Real Love In An Angry World


Real Love In An Angry World: How To Stick To Your Convictions Without Alienating People by Rick Bezet interested me because we often hear these days about how Christians are hateful, discriminatory, deplorable, you fill in the blank. I was interested to hear what Bezet has to say about how we can stick to our beliefs without seeming to the outside world to be mean, angry, or hateful. The book description says:

"The world doesn't dislike Christians because we are godly, honest, and stand for justice. It dislikes us because we can be downright mean! Somewhere in our engagement of culture we have drifted to one of two extremes--compromising on truth or condemning all those who disagree. But Jesus, despite enemies on all sides, somehow managed to speak the truth in love--and calls us to do the same.

Whichever ditch you tend to fall into, Rick Bezet wants to help. In Real Love in an Angry World, he calls on believers not to abandon the truth just because they don't want to hurt someone's feelings, but also not to present that truth in angry diatribes on social media. He invites readers to sit in on his real conversations with real people who need to hear the gospel, showing them how it can be done in loving and courageous ways. For anyone unsure if they are doing more harm than good when they talk (or don't talk) about matters of faith, this book offers a compassionate and inspirational corrective."

I really enjoyed Real Love In An Angry World. Rick Bezet has a folksy, humorous style of writing that instantly drew me in and I laughed at his crazy stories while also soaking in the profound truths. I really loved his stand for the traditional beliefs of Christianity while simultaneously having a heart for not alienating nonbelievers. I appreciated his emphasis on speaking the truth in love and not giving "sloppy agape" aka going too far on the side of "grace" and not sharing Jesus/leaving people in their sin. My only complaint about the book is that he puts down the King James version of the Bible and seems to be against using it. I happen to love the KJV and felt like he was a bit harsh on it. However, the rest of the book was wonderful. I highly recommend this book to every Christian. We need to find the balance between grace and truth and not err too far on one side or the other, and this book provides the pathway to a great balance.

I received a copy of this book from Baker Books in order to provide an honest and unbiased review. All opinions are my own.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Surviving Death

Image
Surviving Death by Leslie Kean is an investigative journalist's deep dive into the afterlife and all of the current scientific studies and evidence we can examine. The back cover says: "“While exploring the evidence for an afterlife, I witnessed some unbelievable things that are not supposed to be possible in our material world. Yet they were unavoidably and undeniably real. Despite my initial doubt, I came to realize that there are still aspects of Nature which are neither understood or accepted, even though their reality has profound implications for understanding the true breadth of the human psyche and its possible continuity after death.” So begins Leslie Kean’s impeccably researched, page-turning investigation, revealing stunning and wide-ranging evidence suggesting that consciousness survives death. In her groundbreaking second book, she continues her examination of unexplained phenomena that began with her provocative New York Times bestseller UFOs: Generals, Pi
Read more

Can I Just Hide In Bed 'Til Jesus Comes Back?

Image
I'll admit - I wanted to read Can I Just Hide In Bed 'Til Jesus Comes Back?: Facing Life With Courage, Not Comforters by Martha Bolton and Christin Ditchfield mainly because of the cute cover (I mean, just look at it!) and the fun title. I often just want to hide in my bed with junk food, books, and Netflix and retreat from the world and responsibilities. However, I know that hiding in bed really isn't the answer to life's problems. I figured I'd pick up this book and see what Martha and Christin have to say about facing life head on. The back cover says: "Depression, fear, a sense of unworthiness, and unfulfilled dreams can make women retreat to their beds—figuratively and literally—and refuse to face life. Yet most of the time, hiding in bed makes matters worse. Who needs emotional bedsores? Authors Martha Bolton and Christin Ditchfield gently show women how to climb out from under their emotional bedcovers, face their fears and doubts, and step into the l
Read more
Forgiving Our Fathers And Mothers by Leslie Leyland Fields (with Dr. Jill Hubbard) is one of the best books on forgiveness I've read in a long time. Each chapter details a different aspect to the parent/child relationship and need for forgiveness, followed by a word from Dr. Jill and study questions. I really enjoyed this format. It was like getting to the heart of the matter with Leslie, and then visiting a professional psychologist (Dr. Jill) to process your emotions afterward. Leslie uses her own real life story, plus the stories of others who have had difficult relationships with their parents, plus plenty of Scripture, to trace the path to forgiveness and healing. This book really hit home for me. Warning: it will probably make you cry! Leslie's story, as well as all of the others, were alternately emotional, touching, sad, horrifying, and redeeming. I liked how Leslie brought practical tips to questions such as, "Do I have to forgive?", "How do I forgive?
Read more