★★★★★ 5
The transformative power of stories, not checklists
Format: Hardcover
As someone familiar with previous writings from Keller and Inazu, I was eager to get this book--it did not disappoint. Both gentlemen are serious scholars, so one might have expected a weighty or dense theological treatise. Instead, they oriented the project around stories--individual stories that faithfully reflect personal versions of the grand Story of redemption, hope, beauty, truth, and justice. Rather than offering long lists of direct recommendations to other people (whose contexts will inevitably be different), these stories target the soul. As such, these stories offer vivid and practical insights to my particular context, but they do so indirectly, authentically, and inspirationally. As Keller has written elsewhere, no one changes his behavior because he's told he needs to change--he must be SHOWN. This book doesn't just tell us what authentic Christianity looks like in our polarized world, it shows us--and it does so exceptionally well. Highly recommended if you want to challenge your soul with diverse renderings of faithful living. Direct application to your life and specific recommendations for action will no doubt emerge, but they'll come from the inspiration of the Holy Spirit working through the power of Story.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 25, 2020
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