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4.41 AVERAGE
4.41 AVERAGE
reneefranzen's review against another edition
5.0
A burning bush of a book. Critical to the moment we find ourselves living in, transcendent to the trendy deconstruction language, wise and Innately hopeful. Thank you Brian and Jesus. We hear you
david_rawls's review against another edition
5.0
In a world that has many followers but so few leaders and especially leaders who speak as prophets, Brian Zahnd is that prophet. The Christian church in America is a mess. It has fought the culture wars (something Jesus never called us to do) and if numbers are a sign of success we are losing. Zahnd speaks first to those who are either rethinking their faith or left their faith behind. His encouragement for this group is that the Christianity they have seen within our culture that caused them to leave is probably not the Christianity of Jesus. Zahnd is well versed in great Christian thinkers like Dostoevsky and Kierkegaard who have been able to help people see Jesus in beautiful ways while critiquing the church when it strays. Zahnd says the fires we see that are burning may just be the fires we need to burn down the structures and philosophies that the church has adopted. Out of these fires, something much more beautiful can immerge in which people who love Jesus will love the World and one another. Although Zahnd at times can be like the prophets of old who bring judgment he is also a saint who shows compassion to those who are wrestling with God. This is a great read.
itsautumntime's review against another edition
5.0
Favorite quotes:
The problem with the kind of certitude found in fundamentalist biblicism is that it truly is a disaster waiting to happen. You’re just one PBS science documentary from a deconstruction so severe that nothing remains of your Christian faith…At first glance it might appear that the move from fundamentalism to atheism is a tremendous leap of faith, but this may not necessarily be so. Fundamentalism and atheism are two sides of the same thin empiricist coin. And it’s why certitude is a disaster waiting to happen.
Mystical experiences are not foreign to scriptural tradition but are the norm within scriptural tradition. These mystics found in Scripture—and I only mentioned ten, there are many more—are witnesses to the possibility of mystical experiences in our own lives. If all we do is read about father Abraham and King David, the Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalene and never open our hearts to our own experiences, we have become history readers instead of God-seekers.
Christianity has suffered more casualties from faux faith than from honest doubt.
Being angry with modern people for losing their faith is like being angry with medieval people for dying of the plague.
I would much rather ground Christian faith on the beauty of Christ than on biblical literalism. Biblical literalism can be debunked by a college freshman, but the beauty of Christ can withstand the most formidable attack Nietzsche can muster.
When I speak with former Christians who have become atheists, I often ask them to describe the God they don’t believe in, and almost always I’m able to say, “I don’t believe in that God either.” If they say, “I can’t believe in a God who would eternally torture the vast majority of humanity just because they didn’t believe the right things,” I say, “I can’t believe in that God either, and I don’t believe that God exists.
I regularly tell my church that I don’t know of a single peer-reviewed scientific theory that is a threat to the Christian faith. All truth is God’s truth, and in the end, scientists and theologians are seeking the same thing.
When we follow the Jesus way, embrace the Jesus truth, and live the Jesus life, we are on the road to the Father’s house, the house of love. And do I believe that some, drawn by the Holy Spirit, are on this holy way without yet knowing the name of the way? Absolutely. They are what Karl Rahner called “anonymous Christians.”
In the name of biblicism, you can wind up defending sin. I’ve encountered fundamentalists backed into a biblicist corner attempting to defend the Bible by saying, “Sometimes slavery is a good thing” and “There were good masters.” And this was said in reference to American slavery! This is not defending the Bible; this is abusing the Bible! Regarding “good” slavery and “good” masters, James Cone writes, From the black perspective, the phrase “good” master is like speaking of “good” racists and “good” murderers. Who in their right minds could make such nonsensical distinctions, except those who deal in historical abstractions? Certainly not the victims! Indeed, it may be argued that the so-called good masters were in fact the worst, if we consider the dehumanizing effect of mental servitude. At least those who were blatant in their physical abuse did not camouflage their savagery with Christian doctrine, and it may have been easier for black slaves to make the necessary value-distinctions so that they could regulate their lives according to black definitions. But “good” Christian masters could cover up their brutality by rationalizing it with Christian theology, making it difficult for slaves to recognize the demonic. . . . The “good” master convinced them that slavery was their lot ordained by God, and it was his will for blacks to be obedient to white people. After all, Ham was cursed, and St. Paul did admonish slaves to be obedient to their masters. 6 When your biblical foundation requires you to defend the sin of slavery, it’s time to get a new foundation!
