My First Book Review

Last week I finished reading Shane Clayborne's Irresistible Revolution. Clayborne is a Christian activist living in Philadelphia whose influences include Rich Mullins, Willow Creek Church, a 1st century homelss wandering rabbi, and Tony Campolo whose writing style is very similar. He lives in an intentional community in the poor part of town called The Simple Way where possessions and money are shared equally among the community following the Acts 2 model.

Irresistible Revolution is a call on Christians to take off the blinders of wealth and comfort that American Christianity has too easily donned. It's a radical and fresh approach to following Jesus who in fact was homeless. Clayborne teases out the myriad implications of following this Jew named "Joshua" in today's modern world. From giving to those who need to fighting social and political change that will further contribute to systems of oppression, he convicts readers to stand for justice on almost every page.

Clayborne is not out to convert his readers to Christianity, rather he compells Christians to look at the world through the lenses of a first century Jesus who stood agains oppressive government, injustice in the religious structure, violence, and practiced radical equality towards social outcasts (women, unclean, leppers, homosexuals, poor). Each from a fresh perspective he tackles social issues such as zoning laws as well as politics regarding healthcare and the Iraq War.

In keeping with my last post on this book (before I had finished), here are some quotes from the book to give you an idea of his writting and passion for justice.

“Everytime our government chooses to use military force to bring about change in the world, it once again teaches our children the myth of redemptive violence, the myth that violence can be an instrument for good…Violence infects us. We begin to believe that violence can bring peace in our world, in our neighborhoods, in our homes, in our hearts.”

“Essentially, I went to Iraq [with a peacekeeping group] because I believe in a God of scandalous grace. I have pledged allegiance to a King who loved evildoers so much he died for them, teaching us that there is something worth dying for but nothing worth killing for."

“While the ghettos may have their share of violence and crime, the suburbs are the home of the more subtle demonic forces—numbness, complacency, comfort—and it is these that can eat away at our souls.”

“The gospel is good news for sick people and is disturbing for those who think they’ve got it all together."

“When we have new eyes, we can look into the eyes of those we don’t even like and see the One we love.”

“If we were to set out to establish a religion in polar opposition to the Beatitudes Jesus taught, it would look strikingly similar to the pop Christianity that has taken over the airwaves of North America” -Tony Campolo

“The only thing harder than hatred is love. The only thing harder than war is peace. The only thing that takes more work, tears, and sweat than division is reconciliation. But what more beautiful things could we devote our lives to?”

“I always say that if we believe terrorists are beyond redemption, we can rip out half of our New Testament, since it was written by a converted terrorist who became an extremist for grace."

Sorry for so many quotes, but there are so many great ones in the book. Christian or non-Christian, this book is worth picking up and giving some time to let it mold a new worldview in your heart.