paradox” (28). The paradox of Jesus being fully God and fully man as he became incarnate to walk with humanity is both a contradiction and tension.
I highly recommend this book and I am so thankful for the opportunity to have had the opportunity to be a part of this book launch team. The theology of paradox is complex and not very easy to understand. It is not something that I am afraid of but something that I really want to dive into further. There are so many different paradoxes throughout the scriptures. I received an advance reader copy of this book from the publisher Intervarsity Press for my honest review of this book.
The book was so good. It brought up many different things that caused me to think through many things. I really enjoyed the first chapter a lot. It’s hard to boil down the good parts of this book. I highly suggest reading it. There are so many different paradoxes that Jen brings up throughout this book. If I were to tell you one paradox in this whole book that really was enjoyable is the Great I And.
"The incarnation is God's burning bush: a mystery demanding a closer look" (24)- this is a really interesting idea. Not something that I would have ever thought about. It makes sense though with the knowledge that Moses did go up to the burning bush to check it out. I would say the incarnation is something that causes me to see the paradox of "The Great I And". The use of Psalm 19 in this chapter was done really well. I think that it is used well because it shows evidence for the incarnation of God being a burning bush.
I really appreciated and enjoyed the lines “In the incarnation, God embraced contradiction in his own being and sustained tension in his own flesh. The incarnation suggests to God’s people the holy possibilities of and, this little word that rests at the bottom of every paradox” (28). The paradox of Jesus being fully God and fully man as he became incarnate to walk with humanity is both a contradiction and tension.
I highly recommend this book and I am so thankful for the opportunity to have had the opportunity to be a part of this book launch team. The theology of paradox is complex and not very easy to understand. It is not something that I am afraid of but something that I really want to dive into further. There are so many different paradoxes throughout the scriptures. I received an advance reader copy of this book from the publisher Intervarsity Press for my honest review of this book.
July 19, 2021
I started reading this book thinking it was an IVP Academic release, but it isn't. And I actually found this book to be quite enriching.
This book works more (at least for me) as a devotional book than anything else. Michel has a writing style that is very engaging and easy to read. She covers many different and important topics in the Christian life in her short chapters, divided into four parts: Incarnation, Kingdom, Grace, and Lament. The organization is reminiscent of Jesus's life, but is largely unstructured, given the theme of paradox.
I especially enjoyed the balanced chapters on Grace, and the discussion questions. If only every book had reflection questions like these...
However, I found it quite odd in general that this book was about "paradox." Firstly, the theme is not present in some chapters, and most other chapters that have the theme mentioned seems forced. The idea of "paradox" doesn't seem natural to the book.
Secondly, the idea of "paradox" doesn't seem natural to the life of a Christian. To be sure, in the modern climate of evangelicalism, your "faith journey" often means your "doubt journey," and "faith" rarely means "certainty." And thus the foreword, introduction, and conclusion all seem to have an agenda to crusade against the idea of theological certainty. But biblically, and historically, faith has always meant "certainty." Not an empirical or a inductive certainty, but a certainty founded on the objective Word of God and the testimony of the Holy Spirit.
I also have a few reservations on the section on Lament, mainly about the nuances on calling God a "Suffering God." Additionally, I would have appreciated a fuller treatment on Christian joy, especially given the end of Jesus's life is his exaltation: resurrection, ascension, and heavenly session. Instead, Michel decided to categorize resurrection as a topic for "lament"!
But overall, the book is not meant to iron the wrinkles of theological nuances, but that's not the purpose of devotional books anyways. Michel adequately treats most topics, and gives a lot of food for thought for spiritual growth. Despite this book's wrinkles, I will definitely return to it in the future.
This book works more (at least for me) as a devotional book than anything else. Michel has a writing style that is very engaging and easy to read. She covers many different and important topics in the Christian life in her short chapters, divided into four parts: Incarnation, Kingdom, Grace, and Lament. The organization is reminiscent of Jesus's life, but is largely unstructured, given the theme of paradox.
