When God Talks Back Analysis

An increasing theme in T. M. Luhrmann’s book When God Talks Back is people of the Vineyard church claiming that God is their best friend. A best friend whom they can tell all their secrets too and who speaks back to them in their minds or through audible experiences. The author dives into a group of people that go to God for even the minutest issues in their life, from what color shirt they are going to wear to if they should take a new job. The churchgoers Luhrmann interacts with are a special breed of evangelists that claim that everyone can have God as their best friend. As a Christian one must question the morality of saying the Supreme Being is their best friend. Having a relationship with God and praying pales in comparison to these people that have “date night” and going out of their way to make sure every little thing in their life is ran by God. If “all things are good in moderation”, wouldn’t one believe the Vineyard
That God isn’t even fathomable by our human brains, and equating the Almighty as human is not right. The church I grew up in said that God is a Supreme Being that we cant comprehend and if we anthropomorphize God, we are bringing Him down to our level of human. The people of the Vineyard frequently speak of God like He is just a guy they hang out with. Giving God human characteristics of walking with them or consuming coffee is the exact act of making God humanlike. The author talks about them having to develop a relationship with God saying, “God does indeed become more person-like, the difference between knowing God and knowing persons will become more marked.” (71). Though they insure that the difference will become clearer, it doesn’t seem so for those described in the book. For a church like the Vineyard that prides themselves in their holiness, it is odd they would dismiss this major act of disrespect against their