He Never Said....: Discover the Real Message of Jesus (Hodder Christian Books) Book

In this punchy little book, TV presenter and Baptist minister Steve Chalke tackles 20 common myths about Christianity. He does so by attacking 20 sayings that are bandied about confidently in some circles, statements such as "There's no room for doubt" and "God helps those who help themselves." As Chalke puts it, "We tend to think of Jesus as being exactly like us ... as a result we use him to rubber-stamp values and ideas he not only didn't believe in, but wouldn't have believed in. What's more, most of the time we're not even aware we're doing it." He then intelligently and amusingly exposes the attitudes behind the glib clichés, and launches into them, using quotes and stories to make his points. For example, he reveals that the famously ruthless German leader Otto von Bismarck, who vowed to unite his country by "blood and iron," and did so, was a devout and active Christian. "Most of us probably find that a bit hard to believe, but the truth is that Bismarck merely achieved in an extreme way what all of us do to some extent or other--he compartmentalised his life." Chalke then takes the point nearer home, writing of a businessman friend who in his work-world can dismiss firing 200 people "with a grin and a wave of his hand. 'That's business.' ... I knew that if he'd encountered one of those employees in his 'other world' at home or church, he'd have felt the full pain of their predicament and moved heaven and earth" to help. The first thing you learn from the book is that the author is a brilliant communicator. The second is that he shoots from the hip. It's as if he's talking so fast that he doesn't have time to edit his arguments. Many will find themselves agreeing strongly with him one minute and disagreeing equally strongly the next. He says that he wrote the book to make people think and to stir up debate, and he surely will. He Never Said is written from a strongly Christian perspective, and addresses Christians directly, yet the way it is written makes it an entertaining and challenging read for those of many religious persuasions or none, especially readers who enjoy seeing platitudes debunked and conventional assumptions overturned. --David PickeringRead More