Sierra Reads Things

The Hole in Our Gospel is possibly the favorite book I've reviewed for Thomas Nelson's BookSneeze program. I wasn't exactly sure what to expect when I first ordered it, or even when I opened it. It kind of reminded me of Ron Sider's Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger from the start.

Basic rundown of the story:
Richard Stearns was the president of Lennox, a high-end dinnerware company. He started getting lots of little "hints" about working for World Vision, a Christian organization that deals with poverty (that's a huge summation of everything. If you're interested, check out their site.) Eventually, while dragging his feet the whole way, he accepts the offer to become World Vision's new President. One of the main statements he tries to drive home is "Are you open for God's will in your life?" The rest of the book is his story about his work and how Christianity (mainly Western Christianity) is missing the point of the Gospel. It's not about Jesus giving us a good life or being "blessed" financially and materially like a lot of churches preach, but it's about giving your life to the poor. The description of the book states "Two thousand years ago, twelve people changed the world. Stearns believes it can happen again." - This is a good way to sum up the message of this book.

One of my friends once made the point that salvation depends on the poor. I wasn't entirely sure if I agreed with him at the time, but the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. In the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats, Jesus separates those who will go to heaven and those who won't. He doesn't separate these people based on their beliefs, theology, or how high they raised their hands in worship. He separated them based on what they did for the poor, the lonely, and the destitute. This parable clearly states that there will be "Christians" who do not go to heaven because they did not care for, as Jesus calls them in Matthew, "the least of these." This idea surely goes against what most American Christians believe, but it makes a lot of sense in the context of scripture.

Rating-wise, I give The Hole in Our Gospel by Richard Stearns 5 out of 5. That's not something I do often.

I had my eye on The Voice translation of the bible for awhile now, but never had the chance to pick it up. Luckily, Thomas Nelson had it on their BookSneeze.com program and I got to read it for free. The cover of the book claims, that this translation is beautiful, sensitive, and balanced as well as promises that this translation will give the reader three things:
1. Insight through devotional commentary.
2. Clarity with the fresh, new screenplay format.
3. Enjoyment of the Scriptures with the newest translation.

I think the best way to review this is to see if it fulfills its promises.

Insight:
The commentary is nice in places. Sometimes I think it's a bit forced. I would like to know which contributing writer wrote which devotion (There are ten writers, notably Brian McLaren, Matthew Paul Turner, and Lauren Winner), but that's not a big deal. I can tell there's a difference in voice in each devotion, which is probably just the English major in me coming out. Overall, I like the little snippets. I wish they'd go more in depth, though. I'm the kind of person who enjoys reading the introductions by the translators in bibles. Most people aren't. I give it a 4 out of 5.

Clarity/Format:
Okay. I hate the format. It's nice at times where things might get muddled as to who is saying what in regular translations, but it seems kind of basic and elementary to me. There are also a lot of italicized additions to what the scriptures actually say. An example of all of this is in Matthew 14:31:

Jesus: O you of little faith. Why did you doubt and dance back and forth between following Me and heeding fear?

I don't know how comfortable I am with adding things to scripture. 2 of 5.

Enjoyment:
I was more drawn to the commentary than the actual scripture. I think that's a problem, especially with today's bibles that are supposed to be like magazines. I never end up wanting to read the important stuff, just the quizzes to see if my omgbf is a godly man or not. 3 of 5.

Overall: 3.5 of 5. It's good, it's better than The Message, but it's no substitute for a real translation.



Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commision's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

I feel like the people who have been reviewing this book on different sites aren't from the target audience. I'm about to turn 25 and this book made me roll my eyes way more than any other devotional I have ever read. At one point, she makes the argument that being angry is a sin. Jesus got angry. Is she saying he sinned? Scripture also says "In your anger, do not sin," which is saying that it is possible to be angry without sinning. There are also a lot of hokey devotions about how you shouldn't ever be negative and being positive positive positive is the only way for a Christian.

Maybe I'm just jaded with Christianity, especially Christian literature, and especially Christian literature that is supposed to be geared towards my generation. I'm sure this would speak to someone who has been within the white, middle-class Evangelical bubble their whole lives, but for people like me who strive to be intellectuals and free thinkers while still being Christian, it isn't worth the money.

Oh, one thing I really liked: This book has the softest cover of any book I have ever touched.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from NavPress Publishers as part of their Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commision's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

I was sent The Liturgical Year by Sister Joan Chittister a long time ago. It was sent to my home address and my m other didn't think to forward it to me in Georgia. Nonetheless, I started reading it over Christmas break. For some reason, I was under the impression that it was going to be a book going weekly through the Liturgical calendar, which is why I chose it. Instead, it's really just a description of what the Liturgical year actually is and why it's important.

I can't bash anything a nun writes. I love them all way too much. However, I will say that for someone who has been studying things like this for awhile, I found the book to be rather elementary. Bad for me, good for people who have no clue what a "Liturgical Year" even is. I did enjoy the section where she talks about how the church incorporates non-holy days into its year. I was always really confused as a kid as to why the church started its new year in Advent yet New Years Eve was still a holy day of obligation. (I also though the Immaculate Conception was suspiciously close to the birth of Jesus. I didn't realize until maybe a couple years ago, after I had been removed from Catholicism and was looking back in that we celebrate Mary's conception without sin at the IC, not Jesus' conception.)

I liked the book. I'm probably going to send it back to my mom for her to read, even though she probably knows all the same stuff I did. Sister Joan is a decent writer and I appreciate people getting the word out that things like fixed-hour prayer aren't just for the religious and are certainly still relevant today.