Have you ever read a book review that was so long you might as well have just read the book yourself?
This is not that review.
What follows is the first in a new series of book reviews I’m hoping do in 300 words or less. The goal is to help you sort through which books you should read right away, which one’s you should shelve until a later date, and which ones you shouldn’t waste your time with. Here we go...
Title: “Religion Saves: And Nine Other Misconceptions”
Author: Mark Driscoll
Publisher: Re:lit/Crossway
The Big Idea:
After 343,203 online votes on the Mars Hill Church website, nine questions for Pastor Mark Driscoll emerged as the ones most urgently calling for answers.
Inspired by 1 Corinthians, in which Paul answers a series of questions posed by the people in the Corinthian church, Pastor Mark Driscoll set out to determine the most controversial questions among visitors to the Mars Hill Church website. In the end, 893 questions were asked and 343,203 votes were cast. The top nine questions are now each answered in a chapter of Religion Saves.
The nine topics that made the cut range from birth control to humor and from predestination to sexual sin and dating.
What I like about the book:
- People will appreciate the ability to jump from chapter to chapter based on what interests them personally.
- Driscoll tackles subjects we hear very little about in much of today’s Christian literature. His honest and direct answers are soaked in Scripture shedding light on this important subject matter.
- Driscoll’s does a masterful job of maintaining the tension between insanely funny and intensely serious where appropriate.
- In dealing with some of the more controversial subjects like the emergent church and predestination, Driscoll does not demonize his opponents and paints them fairly.
What I disliked:
- Some of the material was more powerfully communicated through his preaching. While I deeply appreciate Driscoll as an author, different topics like predestination, lose some of their power when you cannot hear and see him communicating.
- Certain topics, like the regulative principle, will probably not be of interest to the vast majority of people. On the flip side, hopefully this book can open people’s eyes to the importance of these issues.
My Recommendation:
Go buy this book! You will deeply enjoy it and be served well by a pastor who loves God’s people.
Buy Religion Saves HERE
More about Mark Driscoll HERE
Listen and/or read an excerpt HERE
List of more in depth reviews HERE
