Book Review - UnChristian by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons

For anyone that has ever read any of my other posts, it should be pretty clear that one of my biggest issues is with modern day Christianity and how we practice it and present it beyond the four walls of our churches (and in some cases how we present it within those walls.) So, when I saw the book UnChristian at my local bookseller, I was instantly intrigued. And the fact that it was written by the president of the Barna Group and included three years worth of research made it all the more interesting.

The book itself is based, as I said, on three years worth of polls, surveys and interviews that were commissioned by Gabe Lyons, head of the Fermi Project and a co-author of the book. It looks at a half dozen or so common perceptions about Christianity (we're too judgmental, too political, too hateful etc.) and offers evidence for support as well as what our response should be. And while the concept for the book was excellent, it fell very short of what I expected in it's delivery.

First, let me say that statistics aren't really my thing. The only detail I really remember from my high school statistics class many moons ago was my teacher telling us that a statistic can say whatever you want it to say, and there is a lot of truth to that. For example, in a sermon I heard on Father's Day the pastor used a stat that said something like 85% of people in prison came from fatherless homes. And while that is certainly very striking, I was left wondering what percentage of all fatherless children end up in jail. Let's say you have 100 fatherless children, and three of them end up in prison with one person from a two parent home. 75% of the people in the prison are fatherless, however they make up only 3% of the total fatherless population. With all apologies for the quasi-statistics lesson, I hope you see my point.

That all being said, Kinnaman actually does a pretty good job of explaining how they qualified their questions and subjects so as to end up with the most accurate data possible. Of course, no matter the qualifications I always have a hard time believing that a couple thousand people could truly represent the entire population, but that's a whole other blog.

I guess my biggest issues with the book (outside my general mistrust of statistics) are form and function related. For what the book was billed as, I actually thought that there wasn't nearly enough data referenced. Each chapter included one or two charts showing the polling numbers for a particular topic, but they usually felt kind out out of place to me, as though they were just sort of forced in. And in other cases when the author was trying to make a point of his own, he would reference polls or data, but only briefly and with no numbers to back it up. I guess it just seemed to me that for all the massive research that was done, the book relied very little on the numbers and much too heavily on the authors own opinions on what we could do to change each perception.

Which brings me to my next issue. While Kinnaman may be a gifted leader and superb pollster, I think it may have been beneficial to leave the penning of the book to someone more accomplished. Not that I have any room to judge mind you, but I'm not writing a book, at least not yet and certainly not one of this potential importance. The points were a little disorganized and in some instances, such as the chapter on Christians being viewed as too political, I wasn't even sure what the point was. He also had a bad habit of making brief references, especially Biblical, while not providing any support or point of reference at all.

Thirdly, I had some issue with the essays at the end of each chapter. In addition to the research and the author's viewpoints, the book also relied on a group of twenty or so prominent figures in the religious community who wrote brief viewpoints at the end of each chapter in support of that particular topic. And again, while I applaud the concept I have to wonder who, if anyone, was editing the content of these essays. Don't get me wrong, there were a few that were excellent and on-target. But most seemed hurried, off-the-mark and worst of all, very self serving. Too many of them seemed to be nothing more than glorified advertisements for their own book, program or agenda. It was difficult to read at times.

There were a few other minor details that I might have liked to see changed, but nothing a major as what I mentioned. I might have liked to see the focus of the book expanded to include more than just 16-29 year-old's, but I fully understand why they chose that group. However, it might also be nice to have a follow-up to see if there really is a major perception switch being ushered in by a new generation, or is it simply youthful arrogance, independence and new-found freedom. What I mean is that, although I'm only 33, I know my perceptions and attitudes have changed since I was 16 or 20. Is the data collected unique to this current generation, or is it just typical of that age group? Whatever the case, it doesn't change the fact that regardless of the age group, the generation or the decade, there is an air about Christianity that we need to understand and change.

So bottom line, would I recommend this book? Surprisingly I think I would, at least to the right person. As I said previously, the concept of the book is excellent and for all my issues with it, there is plenty that will make you think, and think hard. And even in the case of the essays which I didn't care for, they gave me reason to hash out my own thoughts and beliefs in relation to what they were saying. This issue is one that all Christians should be concerned about but this particular book is not for everyone. It's fact-based and laborious at times with far too few anecdotes from the interviews that were conducted. But for someone with a true passion for this subject, that understands the type of book this is, it's at least worth a look. For a similar type insight but a far more enjoyable read, you should consider 'The Unlikely Disciple' by Kevin Roose. I'd tell you about it, but it's the subject of my next review so you'll just have to wait.

Book Review - A Tale of Two Sons by John MacArthur

Dickens. Shakespeare. Keillor. What do these men have in common besides being literary icons of their day? They all called the Parable of the Prodigal Son one of the greatest short stories ever told. And now John MacArthur takes us deep inside and shows us the stories within the story in his book 'A Tale of Two Sons.'

I have mentioned this book in previous posts and I actually bought it shortly after it's release in April of 2008. But I only finished it fairly recently. I picked it up in spurts many times over the months but always seemed to get sidetracked by a newer novel or just life in general. But when I finally committed myself to just sitting down and finally finishing it, I was very glad I did.

MacArthur does a wonderful job with this book (as he often does). I admit I was a little skeptical how a story so short could be analyzed for over 200 pages, but he manages to do it effortlessly. The first section of the book sets the historical context of the story. Oftentimes we lose sight of just how powerful some of Jesus' words were when spoken in the context of the day and culture in which He ministered. We overlook references that may have had a huge impact on his audience at the time, but mean little to us in our current culture. MacArthur also does a wonderful job of giving us an in-depth insight into Jesus' target audience, the Pharisees.

As the book continues, it is broken down into sections for each of the main characters in the story, the Father, the Prodigal and the Older Brother. Every chapter gives a masterful insight into each character and the role they play in the story. They too are filled with historical and contextual references that bring a whole new life to the story. One such detail that I picked up on was the fatted calf. In that day, only the wealthy would typically have a fatted calf and then usually only for a very special occasion. Because the animal had to be raised and treated very specifically make for a proper feast, and since a cow is only a “calf” for a short while, you wouldn't just have a fatted calf around all of the time. Likely, it was being raised for a very specific and special occasion, perhaps a wedding or something of the like. All of that makes it even more significant that the father would kill the calf for his returning son instead of continuing to save it for whatever big event was coming.

Additionally, I liked the details regarding the significance of events such as the way the younger son asked for his money, the extremely low and degrading nature of the job he was forced to take and the giving of the cloak and ring by the father. All of these make the story so much more dynamic when understood from Jesus' original audience's point of view. Probably the most resounding chapter for me though was that of the older brother. While we typically like to see ourselves reflected in the character of the Prodigal, I think we'd be surprised how much we are like the older brother sometimes. And that's a very dangerous character to be. He's always seemed to be the most overlooked part of the story to me, and yet Jesus specifically saves him for last. After all, he represents Jesus' primary audience at the time, the Pharisees.

Overall, this book was excellent. It's well researched, well put together ,and will make you look at this parable in a whole new light if not your own spiritual life. MacArthur even adds a chapter at the end about why Jesus taught in Parables which I found fascinating as well. In fact, it's something I'm going to touch on in another post I'm working on once I finish a couple more reviews. But until then, I would highly recommend this book. The Parable might be the greatest five minutes of storytelling ever, and it's even better once you view it from a two thousand year old perspective.