Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Pros: Brian McLaren and Tony Campolo addressing current issues that cripple the church with suggestions for alternative ways of belief and action.
Lots of topics. Easy to read, and one doesn't have to read it in a linear fashion because each chapter is basically self-contained.
Cons: It seemed like the authors were mostly talking past each other, or they didn't have enough room to adequately address each other's concerns. Point-counterpoint format is good, but I'd like to see it as a point-counterpoint-countercounterpoint discussion.
Lots of topics, but that was part of the problem. Not so much depth.
Still, I'd recommend it as a good introduction to the many ways of re-envisioning Protestant Evangelical Christianity.
Lots of topics. Easy to read, and one doesn't have to read it in a linear fashion because each chapter is basically self-contained.
Cons: It seemed like the authors were mostly talking past each other, or they didn't have enough room to adequately address each other's concerns. Point-counterpoint format is good, but I'd like to see it as a point-counterpoint-countercounterpoint discussion.
Lots of topics, but that was part of the problem. Not so much depth.
Still, I'd recommend it as a good introduction to the many ways of re-envisioning Protestant Evangelical Christianity.
I LOVE this book. If you are interested in theology and religion in todays society, this is a book for you. I thought it was really interesting how it point out a lot of the points that we generally miss.
McLaren and Compolo do a fantastic job of summarizing some of the greatest "missing the point" moments in churcheanity and they play well off each other, sweeping with broad brush strokes topics like the Kingdom, Theoloy, the Bible, the End Times, etc.
(forgive the stupid review...it's 6am, and I've been up all night)
This book didn't really give out any answers.
...and for once, I dont think that was the point of the book! (how refreshing!)
Rather, it broached on numerous topics Christians (and society at large) are facing, and offered up some new ways to view them, some questions to ask yourself, and a few tidbits to toss around in your mind.
Particularly interesting were the chapters on:
Salvation
Kingdom of God
The Bible
Evangelism
Homosexuality
& Doubt
I read a few comments from people saying that they thought the chapters were too short, or that they didn't really go in depth about the topics at hand. Personally, I think that's what made this book for me. They merely brought up a few topics, put out a few ideas on the topic, but then left you with those ideas to mull around and figure out what you believe for yourself. They provided a few different perspectives, but very few (if any) "absolutes", which I really appreciated.
As for the format...honestly, I thought it was a little goofy. At times, the other author would respond for, what felt like, merely the sake of responding, even when nothing much was added to the conversation. At other times, they would bring up the most obvious counter-points, to where it felt like they were missing the point of their own book- they weren't going in-depth about these topics, so it kind of amused me when one perspective wasn't really examined, and then during the response the other author would feel the need to come and point that out, and talk about how incredibly different it makes the entire argument.
Again- I think everyone reading this book is mostly aware that it seems to be more about starting a conversation with those around you, or even just your own self, rather than TEACHING, so it seemed a little silly to bring that up, imo.
This book didn't really give out any answers.
...and for once, I dont think that was the point of the book! (how refreshing!)
Rather, it broached on numerous topics Christians (and society at large) are facing, and offered up some new ways to view them, some questions to ask yourself, and a few tidbits to toss around in your mind.
Particularly interesting were the chapters on:
Salvation
Kingdom of God
The Bible
Evangelism
Homosexuality
& Doubt
I read a few comments from people saying that they thought the chapters were too short, or that they didn't really go in depth about the topics at hand. Personally, I think that's what made this book for me. They merely brought up a few topics, put out a few ideas on the topic, but then left you with those ideas to mull around and figure out what you believe for yourself. They provided a few different perspectives, but very few (if any) "absolutes", which I really appreciated.
As for the format...honestly, I thought it was a little goofy. At times, the other author would respond for, what felt like, merely the sake of responding, even when nothing much was added to the conversation. At other times, they would bring up the most obvious counter-points, to where it felt like they were missing the point of their own book- they weren't going in-depth about these topics, so it kind of amused me when one perspective wasn't really examined, and then during the response the other author would feel the need to come and point that out, and talk about how incredibly different it makes the entire argument.
Again- I think everyone reading this book is mostly aware that it seems to be more about starting a conversation with those around you, or even just your own self, rather than TEACHING, so it seemed a little silly to bring that up, imo.
This took me much too long to read. It had some interesting points, and it made me think, so I'd call that a win.
This was the first book I have read by Brian D. McLaren and found it really interesting. Gave me a lot to think about. I did like the back and forth between the two authors.