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15th out of 15 books
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3 voters
Red Letter Revolution: What If Jesus Really Meant What He Said?
For all the Christians facing conflict between Jesus' words and their own lives, for all the non-Christians who feel they rarely see Jesus' commands reflected in the choices of his followers, "Red Letter Revolution" is a blueprint for a new kind of Christianity, one consciously centered on the words of Jesus, the Bible's "red letters."
Framed as a captivating dialogue betwe...more
Framed as a captivating dialogue betwe...more
Hardcover, 271 pages
Published
October 9th 2012
by Thomas Nelson Publishers
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For those interested in scriptural study the idea of "red letters" is a fairly common concept. In fact since 1899 Bibles have been published with the words of Jesus highlighted in red. In this new book by Shane Claiborne the concept is taken a step further. The question is asked: What if Jesus really meant all that he said?
To put it bluntly, this book was a game-changer for me. It was a real challenge to some of the things I thought I believed regarding many issues of the day. I certainly did n...more
To put it bluntly, this book was a game-changer for me. It was a real challenge to some of the things I thought I believed regarding many issues of the day. I certainly did n...more
Shane and Tony challenge readers in candid dialogue to take the red letter words Jesus spoke in the Bible literally.
The book is dedicated: To all of us, young and old, who want a
Red Letter Christians
Shane Claiborne and Tony Campolo
I love this book because the authors span generations, and each one offers a unique viewpoint from that context . I also love their courage to tackle twenty-six of the most pressing topics of our time, including: theology, on being pro-life, on homosexuality, on raci...more
The book is dedicated: To all of us, young and old, who want a
Red Letter Christians
Shane Claiborne and Tony Campolo
I love this book because the authors span generations, and each one offers a unique viewpoint from that context . I also love their courage to tackle twenty-six of the most pressing topics of our time, including: theology, on being pro-life, on homosexuality, on raci...more
You should be familiar with the words written in red in the New Testament of the Holy Bible. They are the words of Jesus Christ. But did Jesus really mean what he said? The authors believe so.
This book is a discussion between two authors attempting to present an achievable authentic lifestyle that personifies the teachings of Christ. They share their thoughts concerning a myriad of topics, many quite controversial and hot-bed political issues.
The material is presented as a conversation between S...more
This book is a discussion between two authors attempting to present an achievable authentic lifestyle that personifies the teachings of Christ. They share their thoughts concerning a myriad of topics, many quite controversial and hot-bed political issues.
The material is presented as a conversation between S...more
“Red Letter Revolution: What If Jesus Really Meant What He Said?” (ISBN 9781400204182) by Shane Claiborne and Tony Campolo is a conversation about different aspects of Christianity like
our faith,
how outsiders see us,
social issues from homosexuality to abortion
the Middle East
and even US politics.
The concept of “Red Letter” refers the practice of publishers to use red letters to indicate the words of Jesus as a means to separate this movement (group of people) from fundamentalists.
“Whenever...more
our faith,
how outsiders see us,
social issues from homosexuality to abortion
the Middle East
and even US politics.
The concept of “Red Letter” refers the practice of publishers to use red letters to indicate the words of Jesus as a means to separate this movement (group of people) from fundamentalists.
“Whenever...more
This is not really a book, as much as it is a transcript of an extended discussion. The authors Claiborne and Campolo reflect on what Christianity might look like, if those who claim to follow Jesus would stop actually following religious or cultural tradition. Instead they discuss what it would look like if the red letters of the bible were followed. In most modern bibles, the red colored letters are the words spoken by Jesus. Thus, the “Red Letter Revolution” is the revolution that would take...more
This book is fantastic. Shane Claiborne and Tony Campolo write in a conversational style and encourage readers to be intentional about their faith by looking at current issues through the lens of the Red Letters, the words Jesus spoke. They look at issues such as the economy, war, abortion, homosexuality, empire, etc. As a Seventh-day Adventist who values our notion of Sola Scriptura, I think we should constantly be evaluating our beliefs and lifestyle by the words of Jesus... don't you?
My favor...more
My favor...more
Red letter Revolution. Certain bibles present the words of Jesus in Red. In this book the authors discuss those words at length and the implications for living today as a red-letter believing, following Christian.
I wish the authors had written an actual book. Its as if they were having coffee together and decided, "Hey, what we're talking about should be a book." But instead of taking the time and effort to write a book they just had someone else transcribe their conversations. The format had m...more
I wish the authors had written an actual book. Its as if they were having coffee together and decided, "Hey, what we're talking about should be a book." But instead of taking the time and effort to write a book they just had someone else transcribe their conversations. The format had m...more
This book is challenging. It challenges Christians to confront whether we "go to church/belong to a church" or "follow Christ (through his actual words in the gospels)" ... and the answer for me and many is likely to be that we aren't following his words or him.
