Books

Musings that Swirl

Searching for God Knows What: Stimulating ideas about the Christian life.

Searching forGod KnowsWhat Donald Miller Thomas Nelson, 256 pp., $13.99

Like a shaken snow globe, Donald Miller’s newest collection of essays creates a swirl of ideas about the Christian life that eventually crystallize into a lovely landscape.

Miller (Blue Like Jazz) writes of his disillusionment with “the old God of easy answers, the God who was always wanting me to be rich or wanting my country to be better than other countries,” and his embrace of a God who is “so incredibly other.”

His sometimes-acid observations range from the church to Santa Claus, and along the way he makes his case for the balcony scene of Romeo and Juliet as Christian allegory. He also writes movingly about war, makes offbeat observations on Jesus’ personal traits (he was ugly, he was kind, he was God), and expresses a concern that faith in America has been “hijacked” by the issues of abortion and gay marriage.

Miller is one of the evangelical book market’s most creative writers. Readers tend to have strong reactions to Miller’s writing (for and against) and this stimulating book is sure to provoke discussion.

Cindy Crosby is the author of By Willoway Brook: Exploring the Landscape of Prayer (Paraclete, 2003).

Copyright © 2004 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Related Elsewhere:

An excerpt from Searching for God Knows What is also posted today.

Searching for God Knows What is available from Christianbook.com and other book retailers.

More information is available from the publisher.

More about Donald Miller, his books, and a short music video is available from his website.

A review of his earlier book, Blue Like Jazz, as well as a Dick Staub interview with Miller is posted on our website.

Also in this issue

The CT archives are a rich treasure of biblical wisdom and insight from our past. Some things we would say differently today, and some stances we've changed. But overall, we're amazed at how relevant so much of this content is. We trust that you'll find it a helpful resource.

Cover Story

The Emergent Mystique

Opportunity Denied

Ken Walker

Defending Our Neighbor

Emergent Evangelism

Brian McLaren and Duane Litfin

Editorial

Fill an Empty Cradle

A Christianity Today Editorial

Editorial

For Whom Would Jesus Vote?

A Christianity Today Editorial

Hope for Abraham's Sons

Journalism for Jesus

David Karanja in Nairobi

Mutual Mayhem

Craig Keener

Dangerous Meditations

Douglas Groothuis

Parsing Pop Lyrics

Reviewed by Cindy Crosby

News

Quotation Marks

The Way of Salvation

Compiled by Richard A. Kauffman

The Chinese Church's Delicate Dance

Why I Apologized to Planned Parenthood

Jemila Monroe

Winking at Corruption No More

Tony Carnes

Security Gaffes

Bob Smietana

Praying for Terrorists

Dawn Herzog Jewell

News

Passages

By CT Staff

News

<em>Christianity Today</em> News Briefs

By CT staff

News

Go Figure

Wire Story

TBN Under the Microscope

Religion News Service, staff reports

Review

Good News from the Doctor

Jeff M. Sellers

Q & A: Bobby Welch

Rubber Sharks and Real Kids

The Politics of Stem Cells

Interview with C. Christopher Hook

News

Hurt by Success

By Rob Moll

Silencing Rights Talk

Sue Sprenkle

Serious Love

Reviewed by Cindy Crosby

The Virtue of Vulnerability

Reviewed by Cindy Crosby

Back to the Basics

Obed Minchakpu in Jos

Bad Believers, Non-Believers

Breaking Covenant

Kenneth D. MacHarg in San José, Costa Rica

Can This Institution Be Saved?

Tim Stafford

View issue

Our Latest

Where Your Heart Is, There Your Habits Will Be Also

Elise Brandon

We won’t want to change until we know why we need to and what we’re aiming for.

My New Year’s Resolution: No More ‘Content’

Kelsey Kramer McGinnis

I want something better than self-anesthetizing consumption.

Plan This Year’s Bible Reading for Endurance, not Speed

J. L. Gerhardt

Twelve-month Genesis-to-Revelation plans are popular, but most Christians will grow closer to God and his Word at a slower pace.

The Bulletin

The Bulletin Remembers 2025

Mike Cosper, Clarissa Moll, Russell Moore

Mike, Russell, and Clarissa reflect on 2025 top news stories and look forward to the new year.

Strongmen Strut the Stage

The Bulletin with Eliot Cohen

Shakespeare offers insights on how global leaders rise and fall.

The Russell Moore Show

My Favorite Books of 2025

Russell shares his favorite reads of the year.

Evangelism and All That Jazz

In 1966, CT reported on church activities but also on LSD, The Beatles, and the war in Vietnam.

Why The Body Matters

Justin Ariel Bailey

Three books on ministry and church life to read this month.

Apple PodcastsDown ArrowDown ArrowDown Arrowarrow_left_altLeft ArrowLeft ArrowRight ArrowRight ArrowRight Arrowarrow_up_altUp ArrowUp ArrowAvailable at Amazoncaret-downCloseCloseEmailEmailExpandExpandExternalExternalFacebookfacebook-squareGiftGiftGooglegoogleGoogle KeephamburgerInstagraminstagram-squareLinkLinklinkedin-squareListenListenListenChristianity TodayCT Creative Studio Logologo_orgMegaphoneMenuMenupausePinterestPlayPlayPocketPodcastRSSRSSSaveSaveSaveSearchSearchsearchSpotifyStitcherTelegramTable of ContentsTable of Contentstwitter-squareWhatsAppXYouTubeYouTube