#405. Saying, "The Bible" when asked what your favorite book is.
Sep 20th by Jon
If you ever ask me what my favorite book is and I say, “The Great Gatsby,” I’m sorry, I just lied to you. I didn’t mean to, it slipped out. I want to look smart but not weird obscure smart, so for a number of years, that was the answer I used to say.
The truth is that if favorite book is determined strictly by the number of times you have read a certain title, then mine is “Eye of the World” by Robert Jordan. It’s a fantasy series that my wife takes great pleasure teasing me about because there’s a white horse on the cover that looks like a unicorn. It’s not a unicorn, it’s a majestic white horse about to embark on an adventure of epic proportions where friends will become enemies, enemies will become friends and the fate of the world will hang in the balance of one young farm boy that … see, I’m a dork.
I should say “Bible” when someone asks me what my favorite book is. That’s what you’re supposed to say if you’re a Christian. But everyone knows that, what about the harder questions? What do you say when people ask you the desert island question or the “who would you have dinner with” question? What then? How do you navigate that conversation? I suggest the following answers:
1. What are your two favorite books?
“The Old Testament and the New Testament.”
2. Right, but what about other books?
“CS Lewis.” (Regardless of if you have ever read any, just name drop Lewis. Works like a charm.)
3. OK, how about fiction?
“Chronicles of Narnia or Lord of the Rings. This Present Darkness is pretty good too.”
4. What about favorite movie?
“That’s a tie between the Passion of the Christ, Facing the Giants and Braveheart. The TBS edited version of course.”
5. What would you take with you on a desert island?
“The Bible and CS Lewis.”
6. He’s dead though.
“Not on this island he isn’t.”
7. Fine, then what three people living or dead would you go out to dinner with? And don’t say Jesus, you’re going to spend eternity with him, surely you can go get baby back ribs with someone else.
“That’s a tough one. How about Moses, Paul and Zack Morris.”
8. Zack Morris isn’t real. That’s just a character played by Mark Paul-Gosselaar on the show Saved by the Bell.
“Why does that matter? In this dinner scenario you’re bringing Moses and Paul back to life, why can’t Zack Morris come? And not “College Years,” Zack Morris, I’m talking about when he was at Bayside High. That Zack.”
9. That’s absurd. This whole quiz has broken down. I’m not even sure where it’s going.
“Good, then I win.
10. Win, win what?
“The Bible.”
See, if you just follow those easy steps and answer the questions that way, not only will you get to look holy, you’ll get to talk about CS Lewis and Zack Morris while concluding with “The Bible.” It’s a pretty nice little package when you think about it.
Comments
The best favorite book answer by far would have to be Joyce’s Finnegan’s Wake. Get a group of friends together and spend some time reading aloud from Finnegan’s Wake = guaranteed hilarity.
Jon, this post made me rofl all over the place.
LOL
I haven’t said, “The Bible,” in response to that question in a while…
I usually say, Ezekiel and James… haha
The Bible is so… show-offy. I mean, i read my Bible everyday… but, if i want one of those books that just speaks to my heart and not only encourages me or convicts me, i concentrate on one or two areas
You should get gmail and leave yahoomail in the dust.
It allows searching so that you wouldn’t have misplaced the name of this brilliant post idea.
Robert Jordan books are great! I like that series. Two of my top 5 fave books are Stephen King novels…what does that say about my Christianity? I did write a college admissions essay (not to a Christian college) about having lunch with anyone I wanted and I wrote about Paul…I was accepted…
I agree saying “The Bible” is for the nobodies, a real hot shot says,
“My favorite book? Numbers is my favorite book yo.”
The Bible and The Purpose-Driven Life. …and the Da Vinci Code so I could burn it.
Number 6, that’s awesome. I’m really hoping that was a LOST ref so I can combine my true loves. Instead of just dropping little references now and then you should just come on out of the closet, you LOST fan you, and do a whole post on why Christians love LOST or any TV show/movie with potential theological discussion questions, or the possiblity for a book to be written about it, such as “What can be found in LOST” or that would make into a good Bible Study discussion group in the dorm rooms or greek houses.
My favorite book? I could come up with something like, “Oh I love God’s autobiography, you may have heard of it…The Bible?”