I appreciate the topic generally and I find both authors to be articulate and well grounded. I like to format of a dialogue. Although it's less frequently point and counter-point, it gives two people with similar but distinct views the op...more
I appreciate the topic generally and I find both authors to be articulate and well grounded. I like to format of a dialogue. Although it's less frequently point and counter-point, it gives two people with similar but distinct views the op...more
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While I believe the authors of this book meant well; they did not write a manifesto on what it means to me a Red Letter Christian. What they wrote was a haphazard hot-potato discussion of topics, "dialogue on homosexuality" "dialogue on politics" "dialogue on the Middle East" etc. And while one might expect the authors to discuss how Christ addressed all of these difficult topics in the "red letters" of the new testament, they did not. What they did was have a very interesting discussion about t...more
This book is first of all impressive in the broad scope of topics that are covered, including church history, liturgy, hell, racism, environmentalism, homosexuality, civil disobedience, politics, war and violence . . . and the list goes on. What is striking for me is how much my views on many of these matters has changed substantially in the past 10-15 years. I love how Tony and Shane combine their elderly and youthful wisdom to speak to such a broad range of topics that the evangelical (dare I...more
This book is amazing. Few Christians out there stand out to me as much as Shane Claiborne does. I think this is because Shane not only calls for Christian life to be radical, but shows in his own life just how radical it can be. He practices what he preaches and gives us all a good look at what Jesus looked like when He walked the earth. Between him and Tony Campolo, so many hot button issues are touched on that this book really becomes somewhat of a guide to Christian living in today's day and...more
Enlightening, stimulating, frustrating, helpful. I found this book to not only speak to today's Christians with insight on revelant issues, but also to a world that needs a filter of authentic Christianity through which to see them. I am amazed at how many issues were made clearer for me. Issues that I have often felt uneasy about accepting the "Christian party line", but never did the work of filtering them through the lens of the Gospel and the ministry of Jesus. Please read this book. And sha...more
Quality read. I appreciate the thrust behind Claiborne/Campolo's aim: to give theologically-orthodox Christians a name under which to gather other than liberal mainline or conservative evangelical. 'Red Letter Christian', denoting a focus on the words of Christ, is an interesting (presumptuous?) title to take for this movement.
With a very intriguing style, they speak with the authority of scholarship and grass roots involvement into a many of the most pressing issues of our generation. You don'...more
With a very intriguing style, they speak with the authority of scholarship and grass roots involvement into a many of the most pressing issues of our generation. You don'...more
Two of the best hearts and minds struggling to preserve the evangelical shifts we are encountering right now. Red Letter Christians is the result and I am going to come alongside and try to live the revolution. I find myself somewhere between Shane and Tony and that's okay according to these two voices. It's not about being on the same page over all the issues and applications...it's about living out Christ in our lives in the context we find ourselves. I appreciate how these guys are trading of...more
What a refreshing book! It's nice to have a couple of prominent Christians examine contemporary issues by looking at what Jesus actually says instead of toeing the party line. At times they sort of skirt around certain things, such as abortion. They don't pick a particular side or say definitively that such-and-such is right or wrong. Normally that would bug me, but in this situation I liked that they focus on common ground. For instance, going with the abortion example, they acknowledge that ab...more
This is a great book to guide one's thinking in how to take Jesus's teachings and creatively respond to the world in which we live. Depending on your background, some of these suggestions might take you by surprise. The topics range across a broad spectrum from civil disobedience to the Middle East to urban living. I'm grateful for Claiborne's perspective on faith. It is deeply challenging, faith-shaking and loving.
Written in dialogue format, it doesn't try to make an extensive theological argum...more
Written in dialogue format, it doesn't try to make an extensive theological argum...more
Shane Claiborne's books are a much-needed jolt to my life as a Christian. This book, co-authored in a conversation format with Tony Campolo might be my favorite of his so far.
Tony and Shane tackle some very difficult and often debated topics of faith in a very honest and direct way. I love the conversation format to his more recent books, as it makes me feel like I'm casually sitting down at a cafe with them. It promotes the idea that Christians should be open to discussion, even on the hard is...more
Tony and Shane tackle some very difficult and often debated topics of faith in a very honest and direct way. I love the conversation format to his more recent books, as it makes me feel like I'm casually sitting down at a cafe with them. It promotes the idea that Christians should be open to discussion, even on the hard is...more
This book is absolutely stunning. It doesn't mince words, it doesn't cut back on theological principals for fear of 'political correctness' or for fear of offending someone with different beliefs. It is a dialogue that goes through many, many common topics/question found primarily in Western society through the lens of what Jesus actually has to say about the topic. Not what someone has interpreted from scriptures, not what some denomination believes, but what the Bible actually says.
