{"id":1890,"date":"2011-01-29T12:52:15","date_gmt":"2011-01-29T17:52:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/?p=1890"},"modified":"2013-05-31T18:38:24","modified_gmt":"2013-06-01T02:38:24","slug":"book-review-the-irresistible-revolution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/book-review-the-irresistible-revolution\/","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: The Irresistible Revolution"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Irresistible<\/a>Other than posting a short blurb on my 4000 books post<\/a>, I usually do not review books unless they were given to me as review copies. But\u00a0The Irresistible Revolution<\/a><\/em> by Shane Claiborne<\/a> deserves a blog post. I’m not sure yet if it will gain a place on my Burning Books list<\/a>, but time will tell.<\/p>\n

No matter what you believe about the role of Christians in society and culture, especially in regard to social issues like hunger, poverty, and war, Shane’s book will challenge you to think and act differently. It is the story of how he and some friends entered into one of the worst areas of Philadelphia to live out the love of Jesus among the people who were there. Shane gives plenty of examples about the things they have done and the lessons they have learned along the way.<\/p>\n

For example, their community developed a statement of beliefs to show people that they were not a cult, but they also developed a statement of practices to show they were not just believers (p. 125). I would love to see this sort of thing adopted in churches everywhere. We have doctrinal statements, but how many of us have practical statements? If what you believe isn’t leading you to do something for others, what good is it? (That sounds a lot like James 2.) \u00a0And of course, their community in Philly didn’t just write a statement of practices, they actually practice them. That’s important too.<\/p>\n

Here are some of the other ideas that challenged me:<\/p>\n