Jesus Never Said…

10 things jesus never saidI first came across Will Davis Jr.’s book, 10 Things Jesus Never Said, about nine months ago, in an advertisement on another blog.  Having recently published a myth-buster style book, myself, the title caught my eye, and I promptly followed the link for a closer look.

To be honest, after browsing the table of contents, I mentally added it to my maybe-some-other-time list, and moved on to other things.  It’s not that it didn’t look like a potentially good book.  It’s just that I wasn’t sure how applicable it would be to me.

With chapters titled after myths such as You’re Too Far Gone to Be Saved, and It’s Okay Not to Love Certain People, it struck me as potentially a bit basic.

However, investigating the book led me to Will’s blog, http://www.willdavisjr.com/.  By subscribing to the blog, I’ve become acquainted with Will and gained a respect for his viewpoints and insights.

So, when Will offered a free copy of 10 Things Jesus Never Said in exchange for a book review, I took him up on the offer.

I’m glad I did!

The book is arranged with one myth addressed per chapter.  Each chapter begins by explaining the myth before moving on to exploding the myth.  By approaching each myth scripturally, interspersed with stories of personal experiences, Will keeps the discussion relevant to the reader.

The myths Will addresses in this book are not falsehoods you’re likely to hear espoused from the pulpit or even discussed in Sunday School class.  We don’t often hear Christians verbally expressing any of these as being in keeping with God’s word.

And yet, these myths have a way of creeping into our lives in different ways and at different levels.  We likely wouldn’t say that we believe them…yet, too often, we live as though we do.

Cultural myths are powerful and difficult to escape.  Unspoken cultural myths are even more powerful.  Myths must be spoken, brought out into the open and defined, before they can be scripturally addressed.  In this book, Will Davis, Jr. exposes and debunks several of these myths for the imprisoning lies they are.  In so doing, he replaces a system of legalistic myths with Christ’s radical grace.

Each chapter of this book challenged me in some way.  Some challenged me to take a closer look at my own life, asking God to expose and eradicate wrong attitudes.  Others challenged my viewpoint by either helping me to gain a new perspective, or helping me to better appreciate Will’s perspective.

The book would be ideal for either individual study or group discussion.  Each topic is dealt with at a deep enough level to provoke thinking, while leaving plenty for the reader to investigate on his own.  At the end of each chapter, Will has included sample questions for use in a study group.

After finishing the book, I promptly introduced it to my Sunday School class, with plans to use it as a study guide over the next several weeks.  I’m looking forward both to the chance to dig into each topic a little deeper, and to participate in group discussions on each chapter.

No matter where you are in your Christian walk, you’ll find something in this book to challenge you to pause and reassess your views.

What have you read, recently, that challenged your perspective?

[Linked to God Bumps , Scribing , Beholding Glory , Graceful , Seedlings , Wellspring ]