Saturday, August 1, 2009

On Tour with "Religion Saves" by Mark Driscoll



About the book: Religion Saves: And Nine Other Misconceptions

After 343,203 online votes on the Mars Hill Church website, nine questions for Pastor Mark Driscoll emerged as the ones most urgently calling for answers.

Inspired by 1 Corinthians, in which Paul answers a series of questions posed by the people in the Corinthian church, Pastor Mark Driscoll set out to determine the most controversial questions among visitors to the Mars Hill Church website. In the end, 893 questions were asked and 343,203 votes were cast. The top nine questions are now each answered in a chapter of Religion Saves.

After an introductory chapter devoted to the misconception that religion is what saves us, Driscoll tackles nine issues: birth control, humor, predestination, grace, sexual sin, faith and works, dating, the emerging church, and the regulative principle.

Because the purpose of this book is to address commonly asked questions, all readers will find relevant, engaging material, written in Driscoll's distinctively edgy, yet theologically sound style.



In his distinctively edgy, yet theologically sound style, Pastor Mark Driscoll addresses the nine most controversial questions posed by visitors to the Mars Hill Church website. This book is part of the Re:Lit series.

About the author: Meet Pastor Mark!



Mark Driscoll is the founding pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, one of the fastest-growing churches in America. He is president of the Acts 29 Church Planting Network and is the author of several books, including Vintage Jesus.

Pastor Mark preaches on Sunday, trains pastors, and writes curriculum. Mark is married to his high school sweetheart, Grace, and they enjoy raising their three sons and two daughters.

More about Mark here!

My Thoughts:

I must admit, I'm a bit shaken by this book! Pastor Mark holds nothing back and pulls no punches. You either tend to love him or wonder about him...I tend to do both.

I love him because he makes no apologies for Scripture; I wonder about him because sometimes it feels as if he goes a bit too far in his analogies. But either way, you'll find a LOT of Scripture to back up his teachings.

In "Religion Saves", Pastor Mark begins with question #9 (something I question the wisdom in doing), and goes up the list to the top vote getting question. If you can't handle chapter one, you probably won't enjoy the rest of the book.

Nice thing is, it DOES get the squeamish topics out of the way first! While I may not always agree with the way he delivers the message, Pastor Mark will not water down the gospel for the sake of popularity or pleasing people.

This book is based on a sermon series he preached from I Corinthians. If you're a web-sermon watcher, most of it won't be new to you. And his concept is risky, unique, and certain to spark interest within the church and the unchurched communities.

In all, I'd give "Religion Saves" four out of five bookmarks, with a blindfold as a charm. Some of his examples made me blush...

I'm touring the book again in September and hope to have a more full review for you then.

Happy Reading!

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