Jonathan Bryan

Nonetheless, God Retrieves Us: What a Yellow Lab Taught Me About Retrieval Spirituality Jonathan Bryan

With refreshing humor, a conversational style, and a blending of conventional and original thought, author Jonathan Bryan observes that we alienate ourselves from God and one another; nonetheless, God retrieves us. In exploring this paradox, Bryan examines several quandaries of religion such as the meanings of "God," where we came from, why things go wrong, how to find an overarching meaning of the Bible, the policies of the biblical God, what happens next, and what to do about all this. The answers, both challenging and interesting, lead to what Bryan calls a "retrieval spirituality." Bryan's whimsical observations of his Labrador retriever, Jocko, provide analogies for explaining that just as Jocko retrieves sticks, so does God retrieve us, invite us to return to God. And just like Jocko, God remains faithful to us through thick and thin. It's a perfect book for those whose hearts yearn for a richer spiritual life, for groups discussing God, the Bible, and spirituality, and for anyone exasperated with ordinary religious writings.