The problem with the kind of certitude found in fundamentalist biblicism is that it truly is a disaster waiting to happen. You’re just one PBS science documentary from a deconstruction so severe that nothing remains of your Christian faith…At first glance it might appear that the move from fundamentalism to atheism is a tremendous leap of faith, but this may not necessarily be so. Fundamentalism and atheism are two sides of the same thin empiricist coin. And it’s why certitude is a disaster waiting to happen.
Mystical experiences are not foreign to scriptural tradition but are the norm within scriptural tradition. These mystics found in Scripture—and I only mentioned ten, there are many more—are witnesses to the possibility of mystical experiences in our own lives. If all we do is read about father Abraham and King David, the Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalene and never open our hearts to our own experiences, we have become history readers instead of God-seekers.
Christianity has suffered more casualties from faux faith than from honest doubt.
Being angry with modern people for losing their faith is like being angry with medieval people for dying of the plague.
I would much rather ground Christian faith on the beauty of Christ than on biblical literalism. Biblical literalism can be debunked by a college freshman, but the beauty of Christ can withstand the most formidable attack Nietzsche can muster.
When I speak with former Christians who have become atheists, I often ask them to describe the God they don’t believe in, and almost always I’m able to say, “I don’t believe in that God either.” If they say, “I can’t believe in a God who would eternally torture the vast majority of humanity just because they didn’t believe the right things,” I say, “I can’t believe in that God either, and I don’t believe that God exists.
I regularly tell my church that I don’t know of a single peer-reviewed scientific theory that is a threat to the Christian faith. All truth is God’s truth, and in the end, scientists and theologians are seeking the same thing.
When we follow the Jesus way, embrace the Jesus truth, and live the Jesus life, we are on the road to the Father’s house, the house of love. And do I believe that some, drawn by the Holy Spirit, are on this holy way without yet knowing the name of the way? Absolutely. They are what Karl Rahner called “anonymous Christians.”
In the name of biblicism, you can wind up defending sin. I’ve encountered fundamentalists backed into a biblicist corner attempting to defend the Bible by saying, “Sometimes slavery is a good thing” and “There were good masters.” And this was said in reference to American slavery! This is not defending the Bible; this is abusing the Bible! Regarding “good” slavery and “good” masters, James Cone writes, From the black perspective, the phrase “good” master is like speaking of “good” racists and “good” murderers. Who in their right minds could make such nonsensical distinctions, except those who deal in historical abstractions? Certainly not the victims! Indeed, it may be argued that the so-called good masters were in fact the worst, if we consider the dehumanizing effect of mental servitude. At least those who were blatant in their physical abuse did not camouflage their savagery with Christian doctrine, and it may have been easier for black slaves to make the necessary value-distinctions so that they could regulate their lives according to black definitions. But “good” Christian masters could cover up their brutality by rationalizing it with Christian theology, making it difficult for slaves to recognize the demonic. . . . The “good” master convinced them that slavery was their lot ordained by God, and it was his will for blacks to be obedient to white people. After all, Ham was cursed, and St. Paul did admonish slaves to be obedient to their masters. 6 When your biblical foundation requires you to defend the sin of slavery, it’s time to get a new foundation!
persistent_reader's review against another edition
5.0
At the end of the day, is our faith built on what we believe about Jesus and Christianity or the person of Jesus Christ himself? Is our faith only cognitive or has it captured our hearts?
This book asks some hard questions to bring us back to what really matters, and that process requires a reexamination of the many beliefs and attitudes we have taken for granted as 21st century Christians. This may require their repair and renovation or even their demolition. But if we truly believe that Jesus is king and that the Spirit is at work in believers, then we can trust that what is real and true can stand the scrutiny and will remain though tried by fire.
This was one of the best books I've read this year. I'm so tired of a cold, intellectual Christianity with no heart. I'm tired of the love of God being doctrinalized out of the church in the pursuit of certainty. This book gave me hope. Not because the church will eventually get it right, but because the church belongs to Jesus.
This book asks some hard questions to bring us back to what really matters, and that process requires a reexamination of the many beliefs and attitudes we have taken for granted as 21st century Christians. This may require their repair and renovation or even their demolition. But if we truly believe that Jesus is king and that the Spirit is at work in believers, then we can trust that what is real and true can stand the scrutiny and will remain though tried by fire.
