A Faith of Our Own: Following Jesus Beyond the Culture Wars

by JonathanMerritt (Author), JonathanMerritt (Author)

New
Hardcover
2012
$40.43

From deep inside the Religious Right and places of privilege--including a meeting with Billy Graham in the evangelist's home--emerges a young theologian who is surprisingly willing to confront today's difficult intersections of faith and society with fresh perspective. In the tradition of classic writers on lived faith like C.S. Lewis and contemporary ones like Timothy Keller, Merritt shares glimpses of his own defining faith experiences and then drills down to essential truths, always buffeted by Scripture and the example of Jesus. His winsome reflections show how the next generations of Christians are mapping a better way forward on such previously divisive issues as abortion, gay marriage, environmental use and care, race, war, poverty and imbalance of world wealth. With a mature respect for the traditions in which he was nurtured, he neither repudiates nor justifies the mistakes of his forebears, but offers them as warnings for his own generation. He urges today's Christians to throw off partisanship and the pursuit of power to embrace practical, hands-dirty followership Jesus and the biblical call to difficult love. Statistics show that young Christians are disenchanted with a faith that has become culturally antagonistic and too closely aligned with partisan politics. Merritt takes a close self-revelatory look at the changing religious and political environment of a new generation of Christian. The result is a book that articulates the Christian faith that is now just coming of age.

Synopsis

From deep inside the Religious Right and places of privilege--including a meeting with Billy Graham in the evangelist's home--emerges a young theologian who is surprisingly willing to confront today's difficult intersections of faith and society with fresh perspective. In the tradition of classic writers on lived faith like C.S. Lewis and contemporary ones like Timothy Keller, Merritt shares glimpses of his own defining faith experiences and then drills down to essential truths, always buffeted by Scripture and the example of Jesus. His winsome reflections show how the next generations of Christians are mapping a better way forward on such previously divisive issues as abortion, gay marriage, environmental use and care, race, war, poverty and imbalance of world wealth. With a mature respect for the traditions in which he was nurtured, he neither repudiates nor justifies the mistakes of his forebears, but offers them as warnings for his own generation. He urges today's Christians to throw off partisanship and the pursuit of power to embrace practical, hands-dirty followership Jesus and the biblical call to difficult love. Statistics show that young Christians are disenchanted with a faith that has become culturally antagonistic and too closely aligned with partisan politics. Merritt takes a close self-revelatory look at the changing religious and political environment of a new generation of Christian. The result is a book that articulates the Christian faith that is now just coming of age.

$40.43

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More Information

Format: Hardcover
Pages: 208
Publisher: FaithWords
Published: 07 Jun 2012
ISBN 10: 0446557234
ISBN 13: 9780446557238
Book Overview: Jonathan Merritt gives voice to an emerging generation of Christians who engage the political process with an unpolarized, Christ-centered faith that is changing the landscape of Christianity and politics.

Media Reviews

The story of Merritt's exit from a hard-edged political movement to a more centrist, more complex political place is a potent and timely symbol of the jourenys of m any young American evangelicals. --Dan Gilgoff, CNN.com Religion Editor
The more people who read Merritt's book, the better. --Books and Culture, on Green Like God
Himself a convert to the idea of God as green, Merritt is sure to appeal to the hearts of even the most polarized Christians. His guide could be turned into relevant sermon material and should be mandatory reading for churchgoers. --Publishers Weekly, on Green Like God
Merritt represents a hopeful new current in evangelical America. --USA Today
By broadening evangelicalism's agenda, younger evangelicals like Jonathan Merritt..are doing us a favor. --Dallas Morning News
Merritt...writes with humility and clarity. He addresses the political, cultural and biblical assumptions many of us hold. --Christianity Today
Merritt represents an entire generation seeking to reconcile sanctification with service without embracing the extremes. --Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, President of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference
In this personal, provocative, and well-written book- part memoir, part manifesto- Merritt lays out his journey and his case. If you want to understand shifts among younger Christians, this book is a must read. --Ed Stetzer, President of LifeWay Research
Merritt's powerful and faith-driven ideas should come as a healthy shock to many Christians. --Library Journal, on Green Like God
Merritt's conversion may not change the world quite as much as Paul's, but he has transformed his classroom epiphany into topic A within...the biggest Protestant body in the U.S.
--TIME Magazine
You can't serve both God's Kingdom and an earthly one. In this book, Jonathan Merritt forces the reader to 'choose this day whom you will serve.' --- Cal Thomas, syndicated and USA Today columnist / Fox News contributor

Author Bio

Jonathan Merritt is a faith and culture writer who has published over 350 articles in outlets such as USA Today, The Christian Science Monitor, CNN.com and Christianity Today. He is author of Green Like God: Unlocking the Divine Plan for Our Planet, which Publisher's Weekly called mandatory reading for churchgoers. As a respected Christian voice, he has been interviewed by ABC World News, CNN, Fox News, NPR, PBS, The New York Times, and The Washington Post. Jonathan resides outside of Atlanta, GA where he actively serves and teaches at Cross Pointe Church.