In this spiritual autobiography, Jon Ward describes his journey from a Pentecostal evangelical church to a new and more nuanced understanding of the Christian faith. As a child, he accepts his faith and the leaders of his church unquestioningly, but he gradually begins to see the flaws in a belief system based primarily on feelings and experiences. When he becomes a journalist, dealing with the political scene, he decides that evangelical leaders have been wrong to tie the church to one issue (abortion) and one party (Republican). He believes that this attitude has contributed to creating the situation we are now facing, an environment that has become polarized -- with each side treating people who disagree as evil enemies. Instead, he advocates listening carefully to those with opposing views so that we can come to understand one another. Leaders should be chosen not by their party affiliation, but for their character.
If you are a Trump supporter, you probably won't like this book, as the author is extremely critical of the former president. Although I think he goes too far, I agree with most of what he has to say.
VERDICT: 4 STARS. An interesting look into the world view of many conservative evangelicals, and a much-needed call to a more balanced political life.
I received an e-copy of this book in return for a fair and honest review.
For more book reviews see these posts:
Quilt of Souls by Phyllis Biffle Elmore — Book Review
Prayer by O. Hallesby — Book Review
5 Puritan Women by Jenny-Lyn de Klerk–Book Review
No comments:
Post a Comment