Saying “The Bible” is such a cop out. Really. The Bible in and of itself is a book of books or book of letters or poetry. It cannot really be defined as a book as it is really so much more than that. You don’t just sit down and read it straight through like a book. Most of it doesn’t really read like a book.
So, I also think saying “The Bible” to such a question is just trying to show that you have your “I am a Christian” name tag on.
Usually going for a C.S Lewis title scores pretty big as well.
another classic, jon. been reading your blog for a while now, but i can’t resist commenting on this because of two reasons:
1) because i know what The End of the World is and i actually have the book. and yes, i’m a dork like you, but i prefer to be called a geek. hehehe.
and 2) because whenever i’m asked what my favorite book is, amidst the almost one thousand books i have, i don’t reply “The Bible.” i say C.S Lewis’s “Mere Christianity” instead. hehehe.
Ok, I know I’m comment 152 about the Eye of the World, but…I own all 11 (so far) and re-read them (at least) yearly. I guess I’m a dork, too? That’s alright with me.
And my only question is – who is ASKING all of these questions? Is it someone I WANT to impress? Will it impress them more that my favorite book is the Bible, or, say, the entire cheat codes available for Halo3 or something?
Just wondering…
If I could travel anywhere in the world it would be on a tour bus to the Holy Lands
Eye of the World. Oh my, I never thought I’d see that here. Now you have to admit, that your wife probably gave you far more trouble for reading “Lord of Chaos” with its romance novel cover.
http://www.amazon.com/Lord-Chaos-Wheel-Time-Book/dp/0812513754/ref=pd_sim_b_4
I would take a book on how to survive on a deserted island with and bonus insert on raft building… hello?!
Well now great…Mere Christianity and This Present Darkness really are two of my favorite books…so now I feel like people won’t believe me when I say this! Although…I see this as a witnessing tool since mostly Christians only know about these two books…so when a non-Christian asks me the book question, I can tell them about these great Christian books!
I love the Zack Morris reference. Wasn’t expecting that. When I grew up I thought I was the only one who watched the show b/c nobody talked about it at school. As I got a little older, I found out that everybody did.
Saved by the Bell: The College Years and The Golden Palace (Golden Girls attempt at keeping the show alive) were definitely big let downs.
oh my word i just laughed so hard i cried!
Zack Morris! ha!
besides, everyone on Facebook knows you’re not a real Christian if you dont have the Bible listed 1st under Fav Books…duh
If you like the Wheel of Time series, you should try the Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin. The first book is A Game of Thrones. It rocks!
I know I'm posting way after I read this but I wanted to say not only did I laugh a lot, especially the Zac Morris reference, but it also made me think. I really liked the idea behind this post b/c of the self-imposed guilt some Christians will feel if they don't say, The Bible, when someone asks what your favorite book is. IMO, It is sometimes hard to ignore the temptation to judge someone when they answer that question w/a book you found offensive. That is why my thoughts must be taken captive, as the verse says, often, especially when I'm listening (whether audial or reading their words) to someone.
Side note: your message are starting to infiltrate my mind so much that something will happen in "real" life & I'll think of an SCL message. Too funny!
My high school mascot was a unicorn, so I like them. I am interested in reading “The Eye of the World” now.
To the fellow anonymous commenter that said “Spaceman Jones” above: did you mean “Starman Jones” (by Robert Heinlein)? I just finished listening to that on CD (half hour commute each way); have to agree, excellent yarn. As are his other books; some others I’ve listened to/read: Red Planet, The Rolling Stones, and of course The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.
+1 on WOT, LoTR, CSL, David Eddings – and Philip K. Dick (author of Minority Report and several other books/stories that have been made into movies).
Thanks to people that made recommendations: added to my list. It’s a long list, but I’ll get through it eventually.
Jon, I just wanted to let you know that I got Eye of the World to read based on your recommendation. My friends found out about it and informed me that it’s a book for nerds- like the stay home and play D&D in the basement kind. I don’t know how they came off thinking that I’m not a super nerd like that… But I feel like a SCL social martyr.
Youre welcome.
I’ll let you know what I think of it when I’m done reading it.
[...] that by now, you really don’t ever read my blog or my twitter. and i’m not one of those people who name drops Lewis just to sound more Christian. for some odd reason, the way he writes [...]
Zack Morris! Bwa ha ha ha!