Morbid Romantic

Book Review & Personal Blog

Title: Refined in the Furnace of Affliction
Author(s): John McCulloch
Genre: Nonfiction – Memoir
Tags: memoir, religion, christianity, disability
Finished: March 1, 2009
Rating: 1 Star

Refined in the Furnace of Affliction is a personal memoir, written by John McCulloch. According to the product information, the book is about one family’s struggle to overcome personal obstacles after one of the children born suffers an accident and is rendered blind. Through faith and through devotion to God, the McCulloch family finds peace in this and in their lives as a whole.

Let me say first off that I am not religious. However, I feel that there is wisdom in everything, especially in experience. And even if I don’t have a personal relationship God or practice a religion, I still find inspiration in the experiences of others. It’s uplifting to read about hope and love and togetherness regardless the reason for it. I’m not one of those anti-religion nonreligious people, that’s for sure.

So, I didn’t mind the religious nature of the book.

Though, there was a lot to mind.

The book information makes it seem as if this will be the story of the handicapped son, Johnny, and how his affliction impacted the family. I thought that the book would center around the various trials and tribulations of a family trying to come to terms with disability through faith in God. I found that this was not the case in Refined. The first half of the book is one fractured moment after another, details on matters that don‘t have any relevance to a fluid plot. Most of the first few chapters is about Mr. McCulloch’s experiences in the military and his moving from one national park to another, where he worked as a ranger and eventually a fire inspector. It took about half way into the book until anything really substantial regarding Johnny came up.

I was also put off by the whole bit of them communicating with or through the will of Jesus through tongues. It was a bit strange. Just as strange was their invoking of things like finding a lost wallet or stopping an attacking dog in the name of Christ. Still, I was impressed by their conviction. But the part that really got me was towards the end where the author makes a personal judgment about the morality of the world because we allow such things as homosexuality. I think that tolerance and acceptance go a long way. I also feel that if people want their beliefs and their lifestyles to be accepted, they need to extend the same respect to others. While throughout the book the McCulloch family seemed very giving, very generous and nice, the final expressions of intolerance shattered that view.

__________
Disclaimer(s):

- More can be found in my Reviews section or on my Biblio page. If you would like to see my book list for 2009, go here.

- If you would like me to review your book, send an email to me at morbidromantic@gmail.com. Read my Book Review Policy for more information.

Related posts:

1. Musing Mondays (04.20) Coming towards the end of April, we’re a third...
2. Book Review: The Kingdom of Matthias: A Story of Sex and Salvation in 19th Century America by Paul E. Johnson & Sean Wilentz Title: The Kingdom of Matthias: A Story of Sex and...
3. Book Review: The Wonder Singer by George Rabasa Title: The Wonder Singer Author(s): Georage Rabasa Genre: Fiction –...