Blogging for Books
provided this book to me for free in exchange for an honest review.
This isn't a book one
necessarily enjoys. What the author writes about is sobering,
disturbing, yet important. Though many US churchgoers might say that
they know that there are places in the world where Christians suffer
persecution, it is kept at a psychological distance, something “over
there”. It isn't something believers in the US have much experience
with.
But there may also be
another reason why these accounts of suffering for Christ are kept at
a distance. Where do accounts of people losing everything they have,
even their own lives, fit into a religion whose biggest concern is
having your best life now? In a theology that tries to spin the
Christian life into one of constant adventure and fulfillment, do
accounts of persecution promise too much adventure, or the wrong kind
of adventure? What do accounts of people being social outcasts
because of their Christian faith do to the popular teaching that God
wants to help you to fulfill your dreams, land your dream job, have a
great sex life?
It would be good for
those whose regular diet of Christian reading is a steady feasting on
the feel-good, shallow, it's all about me types of book so popular
nowadays to read a book like this one, to provide a kind of balance
to what they have been reading, and to get a glimpse of the cost many
people pay for their faith.
Though I think this is a
good book, I cannot completely agree with the author on everything.
Some of what he wrote
about an “ecumenism of the martyrs” seemed off to me. Are we
suppose to think that beliefs and creeds are unimportant, simply
because people of various beliefs and even different religions have
suffered persecutions? Though I appreciate that the author makes
references to those persecutions from many different Christian
faiths, are we suppose to pretend that the Reformation didn't happen
because Catholic and non-Catholic believers suffer persecutions?
While I would agree that
no one should be persecuted because of their religious beliefs, that
is a far thing from necessarily endorsing anyone's religious beliefs,
and I must kick against the notion that an ecumenical endorsement is
necessary. The author mentions Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, the Iranian
pastor whose imprisonment has become a cause celebre in many church
circles. I would agree that Pastor Youcef should not be in prison
simply because of his religious beliefs, and that Iran is wrong to
imprison him for his religious beliefs. But the book also notes that
Pastor Youcef has a Oneness view of God, and rejects the biblical
teaching on the Trinity. Is it possible to support Pastor Youcef's
freedom from unjust imprisonment, yet still say that his beliefs are
aberrant or even heretical?
So, while I would
recommend this book, and pretty strongly too, understand that my
recommendation is not an endorsement for everything the author
suggests.
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