Thursday, September 9, 2010

Book Review - Christians Are Hate-Filled Hypocrites...and Other Lies You've Been Told

I was intrigued by the title of this book and any title like that was begging to be read. I was unfamiliar with the author but willing to give it a try. Bradley R.E. Wright, PhD opens his book with his premise that statistics have been used by the media, Christian pastors and others incorrectly to make Christians look bad. He then sets out to examine a variety of topics using his sociological skills to debunk current theories about Christians and their behaviors.

Wright bravely chooses to tackle some of the more common issues facing Christians and the Church as a whole. He delves into Christian behaviors (drinking, sex, giving, etc.) as well as commonly held beliefs regarding Christians such as how Christians are viewed by non-Christians and trends within the Church. Surprisingly, we as Christians aren't as bad off as people would have you believe. Wright's interpretation of the data shows that Christians actually divorce at rates lower than non-Christians, church attendance is holding at similar levels to past generations and non-Christians don't view us as negatively as the media would have you believe.

While Wright's overall premise is very interesting and he thoroughly explains how he arrives at his conclusions, it's a tough book to read. The subject matter is thought-provoking but if you don't have someone to discuss it with (and I didn't), it's a book full of statistics. This was an enjoyable book but I'm not planning to read it again.

Bethany House Publishers provided me with a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review of this book.

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