A gorgeously written and compelling investigation into what it means to strike up a friendship with the Living God.” — James Martin, SJ, author of Jesus: A Pilgrimage
“The images Lauren introduces me to in Wearing God have stayed with me, enriching my prayers and broadening my view of God. I love her writing, and this book is no exception.” — Shauna Niequist, author of Bread & Wine
“In Wearing God—a book both winsome and erudite—Winner convenes a salon of saints and biblical writers to reveal that God is much more than just Shepherd or King and far more interesting than we thought.” — Fred Bahnson, Wake Forest University School of Divinity, author of Soil and Sacrament: A Spiritual Memoir of Food and Faith
“Lauren’s curiosity about the life of faith is so compelling—and her intelligence so engaging—that there is nothing more satisfying than settling down with a new book from her. The only problem is that it is impossible to read her without being changed; so advance at your own risk.” — Barbara Brown Taylor, author of Learning to Walk in the Dark
“Combining spiritual insight and beautifully descriptive prose . . . Winner looks at the ways God can be known through the everyday and familiar. [Her] honest, charming reflections stir the imagination and invite the reader to explore . . . the treasure trove the Bible provides.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“If Christianity is to regain its credibility, or even its positive character, people are going to have to read books like this! Winner opens up Scripture in ways that are loyal to the Great Tradition, and yet readable, faith-filled, and applicable to the world we actually live in.” — Richard Rohr, O.F.M., author of Falling Upward
“Lauren Winner explores less familiar biblical descriptions of God and how each shapes the way we think about who God is. Wearing God is a warm, playful reflection that not only expands our understanding of God, but also highlights the delicate interweaving of language and imagination.” — Relevant Magazine
“With her trademark acerbic wit and wry honesty, Winner delves into a few seldom used biblical images for God. . . . A mixture of anecdotes and thought-provoking analysis, Wearing God proves a wise and appealing companion on the journey.” — Shelf Awareness
“Provides a playful and thoughtful excursion into fresh ways of seeing and savoring the Divine in the unfolding of our ordinary lives.” — Spirituality & Practice
” [An] appealing book . . . a thoughtful mediation on God, spirituality, and the fabric of life.” — Booklist
“Lauren Winner’s Wearing God is playful, serious, informative, devotional, and as important as it is gratifying. . . . I read it with the sort of joy one feels when watching someone utterly hit their stride.” — Christian Century
“Winner is a gifted writer (and a voracious reader).” — The Charlotte Observer
“[These] metaphors clarify and inspire. Winner, no iconoclast, has painted us some pictures worthy of veneration.” — Aleteia
“This book begs to be savored, to be revisited, to be slept with, prayed over, and pondered.” — RevGals
Winner parses centuries of people trying to make sense of God [and] deploys her lively spiritual imagination and bookworm sensibility to take us beyond cliché and into new territory. . . . She sees invitations to consider mystery where many of us see only a wall. — The Rumpus.com
In Wearing God—a book both winsome and erudite—Winner convenes a salon of saints and biblical writers to reveal that God is much more than just Shepherd or King and far more interesting than we thought.
The images Lauren introduces me to in Wearing God have stayed with me, enriching my prayers and broadening my view of God. I love her writing, and this book is no exception.
With her trademark acerbic wit and wry honesty, Winner delves into a few seldom used biblical images for God. . . . A mixture of anecdotes and thought-provoking analysis, Wearing God proves a wise and appealing companion on the journey.
Lauren’s curiosity about the life of faith is so compelling—and her intelligence so engaging—that there is nothing more satisfying than settling down with a new book from her. The only problem is that it is impossible to read her without being changed; so advance at your own risk.
A gorgeously written and compelling investigation into what it means to strike up a friendship with the Living God.
Lauren Winner explores less familiar biblical descriptions of God and how each shapes the way we think about who God is. Wearing God is a warm, playful reflection that not only expands our understanding of God, but also highlights the delicate interweaving of language and imagination.
If Christianity is to regain its credibility, or even its positive character, people are going to have to read books like this! Winner opens up Scripture in ways that are loyal to the Great Tradition, and yet readable, faith-filled, and applicable to the world we actually live in.
” [An] appealing book . . . a thoughtful mediation on God, spirituality, and the fabric of life.
Provides a playful and thoughtful excursion into fresh ways of seeing and savoring the Divine in the unfolding of our ordinary lives.
Lauren Winner’s Wearing God is playful, serious, informative, devotional, and as important as it is gratifying. . . . I read it with the sort of joy one feels when watching someone utterly hit their stride.
[These] metaphors clarify and inspire. Winner, no iconoclast, has painted us some pictures worthy of veneration.
Winner parses centuries of people trying to make sense of God [and] deploys her lively spiritual imagination and bookworm sensibility to take us beyond cliché and into new territory. . . . She sees invitations to consider mystery where many of us see only a wall.
Winner is a gifted writer (and a voracious reader).
This book begs to be savored, to be revisited, to be slept with, prayed over, and pondered.
” [An] appealing book . . . a thoughtful mediation on God, spirituality, and the fabric of life.
★ 02/09/2015
Duke Divinity School professor and writer Winner (Still) combines spiritual insight and beautifully descriptive prose as she explores some of the more obscure biblical metaphors for God. This is not a book about God as king, shepherd, father, or judge. Rather, Winner looks at the ways God can be known through the everyday and familiar: a beloved sweater, the smell of a loved one’s shirt, morning-glory muffins. Weaving together intimate reflections and scholarship, Winner demonstrates how metaphors can deepen an understanding of God. She is at her best showing how language has political and social consequences. In a chapter about God as smell, she considers the historical connection between smell and virtue and suggests that we might better serve others if we remember that Jesus “was a sometimes homeless man who... surely sometimes stank.” Elsewhere, she asserts that the image of God as a laboring woman can remind us of vulnerability in the same way the Crucifixion does. Winner’s honest, charming reflections stir the imagination and invite the reader to explore not just the metaphors she has chosen, but the treasure trove the Bible provides. Prayers and quotations promote further contemplation. Agent: Carol Mann, Carol Mann Agency. (Apr.)
