Real Christianity
by William Wilberforce
List Price:
Our Price: $4.49
You Save: $10.50 (70%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $2.75 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: William WilberforceEditor: Bob Beltz
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2007-01-11
ISBN: 0830743111
Number of pages: 203
Publisher: Regal Books
Book Reviews of Real Christianity
Book Review: I Expected Better
Summary: 2 Stars
Perhaps the problem is me; perhaps my expectations were too lofty. But I had higher hopes for this book. It turned out to be a standard exhortation to believe wholly, and to live in that belief. While I embrace that thesis, in our modern plural world, we need to push harder and further than that. And I also have issues with the adaptation in front of me.
Wilberforce states that Christianity has been hijacked by a warm, fuzzy, abstractly noncommittal set of practices that let "believers" live their same old lives without having to change. He calls on Christians to reject this nebulous religion for true faith based on prayer, Bible study, and self-sacrifice leading to more Godly lives. So far I fully agree.
But the application he proposes unnerves me, especially as his argument nears its culmination. His na?ve belief in the pious potential of the rich and powerful, coupled with his patronizing attitude to women, rings hollow. Maybe I read too much Borg and Crossan or Jacques Ellul, but I can't reconcile Wilberforce's hierarchical conservatism with Biblical Christianity.
The later it gets in the book, the more Wilberforce's ideas make me squirm. He makes totalizing statements about anybody who disagrees with him, including youth, foreigners (especially the French), and secularists. He is guilty of seeking simple solutions to complex problems, putting too many people in too small a bucket. It's too pat for the real world.
Though most of his principles are stated in generalities, they're the sort of generalities that serve as code for his fellow evangelicals. When he speaks of liberal theologians who "have gutted the faith of [its] theological foundations," Wilberforce's contemporaries probably knew that was a wink to his fellow abolitionists. Modern readers likely will rush to homosexuality and other hot-button issues.
To top all this off, I have problems with the adaptation. I see why Bob Beltz wanted to update the language. But his chapter notes indicate that he took material out, such as one point where Wilberforce name-checked a list of 18th-century theologians we wouldn't recognize. At another point he also added in a quote from C.S. Lewis which he thought succinctly encapsulated Wilberforce's point.
So I have to wonder: how much else did Beltz add in or take away? How much of the book in my hands is really William Wilberforce, and how much of it is Bob Beltz? This is a major concern for me, if Beltz is trying to co-opt Wilberforce for his current concerns. Barring time and energy to read through the original text, I can only wonder at the answer to this question.
Most of the book isn't bad. In many places, it says what many self-proclaimed Christians need to hear. But his lapses into dogmatism and his right-wing tendencies may alienate as many readers as they attract. And the adaptation is problematic. Maybe I let Wilberforce's legend loom too large in my expectations, but this isn't the book it should have been.
Religion & Spirituality Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Audiobooks on Cassette
- Audiobooks on CD
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- e-Books
- Engineering
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Medicine
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Islam from a Christian perspective
KJV Personal Concord Reference Black French Morocco KJ463XR (Bible Kjv Red Letter Edition)by Baker Publishing Group
Cambridge; Published: 2008-01-01; Leather Bound; Book
Best price: $66.32
Price in other shops:
The Chronicles of Narnia Box Set: Full-Color Collector's Editionby C. S. Lewis
HarperCollins; Published: 2000-09-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $27.00
Price in other shops:
Matthew: Visual BibleRelease date: 2002-02-19; DVD
Best price: $9.47
Price in other shops:
Islam: What the West Needs to KnowRelease date: 2007-07-17; DVD
Best price: $10.80
Price in other shops:
Answering Islam: The Crescent in Light of the Crossby Norman L. Geisler, Abdul Saleeb
Baker Books; Published: 2002-08-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.84
Price in other shops:
Epicenter: Why Current Rumblings in the Middle East Will Change Your Futureby Joel C. Rosenberg
Tyndale House Publishers; Published: 2006-09-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $6.84
Price in other shops:
Why We Left Islam: Former Muslims Speak Outby Susan Crimp, Joel Richardson
WND Books; Published: 2008-04-29; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $15.78
Price in other shops:
Antichrist: Islam's Awaited Messiahby Joel Richardson
Pleasant Word-A Division of WinePress Publishing; Published: 2006-04-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.50
Price in other shops:
Why I Left Jihad: The Root of Terrorism and the Return of Radical Islamby Walid Shoebat
Top Executive Media; Published: 2005-05-30; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.25
Price in other shops:
Religion of Peace?: Why Christianity Is and Islam Isn'tby Robert Spencer
Regnery Publishing; Published: 2007-08-13; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $13.09
Price in other shops:
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticismby Timothy Keller
Dutton Adult; Published: 2008-02-14; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $13.44
Price in other shops:
William Wilberforceby William Wilberforce
Bridge Logos Publishers; Published: 2007-01-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.93
Price in other shops:
John Newton: From Disgrace to Amazing Graceby Jonathan Aitken
Crossway Books; Published: 2007-06-07; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $13.20
Price in other shops:
William Wilberforce: The Life of the Great Anti-Slave Trade Campaignerby William Hague
Harcourt; Published: 2008-06-16; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $16.04
Price in other shops:
William Wilberforce: A Hero for Humanityby Kevin Belmonte
Zondervan; Published: 2007-02-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.22
Price in other shops:
Amazing Grace in the Life of William Wilberforceby John Piper
Crossway Books; Published: 2007-01-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.71
Price in other shops:
A Practical View of Christianity (Hendrickson Christian Classics)by William Wilberforce
Hendrickson Publishers; Published: 2006-10-30; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $7.74
Price in other shops:
Amazing GraceGRUFFUDD,IOAN; Release date: 2007-11-13; DVD
Best price: $6.29
Price in other shops:
Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slaveryby Eric Metaxas
HarperOne; Published: 2007-11-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.62
Price in other shops:
Out of the Depthsby John Newton
Kregel Publications; Published: 2003-05-08; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.94
Price in other shops: