In Holier Than Thou, Jackie Hill Perry embarks on the difficult task of trying to explain the holiness of God in language that innately sinful people can understand.
My Review of Holier Than Thou
God’s holiness is an attribute that all Christians need to spend time exploring. Many times, we like to focus on the fact that God is love while forgetting that He is holy, holy, holy.
Ms. Perry discusses the topic of God’s holiness mainly by exploring various aspects of God’s character to show how His holiness is expressed in His attributes.
The matter is worthy of contemplation by anyone who desires to know God more but I found Holier Than Thou difficult to read. If you’ve ever listened to Ms. Perry speak, you know that she’s very lyrical and poetic in the way she expresses herself. Holier Than Thou was true to Ms. Perry’s voice and while it’s beautiful to hear, it’s difficult to understand when reading.
Favorite Quotes from Holier Than Thou
Holier Than Thou points the reader back to Scripture and gives her material to contemplate as she strives to understand the holiness of God.
Here are some of my favorite Quotes from Holier Than Thou:
His holiness is what makes Him good, and loving, and kind, and faithful. Without holiness, God wouldn’t be beautiful, and so because of it, He is eternally attractive.
God’s attributes are so intricately interwoven, it’s impossible for us to separate a single one and make it independent of the others. To do so would rob God of the essence of who He is.
Sin at its core is selfish. Holiness at its core is self-giving.
This statement encapsulates the main difference between us and God: we are sinful while He is holy. Our natures are selfish while God is selfless.
As incomparable as God is, it seems to me that one problem with us humans is that we become so used to the idea of God that we treat Him as commonplace.
Sometimes in our quest to understand God and to connect with Him, we try to make Him like we are. Instead of us trying to be more like Him, we make Him more like us which makes God, or at least, or idea of Him, an idol.
Final Thoughts on Holier Than Thou
The subject of God’s holiness is one that is worth wrestling with and if you love reading poetry or lyrical writing, Holier Than Thou is a great way to explore that topic.
I received an advanced reader’s copy from the publisher through NetGalley; a positive review was not required.
About Holier Than Thou
If God is holy, then He can’t sin. If God can’t sin, then He can’t sin against you. If He can’t sin against you, shouldn’t that make Him the most trustworthy being there is?
Bestselling author Jackie Hill Perry, in her much-anticipated follow-up to Gay Girl, Good God, helps us find the reason we don’t trust God— we misunderstand His holiness.
In Holier Than Thou, Jackie walks us through Scripture, shaking the dust off of “holy” as we’ve come to know it and revealing it for what it really is: good news. In these pages, we will see that God is not like us. He is different. He is holy.
And that’s exactly what makes Him trustworthy. As it turns out, God being “holier than thou” is actually the best news in the world, and it’s the key to trusting Him.
Purchase Holier Than Thou on Amazon | Lifeway
About Jackie Hill Perry
Jackie Hill Perry is a writer, poet, and artist whose work has been featured on “The Washington Times”, “The 700 Club”, “Desiring God”, “The Gospel Coalition”, and other publications.
Since becoming a Christian in 2008, she has been compelled to use her speaking and teaching gifts to share the light of the gospel of God as authentically as she can.
At home, she is a wife to Preston and Mommy to Eden and Autumn.
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