I'm trying to determine how to review non-fiction books. I'll do and introduction and a summary (hitting the highlights and giving background on the author/authors). Then I'll offer specific criticisms (both positive and negative) and wrap it up with an overall review.
Introduction
I just finished this book. It's non-fiction, and I guess would fall into a Christian reading category though it carries some of the "change is needed" tones of a Self-Help book (without any of that nonsense about how "you are the only key").
I'm fairly anxious about purposefully Christian non-fiction, because all too often Christian readers of a "Christian Book" and immediately assume the following:
- every fact is inarguable
- every opinion is Biblical
- The author(s) have done a great deal of research on all they say (Biblical and otherwise)
- Because these other things are true I should adopt this book and it's statements into my lifestyle without further questioning.
The sad truth is that not every "Christian" author, regardless of intent, has given their all to making sure that the views they espouse are in tune with what the Bible actually says. Often they take what they think the Bible says in a general or thematic fashion and write, "from the heart," with that generality or theme as a guide. This method often leads to ignoring the glaring inconsistencies between what they wrote and what the Bible says.
I say all of that to bring up this point, when Paul wrote 1 Thessalonians he charged his readers with this instruction, "Do not put out the Spirit's fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to what is good. Avoid every kind of evil. (5:19-22)." We are called as disciples to be certain that all teachings we come across that paint themselves as Christian are tested. Whether it is Rob Bell or John Piper, C.S. Lewis or Shane Claiborne, Brian McLaren or Francis Chang, every book, article, sermon, devo, chapel talk or Bible class lecture should be stood up against the scriptures. They should all be weighed, measured, and, if they are found wanting, those doctrines expressed which are found in contradiction to the Bible's guidance must be treated with extreme caution and skepticism.
I call this perspective "Christian Skepticism." The only truths we can cling to are those which the Bible speaks to authoritatively. We should avoid rationalizing modern and post-modern philosophical ideals as part of the Christian way of life. No matter how empowering, motivating, politically logical, or right sounding, a statement, book, philosophy, or idea may seem, if it stands contrapositive to God's will as expressed in Scripture we cannot accept it as anything more than extra-biblical conjecture.
Oh and as a final note: just because they reference scripture doesn't mean they reflect what it teaches. Please be an informed consumer. I hope you enjoyed my PSA, now on with the review.
Summary
Where it started:
The book focuses on data taken from a survey done by the Barna Research Group. They were commissioned by the Fermi Group (founder Gabe Lyons) whose goal is to help Christians understand how they are seen by those outside of the so-called "Christian Bubble." As a Harding student hearing about this book from my English professor, Heath Carpenter, and what it represented in it's data, I knew I needed to read it.
David Kinnaman, the lead researcher on this project and long time friend and former coworker of Lyons, leads us through the data with his interpretations of the data's meaning. Several methodologies were used to compile this data, including: phone surveys, sit down interviews and online surveys.
The Data:
Participants in these studies (performed in 2007) were divided into the categories based on their responses to a demographic portion of each survey. The first of the primary categories are the "outsiders" (those not currently considering themselves to have an active relationship with Christ) they include atheists, agnostics, and all adherents to other religions. The second grouping is that of the "Born-Again Christians," defined as those who describe themselves as having made a "personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their life today, and who also indicated they believe that when they die they will go to heaven because they have confessed their sins and accepted Jesus Christ as their savior." The primary focus of the surveys was on the perspectives of those falling in the Mosaic (those born between 1984 and 2002) and Buster (those born between 1965 and 1983) generational groups.
The Findings:
After some introductory work defining what you can see above, we get to the findings of the surveys. Without tossing out every anecdote and interpretation, the findings were that Christians are:
- Hypocritical
- Too stuck in a "Get Saved!" mentality
- Anti-Homosexual
- Sheltered
- Too Political
- Judgmental
I'm not going to pick apart each of these arguments in my review since, for the sake of this work, these are not the authors arguments. The author's argument is that, in general, these perceptions represent an unChristian (hence the title) way of interacting with outsiders and a change must be made if Christians are to have a chance at meaningful interaction with outsiders (more on that in the next section).
Chapter Structures:
Each chapter that addresses one of the 6 perspectives begins with:
- a quote of one of the outsiders surveyed relevant to the perception being discussed
- a definition of a the current perception
- a definition of a new perception for which we should strive
That's the end of this first segment. I plan to conclude the review with an entry for my criticisms and overall review/final thoughts.
-matt
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