Gum, Geckos, and God: A Family's Adventure in Space, Time, and Faith

by James S. Spiegel

James Spiegel never realized what challenges and adventures he would face in talking about God with his own children. Can we hug God? Will geckos go to heaven? Was Jesus fun to be around? Does God know how many spiders there are in all the basements in the world? These are just a few of the questions that Spiegel has fielded in conversations with his sons Bailey and Sam. Every devout Christian wants to understand God and his ways more fully. But even the fundamentals of faith are layered with profound mysteries. In his teaching and writing, Spiegel deals with these complexities every day. But nothing quite prepared him for the honesty, hilarity, and depth of revelation that he has found in conversations about God with his boys. Gum, Geckos, and God is fascinating and fun. As you read, you'll step into a new depth of Christian doctrine as you come to know and enjoy the Spiegel family and follow their journey of spiritual growth. Here is a uniquely incisive look into the most complex issues of faith in a way that's absorbing, engaging, and highly personal.

256 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2008

About the author

Jim earned a B.S. in Biology at Belhaven College in Jackson, Mississippi (1985). From there he turned his interests to Philosophy, earning two graduate degrees in the field, an M.A. at University of Southern Mississippi (1988) and a Ph.D. at Michigan State University (1993). After teaching for a year at Moorhead State University in Minnesota, he took a tenure-track position at Taylor University where he continues to teach a range of courses in philosophy, including ethics, history of philosophy, aesthetics, epistemology, philosophy of religion, and apologetics.

Over the years, Jim has authored numerous books and articles on issues in ethics, aesthetics, philosophy of religion, and popular culture, including the award-winning How to be Good in a World Gone Bad. In addition to teaching and writing, Jim speaks at colleges, professional conferences, and churches and is frequently interviewed for radio programs.

Jim is an active member of several professional societies, including the American Philosophical Association, the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics, the Society of Christian Philosophers, and the Evangelical Philosophical Association. He has refereed for numerous philosophical journals and served as editor of the Berkeley Briefs, the newsletter of the International Berkeley Society.

In addition to his scholarly work, Jim is a music enthusiast. He runs a recording studio out of his basement and has produced and engineered album projects for dozens of artists. He also records his own original music.

Reviews

[Chris]

Yeah, I mean this was fine. I'm always curious how others would break down the "wrongs" and "rights" of books like this, but I found much to glean. I felt like there were a number of times when I was challenged with something new or newish, and I can only hope some of it stayed in my head to simmer unbeknownst to me. If nothing else, I can appreciate how parenthood provides ample opportunity to bring forth life lessons. And how it can be helpful to be a little more confident and settled about life to properly provide those. And how desperately (disastrously?) far I am from this.

[Emily Fauble]

Though I usually enjoy reading novels, this was a refreshing non-fiction journey exploring faith and family in a fun and interesting way. I enjoyed it all the more because it was written by a professor and friend of ours from college who we had the privilege of being taught by, mentored by and interacting with him, his wife and his two older children when we living in Indiana. The book was very applicable to my life in many ways, both in my own spiritual walk right now and because I have young children with interesting questions about God, Heaven and other confusing spiritual things. I highly recommend it to anyone who has young children, wants some theological answers in simple terms or had Spiegel at Taylor U - or all three!

[Kevin]

My former Taylor University professor does a great job of using his interaction with his kids to explore some of the more profound questions of the Christian life.

This is not really deep philosophy or intense apologetics but Spiegel's ruminations do provide insights and encouragement on a number of difficult subjects from the nature of God and fear of death to heaven and salvation.

Any one with kids will appreciate this not only as a guide to some challenging questions but as a model for interacting with your kids when they ask those perplexing questions.

[Mattmiller]

Fun read. Makes you aware of the vast amount of opportunities we have to teach our children about God.

[Howard]

7

[Erika]

Cute read, and the conversations with the kids were amusing. He got me thinking of new things.