This was one of the best books I've read this year. I'm so tired of a cold, intellectual Christianity with no heart. I'm tired of the love of God being doctrinalized out of the church in the pursuit of certainty. This book gave me hope. Not because the church will eventually get it right, but because the church belongs to Jesus.
katiejo_92's review against another edition
5.0
This was beautiful. Yet another reminder that when all the religious things that once defined our faith have burned around us, Jesus remains, more believable than ever before.
lovelandk's review against another edition
2.0
Oof I didn’t like this book and I still need to process through why. I think the biggest issue for me is that Zahnd doesn’t seem to have experienced or have any deep empathy who have been crushed by the church. His analysis around deconstruction and reconstruction seems very intellectual and not experiential- and it ended up feeling like another shaming lecture I didn’t need.
parsonbrown's review against another edition
5.0
What do we do when everything is on fire, when the world around us, our belief systems, and even our faith seem to be on fire? That is a question millions are asking; whole generations are watching their world burn metaphorically and they are understandably fleeing the fire. But what if there is a more beautiful way? A way in which we see the fires as cleansing and making way for new life as a forest after a tragic fire. This is the direction Brian Zahnd takes us in his newest book When Everything's On Fire.
Many who have grown up in the church, especially in America, are awakening to the fact that the faith they received does not look like the faith or religion they experience in scripture. They are recognizing that the faith handed to them is often so wrapped up in national identity, economic systems, and partisan politics that it is a shadow of the faith they are seeking. This truth is a good reason for much of what they experienced to be burned to the ground to make way for a revival of faith which seeks trust in God rather than safety in empire.
The good news is that Zahnd guides us through the fires of what has been to a hope for what can be. He shines the light on the lie that doubt is an enemy of faith, that certitude is the substance of faith, and that Jesus wants us to be good and faithful citizens of a political party. Reaching into the ancient Chuch, we can see that doubt is a refiner of faith; that faith is a trust in a living and active God; and that certitude is that which obscures an honest and abiding faith. In guiding, Zahnd is pointing us toward the revival that so many pray for daily yet miss as it breaks out.
We are reminded that the Church should be a refuge for the hurting, the oppressed, those who we see as enemy, and the outcast. We are remined that Christianity is a religion based in the work and ministry of an active and living God who came as one of us to reveal his love for us. We are reminded that the Church is to be above the politics of the world and forge a different path than any human system; especially when it means laying down the power of this world to embrace the servant Lord.
Zahnd brings a hopeful message for the Church. A message in which we see a deep and abiding faith free of certitude and open to doubt and questions. One is which there is true freedom to ask, to struggle, and to refine that faith in the fires of a world that often appears to be on fire.
I highly recommend picking this book up. It is a hopeful look at the journey of discipleship and deeper faith.
Many who have grown up in the church, especially in America, are awakening to the fact that the faith they received does not look like the faith or religion they experience in scripture. They are recognizing that the faith handed to them is often so wrapped up in national identity, economic systems, and partisan politics that it is a shadow of the faith they are seeking. This truth is a good reason for much of what they experienced to be burned to the ground to make way for a revival of faith which seeks trust in God rather than safety in empire.
The good news is that Zahnd guides us through the fires of what has been to a hope for what can be. He shines the light on the lie that doubt is an enemy of faith, that certitude is the substance of faith, and that Jesus wants us to be good and faithful citizens of a political party. Reaching into the ancient Chuch, we can see that doubt is a refiner of faith; that faith is a trust in a living and active God; and that certitude is that which obscures an honest and abiding faith. In guiding, Zahnd is pointing us toward the revival that so many pray for daily yet miss as it breaks out.
We are reminded that the Church should be a refuge for the hurting, the oppressed, those who we see as enemy, and the outcast. We are remined that Christianity is a religion based in the work and ministry of an active and living God who came as one of us to reveal his love for us. We are reminded that the Church is to be above the politics of the world and forge a different path than any human system; especially when it means laying down the power of this world to embrace the servant Lord.
Zahnd brings a hopeful message for the Church. A message in which we see a deep and abiding faith free of certitude and open to doubt and questions. One is which there is true freedom to ask, to struggle, and to refine that faith in the fires of a world that often appears to be on fire.
I highly recommend picking this book up. It is a hopeful look at the journey of discipleship and deeper faith.
pizzamcpin3ppl3's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
siljer's review against another edition
Was reading on e-book and the library card it was under is expired and I need to come in in person to renew it :(