Favorite Book about Religion

Because Blankets by Craig Thompson was his catalyst for telling his family about his shift in religious beliefs, we are telling you about our favorite books about religion.

I considered a few different options for this one. One was American Gods by Neil Gaiman, but I used that as my favorite fantasy. Another was God, No! by Penn Jillette, but I haven't actually finished that book. Which brought me to Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, which I mentioned in my list of all-time favorite books.

The basic plot is that the antichrist is born, and things get wacky. The angel Aziraphale (on the black cover) and the demon Crowley (on the white cover) are stuck on Earth to keep an eye on things for each "side."

It's funny - if you appreciate British humour - and it's clever, and it's just a fun, new approach to the apocalypse.

My favorite book... is a little unconventional.  But, really, you should come to expect that from this blog by now.  If we were conventional, we'd be boring.

Ok, so I know that there are ALL sorts of opinions about Anne Rice and her books and especially the ending because she basically turns into a crazy religious person.  But, despite all that, I really liked Memnoch the Devil.

I have a fascination with people's idea on the after life.  I LOVE reading about how they think it will be and Rice actually paints an incredibly interesting and practical portrait.  God is not an almighty benevolent being.  He's actually kind of an elitist jerk.  And Satan is not the horrible, awful guy that you think he is... he actually says things that make a certain sort of sense.

And his fall from grace?  Because he wanted to know more about humans, the creation that God loved so much.  So, he became one.  And when God found out, he punished Satan (or, Memnoch, as he's called in this.)

Only a select few get into heaven, despite the fact that Memnoch feels the gates of heaven should be open to many.  Instead, everyone lingers in a weird purgatory, never ascending to heaven but not being condemned to hell. 

I like the book because it's more about Memnoch than it is about Lestat.  It's back story, but it's backstory about someone we've never met.  We don't get drawn into Lestat's drama really, or his ridiculousness.  I like the book because not only is it a break from the normal, it's an INTERESTING break from the normal.  It's less about vampires and more about religion.