I especially enjoyed the balanced chapters on Grace, and the discussion questions. If only every book had reflection questions like these...
However, I found it quite odd in general that this book was about "paradox." Firstly, the theme is not present in some chapters, and most other chapters that have the theme mentioned seems forced. The idea of "paradox" doesn't seem natural to the book.
Secondly, the idea of "paradox" doesn't seem natural to the life of a Christian. To be sure, in the modern climate of evangelicalism, your "faith journey" often means your "doubt journey," and "faith" rarely means "certainty." And thus the foreword, introduction, and conclusion all seem to have an agenda to crusade against the idea of theological certainty. But biblically, and historically, faith has always meant "certainty." Not an empirical or a inductive certainty, but a certainty founded on the objective Word of God and the testimony of the Holy Spirit.
I also have a few reservations on the section on Lament, mainly about the nuances on calling God a "Suffering God." Additionally, I would have appreciated a fuller treatment on Christian joy, especially given the end of Jesus's life is his exaltation: resurrection, ascension, and heavenly session. Instead, Michel decided to categorize resurrection as a topic for "lament"!
But overall, the book is not meant to iron the wrinkles of theological nuances, but that's not the purpose of devotional books anyways. Michel adequately treats most topics, and gives a lot of food for thought for spiritual growth. Despite this book's wrinkles, I will definitely return to it in the future.
June 7, 2025
Love the concept and appreciated the spirit. All knowledge of God and the world is knowledge of a necessary paradox. What Michel underscores is the idea that, as opposed to constructing knowledge around binaries, which sets all truth in necessary opposition, we should instead think in terms of the "and." When we swap the "and" in and take out the "either-or" that tends to govern much of how we see and experience God and the world, God and the world suddenly comes into greater clarity.
We know paradox intuitively, we simply resist it because the tension creates the illusion that truth is being compromised. For example, we might expect that if God were true there would be no suffering in the world. Because there is suffering in the world God cannot (exist, be good and loving, ect). When we say instead that God exists/is good AND that there is suffering in the world, that naturally reframes the question(s) and hands us different syllogisms regarding where we locate the truth of things.
It should be said, this is not a book about apologetics. It's a book using observations about how we see and experience the world to explore something it sees to be inherently true- all knowledge is paradoxical by its nature. It then uses this to speak to its target audience, which would be struggljng evangelical Christians. For me, this does create a slight bubble that prevents it from pushing even further with some of its applications and implcations- this comes with that paradox, ironically, of both seeking to uphold orthodoxy while giving us a framework through which to guard against dogmatism and embrace the questions (so that's not necessarily a knock). But I think the freedom it affords to apply this pattern, this framework, to all aspects of life and knowledge is both compelling and welcome.
We know paradox intuitively, we simply resist it because the tension creates the illusion that truth is being compromised. For example, we might expect that if God were true there would be no suffering in the world. Because there is suffering in the world God cannot (exist, be good and loving, ect). When we say instead that God exists/is good AND that there is suffering in the world, that naturally reframes the question(s) and hands us different syllogisms regarding where we locate the truth of things.
It should be said, this is not a book about apologetics. It's a book using observations about how we see and experience the world to explore something it sees to be inherently true- all knowledge is paradoxical by its nature. It then uses this to speak to its target audience, which would be struggljng evangelical Christians. For me, this does create a slight bubble that prevents it from pushing even further with some of its applications and implcations- this comes with that paradox, ironically, of both seeking to uphold orthodoxy while giving us a framework through which to guard against dogmatism and embrace the questions (so that's not necessarily a knock). But I think the freedom it affords to apply this pattern, this framework, to all aspects of life and knowledge is both compelling and welcome.
May 14, 2019
If a pat answer has ever left you wanting, this is the book for you. In place of a faux optimism or grim stoicism, Jen Pollock Michel suggests a turn towards hopeful faith in the God who subsumes the contradictions.
"My interest is in the crooked lines, the irregular shapes, the open circles—which is to say, not the proofs but the problems."
