Radical: Taking Back Your Faith

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Very interesting, in clicking that link, that just under the main picture for the book is an Amazon video ad titled "You Can Have It All."

Quite the irony.
 
I know. Irony is the pits. First you have to set the board up. Get the starch out....
 
No, no, no.

You know what irony is. It is like "goldy" or "bronzy" only made out of iron...
 
I tried to track the article down, but a friend recently pointed out to me that this book is essentially a retelling of Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger by Ronald J. Sider, first published in 1978. He was commenting that the impulse of the book largely comes from feeling guilty about prosperity (a point he got from the article he read on it, but which I cannot track down). I haven't read the book, so I can't comment, but I thought it was an interesting observation. Something to think about.
 
I read most of the book.
Here are my thoughts:
The Good: It gets your mind on mercy ministries. Which we know is a biblical thing.
The Bad: It really gets you in the mind set that prosperity is bad. I have a hard time thinking that having wealth is a bad thing, but when your wealth becomes your god, than it is a bad thing.
The other bad: The book draws it self out, way too long. Its the same topic chapter upon chapter. The book gets boring after a while. Thus is why I did not finish it.

All in all, its basic theology but if you don't have any other theology it will make think that having money is of Satan. Platt did not say that, but his writing can get you in that mind set.

Its too weak for the educated Christian, confusing for the baby Christian, motivational for the missionary.

Not a classic, a book that will be forgotten in about year, however Platt is a good Pastor and I look forward to seeing more from him. Platt may or may not be reformed I'm not sure. I know he is part of the SBC and acts 29. *Acts 29 holds to reformed beliefs, yet they do not have any confessions for their standards.*

Hope this helps.
 
I haven't read it, but from what's been said about it, I wonder if Justo González's Faith and Wealth might not be equally motivating and a little more balanced (although the patristic writers about wealth whom he studies themselves require to be balanced: for instance, by Calvin on 1 Timothy).
 
I am reading it now with my reading group. Has significant SBC overtones (though I am fairly certain Platt has a Reformed bend in his theology, particualrly for an SB), though the book is nothing near Ron Sider's work. He reflects the SBC mindset of missions focus, though I think misses the mark of sizing up and challenging the "American Dream" that I think is indeed worshipped by many an American Evangelical. I will withhold further comment until completing and discussing with my group, but so far, many of my thoughts are similar to what Sonny said above.
 
The Good: It gets your mind on mercy ministries. Which we know is a biblical thing.
The Bad: It really gets you in the mind set that prosperity is bad. I have a hard time thinking that having wealth is a bad thing, but when your wealth becomes your god, than it is a bad thing.
The other bad: The book draws it self out, way too long. Its the same topic chapter upon chapter. The book gets boring after a while. Thus is why I did not finish it.
Click to expand...

I don't think his point was that having wealth is a bad thing. He's in a mega church and he's trying to workout the mega church in light of the NT. Do church really need all of the ornate garbage that they have? Or would God's money better be served in other ways? I think we all know the basic answer to the question. I went to school with him at NOBTS and I visited his church on the way back from the Smokey Mountains last July. I think it's a good message for the average SBC church. He preaches sin and God's sovernity. We need more preaches like him in the SBC who are willing to go against the grain.
 
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