I finished reading What Jesus Intended: Finding True Faith in the Rubble of Bad Religion by Todd D. Hunter.
I think that the book succeeds at identifying several of the reasons people are running away from Christianity. Some have experienced hurt and abuse in the Church. Some have experienced judgmentalism and hypocrisy. Some have experienced racism, misogyny, xenophobia, and homophobia. Some have experienced conspiracy theories, supporting lies and anti-intellectualism. Some have experienced exclusivity. All of these are actual problems within the Church and the author gives some personal examples from his ministry.
I think the book fails in how it tries to persuade these people to not give up on Christianity. Instead of meeting each problem head-on and having a discussion about how to find a better experience, it focuses on providing a “sermon” on passages from Scriptures. I am not sure that is the best way to convince these people of the beauty of passionately pursuing Jesus.
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