Reviews

Church of Cowards: A Wake-Up Call to Complacent Christians by Matt Walsh

cdjdhj's review against another edition

4.0

Conservative commentator and podcaster, Matt Walsh, who is also a traditional, conservative Catholic, critiques American Christianity and it's often unBiblical slide toward liberal thinking and practice. I have listened to Matt Walsh's podcast for a couple of years now, and I found the content of this book to be somewhat like the content of his podcasts. Walsh is strongly opinionated and not very kind and he can be downright offensive, but, in this book, he backs up his claims and arguments in this book with scriptures from the Bible and Christian philosophers and writers such as C.S. Lewis. I strongly agree with some of the things Walsh says, and strongly disagree with other things, but I gave the book 4/5 stars because I liked how Walsh presented his arguments, and I agreed with most of what he said.

a_kira's review against another edition

informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

Disappointed audio version was not narrated by Matt himself, especially considering he has his own show and podcast.

kawaiilotus's review against another edition

challenging informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

I normally don’t put 5 stars on book reviews because it takes a lot to get me to believe a book is deserving of all 5 of those stars, but boy was this book deserving and more.

I think this book brings up a lot of great points and really calls to attention how much society has strayed from what we were made for. We were made for Him, to follow in His steps, and to heed His word. And yet, society just does what’s easy and convenient nowadays. We fall away from Him, because following Him isn’t easy. It was never meant to be easy, life is suffering, but suffering brings about beauty. We need to be able to see that.

I definitely think every Christian should read this book and reflect on how they see their faith. It opened my eyes to things I was doing wrong, and ways that I can grow closer to Christ.

What’s important is that we see our mistakes and our sins and move on from them. We try again, and we climb to get closer to God.

mj470's review against another edition

5.0

This book really caught me off guard. I'm very familiar with Matt Walsh's rhetoric. While written in his typical inflammatory style I was surprised by how personal this book hits and reads. It is certainly damning for the casual practice of Christianity or spiritualism, but unlike other Walsh thoughts the solutions center around how to change yourself and become truly converted to Christ.

The book is very scripture heavy too which I found a very thoughtful counterpoint to his logical arguments.

I was also surprised by how easy it felt to read it's actually hard to put down. In many ways it reads like a more brutal C.S.Lewis, but at the same time I've never read anything like it.

joshkl24's review against another edition

5.0

At times, this is very in your face and confronts the somewhat lacks way we live out our Christian faith. It caused me to reflect on the churches’ lack of having a backbone and lack of conviction, which has lead to many of the current cultural issues we face today.

reaganwaggoner's review against another edition

challenging funny hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

kat387's review against another edition

5.0

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. That is not to say that I did not find it challenging and even infuriating at times, because I did. Matt Walsh has a firm understanding of what modern Western culture has done to our spiritual development, and as hard as it is to admit, we who consider ourselves "champions of Christ" are often a big part of the problem.

jordancore's review against another edition

5.0

Call duly noted

some_okie_dude27's review against another edition

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness." - Matthew 23:27-28

“Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.” Luke 20:46-47

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Matthew 7:1-2

Yeah, I think I'll be avoiding this...

jemmania's review against another edition

5.0

Everywhere I look around me I see cowardice. People have their way of dressing it up, they are happy to disguise it as virtue. They call it "non-judgemental", "passivism", or maybe "non-confrontational". They have nonsense cliches they hide behind like "whatever floats your boat", "don't yuck my yum", or "coexist". I've become very sensitive to it, its a trait in others that fills me with disgust.
I used to have a serious alcohol & drug problem. I was screaming for help for a long time, but no one who claimed to care about me wanted to "yuck my yum". Cowardice is so commonplace in today's society that when that rare person finally stands up & calls you on your bullshit, it is taken as hostility. My life has drastically turned around because I was able to accept loving judgement from that rare person. I strive to be that person for as many people as possible. This is a great book. Pick up your damn cross & grow the hell up, coward.