This isn't what I expected. To be absolutely truthful I've been on the lookout for a really good novel that is deals with vampires in such a way as to teach the truth of the Gospel. Without going into all of that, however, let me get into this review. As I stated, this isn't what I expected. I expected a novel, not an expose of the works by Stephanie Meyer. Yet, since I had committed myself to writing a review I read the book so I could at least give the author a fair shot. Receiving a book and not doing a review in my opinion is stealing. So here I was with this piece of non-fiction and an obligation to both read and write a review. Not a good place to start. Beth caught me right from the start, however, with her clear, precise and humble take on the Twilight saga. Her writing was crisp, for the most part, and gentle. Not once did she say these works were "of the devil", which would have scored low with me. I went through that with the Christian rock bands of the 70s. People have to stop being religious and start being Christian, and that is exactly the way Beth Felker Jones handled this work, as a Christian. Without a desire to put down another author she felt the need to toss up several red flags and caution people, parents in particular, about the many errors found in Ms. Meyer's saga.Lessons to be learned. I have never read any of the Twilight saga, but feel that TOUCHED BY A VAMPIRE was fair in its treatment non-the-less. While it is all too familiar for a girl, or any high schooler, to feel ordinary, and therefore less than ordinary, we must see ourselves as God sees us, His creation. Would God have become a man and died for you if you were not special to Him? Of course not, and this is one of the key points in the book. We forget about the way God sees us, especially if we are Christians, and look to others for acceptance. That usually ends up blowing up in our face. For Bella it meant "falling in love" with a vampire to the extent that she gave up everything, including her soul, to become a vampire and live forever with her beloved Edward. Now, aside from the fact that Edward is not going to live forever, but must one day face judgment by the very God who now offers mercy, should give us pause. Although Meyer's vampires, as most vampires in novels, live to be centuries old, this does not mean they live forever. They do have an end. Their life is marked along a time line of past/present/future, just as yours and mine are. God, on the other hand, is eternal. He has no beginning, no end. He is not confined to a timeline, but in fact created the timeline for us. So if we trade God's love for the love of anyone else, even a vampire with extraordinary powers and long life, we are condemning ourselves to a fate that was reserved for the devil and his angels.
That is the overview. Beth Felker Jones goes further to show how such a love actually damages a person's day to day life. Probably my favorite section is where she lists symptoms of an abusive relationship and shows us how both Bella and Edward fit that profile. Moms, Dads, is this what you want for your little girl? Do you want her to grow up making wrong choices and ending up in abusive relationships? Spousal abuse is on the rise and Jones tells us why, we have no understanding of what real love is. We are told what love is supposed to be by movies, music, comercials, TV shows, and so on, but those people acting and writing those things haven't a clue as to what love is either, and yet they go on teaching others about how romantic love is an end in itself. I was reading her book and thought of something comediane Chanda Pierce said. "Here's this pretty young woman, doing all the cooking, cleaning and everything else for these seven dwarves, and she's singing. That's sick." She's right. That is sick. Find me a woman who joyfully picks up her husband's dirty laundry and cleans it, while simultaneously cooking meals, vaccuming the floor and changing diapers, and you've either found an extremely wonderful woman, or she's plain demented. Love is not about feelings. Oh sure we like the feelings that many times come with love, especially those first few years. True love is a commitment to someone other than themselves. Jesus spread out His arms and died on the cross because He loves you and He loves me. Why? There's absolutely no reason for Him to love us. Yet He chose to love us. That's the miracle. That's what true love is. That's what we should be teaching our children.
I give TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL, by Beth Felker Jones 4.75 stars, and that's only because it's a work of non-fiction. Had this been a work of fiction I would easily give it 5 stars. I have already given this book to 2 other people, one of them my pastor, because I felt it was just that good. So get your copy today. This is especially true if you have a young person in your home who has been intrigued by the Twilight saga. Use this book and Twilight to get them into the truth of God's Word and find His love. For that romance is never ending. Teach your children to become the bride the King of kings is coming for at the end of the age (which may be sooner than you think).
Although I was unable to find a website for Beth Felker Jones you can find her book on sale at the following websites.
ChristianBook.com
Amazon
Random House
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