I had a hard time getting into this book just because of the sheer size. Reading at length is great, but I was hoping this book would have a reader’s digest version. This is probably personal, and not particularly about the book, but too many books today are larger then they need to be.
That being said, Hank Hanegraaff’s new Christianity In Crisis for the 21st Century is still a welcome addition to the discerning conversation that’s needed in the church today. Unfortunately so much of North American Christianity has been stamping Jesus onto one’s ideas and dreams. Whether it’s wealth, health, progress, or healing, Hanegraaff is trying to help people think biblically through what they hear or see.
He says this in the preface: Having lost the ability to think biblically, postmodern Christians are being transformed from cultural change agents and initiators into cultural conformists and imitators. Pop culture beckons, and postmodern Christians have taken the bait. As a result, the biblical model of faith has given way to an increasingly bizarre array of fads and formulas.
The book tries to hit many areas that Hanegraaff feels needs a discerning – even critical – look. Charismatics, healers, prosperity preachers, humanists, those that recreate atonement theories, and more all get hit in this exhaustive work. One caution is that Hanegraaff can throw out some of what God is doing because of his more traditional/reformed convictions.
If you call yourself a Christian and have been caught up with self-help books, methods to make you rich, or principles to keep you happy, then Hanegraaff might help balance you out – if for no other reason, so you don’t equate your theories with the gospel and find your self wanting what God really has in store for your life while chasing false promises.
Disclaimer: I was given this book from Booksneeze.com, a blogger community from Thomas Nelson Publishing. My review is strictly my opinion.
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