"My interest is in the crooked lines, the irregular shapes, the open circles—which is to say, not the proofs but the problems."
August 10, 2020
This was a compelling book on the tension that we face as believers. There are paradoxes to our faith that we must learn to wrestle with as a means to knowing God more deeply. I particularly loved her section on lament. “Lament tells us there are complaints worth raising, and God’s suffering assures that someone hears.” This entire chapter on “A Suffering God” reminds the reader of Hebrews and our sympathetic high priest. Such an encouragement.
August 30, 2022
Alas, I borrowed this book from library, so I could not highlight passages. However, I copied out numerous quotes into my journal.
I recommend this book as a worthwhile and thoughtful Faith-based read. I love the author’s heart for God and others, her compassion, her call to lament well and to slow down and live a life of wonder.
I recommend this book as a worthwhile and thoughtful Faith-based read. I love the author’s heart for God and others, her compassion, her call to lament well and to slow down and live a life of wonder.
October 19, 2019
This is one of the best books I've read in 2019. Jen Pollock Michel looks at the idea of paradox in 4 areas of Christian faith - grace, the Kingdom, lament and the incarnation. Her language is stunning and profound and she communicates the mystery and beauty of the Christian faith in ways that are relevant and accessible for everyday people. I am recommending this book to so many people as it recognizes the tension so many of us feel in faith - but instead of drawing us away, draws us closer to Jesus and encourages a real, beautiful, messy faith.
December 4, 2019
I do not finish many books and want to reread very few.
This one I finished and will read. Her incredible writing style challenged me.
But the paradox of thinking about “and” caused me to rethink connections in my life and in scripture.
This one I finished and will read. Her incredible writing style challenged me.
But the paradox of thinking about “and” caused me to rethink connections in my life and in scripture.
November 3, 2019
This is a wonderful book! Refreshing, encouraging, challenging, and full of faith.
Highly recommended.
Highly recommended.
April 29, 2019
Today's Evangelical church displays a preference for easy, simplistic, often dogmatic answers to complex problems. We consistently favor, as Jen puts it, certainty over mystery. As I've spent time encountering both God's Word and the deeper, difficult experiences of life, I've often found myself wondering if the solution I've held as set in stone is sufficient to answer to the full scope of Scripture and life. Timidly, in the secret places of my heart, I've whispered, “What is there's more to this…?”
In Surprised by Paradox, Jen begins the complicated but freeing process of raising those awkward questions, stretching our hearts and minds to consider an AND answer to what has always seemed like an either/or problem. Rather than relying on proof texts or “chirpy” answers, Jen unflinchingly investigates those very passages that seem, at times, most at odds with each other. Deftly weaving in experiences from her own life, she connects the depth of scripture with the depth of human experience.
Because Jen asks questions but doesn't always answer them, this book is an invitation, an open door, the first mile of a journey towards a generous, beautiful, heart-healing wonder of the One who authored Scripture and fashioned the heart.
In Surprised by Paradox, Jen begins the complicated but freeing process of raising those awkward questions, stretching our hearts and minds to consider an AND answer to what has always seemed like an either/or problem. Rather than relying on proof texts or “chirpy” answers, Jen unflinchingly investigates those very passages that seem, at times, most at odds with each other. Deftly weaving in experiences from her own life, she connects the depth of scripture with the depth of human experience.
Because Jen asks questions but doesn't always answer them, this book is an invitation, an open door, the first mile of a journey towards a generous, beautiful, heart-healing wonder of the One who authored Scripture and fashioned the heart.
May 4, 2019
Surprised by Paradox resonated deep in my soul. I push back against books that try to put God in a neat little box or explain Him in a three-point outline because God is so much bigger than that. The Bible and creation reveal much about His character, but we can never understand Him completely with our puny human minds. Jen Pollack Michel wrestles with four key mysteries of God: incarnation, kingdom, grace, and lament. While she sheds much light on each topic, she doesn't claim to know all the answers. Instead, she asserts that paradox can form humility in us, bringing us to our knees because we have a God much bigger than we can comprehend.
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