A heart breaking read; each chapter touched on a topic that the church needs to revisit, starting with the words of Jesus. The heartbreaking part is that, from my experience, the church has in many cases avoided the words of Jesus, either by ignorance (unawareness) or disobedience ("I know better than that; this is the 'real world.'").
Such a posture makes the book into a Jeremiah-like calling of repentance; it asks us to, like Jeremiah, ask for the ancient way and walk in it and then find rest...more
Such a posture makes the book into a Jeremiah-like calling of repentance; it asks us to, like Jeremiah, ask for the ancient way and walk in it and then find rest...more
Having read other books and articles by the authors, I looked forward to reading this book. The question and answer/dialogue format provides a good introduction (reintroduction, in my case) to the concept of living what Jesus taught. While this book is an overview and not an in depth study or exploration, it does give a lot of basis to begin reconstructing your life on a "red letter" way. I'm hoping the authors will explore these issues in depth in a future project.
This book wasn't quite what I expected...it is a dialogue between two people of different generations who both have a heart for Jesus. While I identified with a lot of their ideas/thoughts on a variety of topics I wish there would have been more in depth discussions on just a few of the topics. It was like they were trying to cover too much. Overall though it is an inspiring book that made me survey my own beliefs and actions on the words Jesus spoke in the New Testament.
Oct 23, 2012
Crystal
marked it as to-read
Bill McKibben and Desmond Tutu, among many others, recommend this book, so I'm going to have to give it a read. I think the whole "Red Letter Christians" thing is lame...I read and believe all the Bible, and feel that there's an equal concern for social justice throughout the Bible. but still...an alumnus and a professor emeritus from my alma mater, recommended by so many great thinkers around the world? Of course I have to read it.
As an individual reading this book I found it difficult to get through, the conversational nature in which it is written is a bit off-putting for someone who is used to a book written in the traditional sense. But, having said this, Red Letter Revolution is an interesting read and I think it may be better suited to a small group format Bible Study as a conversation starter and book study.
This book is an interesting commentary on what it might look like to focus on what Jesus taught, and what that might look like in today's society. Campolo and Claiborne are able to do this without either falling into the failures of the Social Gospel movement, or falling into the failures of fundamentalism. Highly recommended!
These are two men I respect addressing what it means to follow Jesus (the red letters) related to a range of issues. Not particularly focused but there are some things well said here. I have a fuller review of this book at my blog: http://thoughtsprayersandsongs.com/20...
The "red letters" of the title refer to the words attributed to Jesus Christ. In many Bibles, direct quotes from Jesus appear in red letters. Campolo and Claiborne challenge Christians to put the Red Letter teachings of our Savior into practice in our daily lives. Yes, it's challenging. Yes, doing so turns our worldly lives upside down. But Jesus came to turn this world upside down and make way for the Kingdom of Heaven.
A must read! Shane and Tony carry out this book in a dialogue that is easy to follow, not a bad thing, the substances more than makes for any lack of form. They apologetically discuss how if we taken these red letters to heart thing would change how we carry out our lives. From taking excess and giving it to those in need and being Pro-Life "from womb to tomb", loving not judging, taking care of the sojourners(immigrants and migrants), and living the kingdom to come here and now.
Fantastic. It covers a broad amount of topics, and does a good job giving a response to each topic. This is the book that all Christians should read and struggle with. If this revolution actually takes place the world would change for the better, and I think Jesus would smile.
Two authors wrote the book and neither one of them had answers on how to live your life as a Christian. One author said to give it all up to follow Christ, other other said you can still follow Christ with a job that has medical and IRA benefits.
One of those books that reminds me of why I am doing what I am doing. I do not fully agree with some of the dicier issues presented by the authors, but I do fully agree with the love and conviction that they bring to ministry and life.
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My love of God and my love of the arts seem to have begun simultaneously. I can not remember which awed me first. By age eight I was both an avid collector of crucifix pendants and a writer of poems. Thankfully those first poems are lost somewhere on the African continent.
Fast forward years later through stints in English boarding school, pew-warming in Anglican, Lutheran, Methodist, and Presbyter...more
More about Shane Claiborne...
Fast forward years later through stints in English boarding school, pew-warming in Anglican, Lutheran, Methodist, and Presbyter...more
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“As Christians, we should be the best collaborators in the world. We should be quick to find unlikely allies and subversive friends, like Jesus did.”
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4 people liked it
“I always tell our community that we should attract the people Jesus attracted and frustrate the people Jesus frustrated. It’s certainly never our goal to frustrate, but it is worth noting that the people who were constantly agitated were the self-righteous, religious elite, the rich, and the powerful. But the people who were fascinated by him, by his love and grace, were folks who were already wounded and ostracized — folks who didn’t have much to lose, who already knew full well that they were broken and needed a Savior.”
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4 people liked it
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