God Who?

Written partly as a journal of her own spiritual questions and discoveries, Sarah Coleman’s God Who? considers the many different ways in which God can be described. Coleman wrote the book while studying at Walla Walla College (Washington, USA). Now she’s 23 and God Who? sits on the shelves of Adventist Book Centres. So the book should be readily accessible to young adults who might identify with the struggles of a peer.

It’s been promoted as this year’s devotional for young adults, but only partially succeeds.
God Who? is evident of a trend in much of the young adult writing from the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s United States–based publishers and writers.
The formula goes something like this: spend most of the thousand words relating an alternatively happy or tragic story—preferably from personal experience—and then attach a moral or spiritual conclusion.
Thankfully, Coleman does this better than most and the formula fits the style of a devotional book. However, the depth of the questions—“Does God exist?” “What is God like?” “How can I trust God?”—means they can’t be answered with an amusing anecdote and a brief paragraph or two of spiritual moralising. It’s easy to read, but doesn’t leave much to ponder.

The 44 short chapters each consider God and the nature of God. Each consists of a story from Coleman’s own experience—or, occasionally, a story from the Bible—leading to a brief discussion then a selection of “reference point” Bible texts. These provide much-needed weight to her exploration of God.
Coleman’s experiences of working as a counsellor with young people at summer camps are a highlight. And she gives real personalities to some of the Bible characters whose names have become clichés.
However, the most disappointing aspect of God Who? can be summarised by C S Lewis who, while reflecting on his own book, A Grief Observed, said it was about himself, his wife and God, in that order, when really the order should have been reversed. This is a danger of semi-autobiographical writing. The reader should be more interested in God Who? than Sarah Who? when reading this devotional.
The subjective nature of Coleman’s musings can imply a similar subjectivity to her conclusions, thus excluding the reader from her answers. Nothing against Coleman personally—she has some interesting stories to tell and has reached some worthwhile conclusions—but there is a danger of losing the bigger focus and wider application.

God Who?, Sarah Coleman, Review and Herald Publishing Association, Hagerstown, Maryland, 1999, softcover, 192 pages. Price: $A20.75; $NZ27.95. Available through Adventist Book Centres