Brilliant!

As a follow up to my post, What About Wilberforce?, which was about having the proper balance of grace and truth in the Christian life and not sacrificing truth for the sake of grace, or vice versa, I ran across a book that might have to jump up on my reading list. It seems to fit:

Don't Stop Believing: Why Living Like Jesus is Not Enough

Here is the product description on Amazon:

Evangelicals who reject the narrow fundamentalism of previous generations are in danger of over-correction. Don’t Stop Believing is an urgent call for both right practice and right belief. Our concern for social issues must not diminish the core doctrines of our faith. We must not stop believing.

And the last line on the back cover:

Genuine Christians never stop serving because they never stop loving, and they never stop loving because they never stop believing.

I have not read this book, so I can't necessarily defend it or wholeheartedly recommend it. But I'm encouraged that I'm not alone in thinking this way, and challenged not to over-correct myself, in either direction. The book tries to speak into the postmodern culture, specifically within the Church, and into such perspectives as those within the Emergent movement, (which is also carefully challenged in the book Why We're Not Emergent, if you need extra reading over the holidays) The chapters in Don't Stop Believing are based on 10 key questions often asked in our culture:

- Must you believe something to be saved?
- Do right beliefs get in the way of good works?
- Are people generally good or basically bad?
- Which is worse: homosexuals or the bigots who persecute them?
- Is the cross divine child abuse?
- Can you belong before you believe?
- Does the kingdom of God include non-Christians?
- Is hell for real and forever?
- Is it possible to know anything?
- Is the Bible God's true word?

I'll try to post further once I devour this book. It might be after Christmas though because I'm trying to have a spending freeze on non essentials. The problem is that "non essentials" is subjective and the economy is in bad shape and needs my money, right? So I'm torn between economic consideration and biblical frugality. I'm torn between Donatos' Pizza again or homecookin'. I'm torn between generosity towards my family and friends for Christmas or generosity towards the weak and hurting. Between time in bible study or time at a soup kitchen. Between a new book for me or a bible for someone who doesn't know Jesus. Between believing the Bible or living the Bible. Between being gracious or being truthful.

How about both? Brilliant!