Monday, December 24

Great Quote!

I'm just starting a new book by GARY THOMAS, called THE BEAUTIFUL FIGHT... awesome, awesome, awesome (as is everything that he writes). I'll definitely be reviewing this soon... but, for now, here's a snippet of what I'm enjoying:

"Far too frequently, Christianity becomes a list of prohibitions. I'll never forget talking to one young woman, who said, 'Why would I ever want to become a Christian? All they want me to do is dump all the good music from my iPod and wear ugly clothes.' Her words tell me that , at least in our preaching, if not in our minds, we have lost our vision for the glorious, transforming presence of Jesus Christ -- how he really makes a difference.

"Here's the challenge of a small-minded faith based only on prohibitions: we still sin. If a successful Christian is defined by what she or he doesn't do, we're all in trouble, because the Bible tells us that 'we all stumble in many ways' (James 3:2). Preaching mere moralism is the surest way to tire people out, because in one sense we're all going to fall short of the ideal, and in another sense, spending our lives trying NOT to do something is far less than what we were created for. Such a faith will never capture our hearts.

"If a young woman won't even empty her iPod for that faith, why would she ever give up her life for it?"

1 comment:

Walls Down Church Kids said...

Very good! I haven't heard of this one--looking forward to your review too.