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Book Review Archives
Title: Through the Eye of a Needle
Author: Carol Harper
Publisher: Tate Publishing
Copyright: 2007
ISBN: 978-1-5988686-5-4
Genre: Christian Living/Autobiography
Book Size: 121 pages
Reviewer: Dee Yoder
Available Through:
Tate Publishing
Amazon
From the first paragraph to the last, Carol Harper honestly relates her journey out of the Mormon Church and into Christianity. She boldly speaks her mind about problems she saw in the Latter Day Saints Church, as well as the flaws that exist in many Christian churches.
The first fifty pages of Through the Eye of a Needle tell of her awakening to the thought that something was wrong within the Mormon religion--a religion in which she had been raised as a child and had freely embraced as an adult. Her life as a young adult was filled with Mormon events, and she was well-known and established within the music world of the Mormon Church.
The opening pages of the book contain an informal exegesis of Matthew 19:16-20, the story of the rich young man who came to Jesus and asked what he must do to be saved. While I appreciated the author's reasoning for beginning her book this way, it did distract me. I kept wondering when the gist of her story about leaving Mormonism was going to begin.
Chapter two begins the story of her exit from Mormonism, and for the most part, it is an intriguing journey to read. The author relates how her husband was the first to express his dismay after discovering information on the internet that led him to wonder about the Mormon Church. From the moment she finished reading the material her husband handed her, she knew their lives would change forever. Carol then started a journey of her own to find Jesus--the true Jesus--that would allow her, unlike the rich young man, to slip through the eye of the needle to the path of redemption.
Carol's search for authenticity in Christian churches is covered in many of the middle pages of her book, and the last fifty or so pages are focused on Carol's thoughts about Christianity. There are controversial statements in the last half of Through the Eye of a Needle, and many Evangelical Christians, especially, will take exception to these statements.
The author's insistence that the books of the Old Testament are books that belong to Jews (and she is not Jewish) and the books after Acts in the New Testament are books that belong to Catholics (and she is not a Catholic) will have traditional Christians shaking their heads. She firmly asserts that the Gospels are the books that quote Christ and show Christ as the best way for Christians to grow and serve. It puzzled me to read her views about the Old Testament, in light of the fact that Jesus himself quoted Old Testament Scriptures.
Though many of her statements about how the world could get on better if we'd apologize instead of going to war, had me flummoxed by their over-simplicity and seeming blindness to the tricks of Satan, I recognized a sincere heart in the writing. Her honesty in the belief that the love of Christ, shown through His people, could bring a troubled and hurting world to peace is an outcome that many have prayed for through the centuries.
Carol Harper's book is written in an engaging style and with good grammatical aptitude. She knows how to tell her story, and she does so with firm resolve.
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