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| unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks about Christianity... and Why It Matters | 
 enlarge | Authors: David Kinnaman, Gabe Lyons
Publisher: Baker Books
Category: Book
List Price: $17.99
Buy New: $10.98
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Avg. Customer Rating:  70 reviews
Sales Rank: 523
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6 x 1
ISBN: 0801013003
Dewey Decimal Number: 277.3083
EAN: 9780801013003
ASIN: 0801013003
Publication Date: October 1, 2007
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| Customer Reviews:
Necessary and disturbing October 27, 2007
35 out of 50 found this review helpful
This book shows that most people under 40 have a negative view of evangelical Christianity, citing research from the Barna Group. The fact that most non-evangelicals despise evangelical Christians is not news. But this book admits the truth: most of the animosity that people feel toward Christians isn't because they hate us for telling the Truth. It's because Christians have been aggressive, impolite, arrogant, and rude. When we aren't embarrassing ourselves with gross displays of intolerance, we're working to elect politicians who are hostile to the basic institutions of secular democracy - without evangelical Christian voters, there never would have been 30 years of Republican dominance, and young people would be growing up and starting their lives in a society with a strong and growing middle class, a strong social safety net for the poor and disabled, competent health care, sane environmental regulations, and less dependence on foreign oil. Our TV evangelists were right - the apocalypse is on its way. But we helped to bring it, and young people know it.
I'm not sure that this book has good recommendations for how Generation X and Millennial Christians should try to live our Christian commitments in the coming years. We're inherited a huge mess from the Baby Boomers. This book sticks with the notion that we've communicated our Christianity to our secular neighbors in a poor manner, but that our fundamental beliefs are correct. The author even recommends that we continue to be involved in politics and that the best way to improve public morality is to pass laws limiting people's behavior, and bemoans that younger generations don't share the theocratic ideal that our nation's laws should be based on the Bible and not on democratic processes. Perhaps this is my formal letter of resignation from the evangelical movement, but I think we need to face the fact that some of our basic beliefs may be wrong, and that the failures of our elders resulted naturally from these false beliefs. Is the Bible really "inerrant," in the sense that we can pluck verses out of it and take those random sentences as universal statements of absolute Truth? Are Christians really called to be the nation's morality police? Can we continue to fight science, when all attempts to do so, including our recent dalliance with "intelligent design," have been spectacular failures? Can we continue to be a movement dedicated to "conserving" some great American past, when it's obvious that the past wasn't so great, and that being "conservative" just draws reactionary, authoritarian people who don't genuinely follow Christ's teachings?
These are some of the questions those of us under 40 are going to have to answer. This book isn't perfect, but it's a great conversation starter.
 disturbing February 1, 2008
32 out of 39 found this review helpful
For some reason I had a hard time finishing this book. I would read awhile and then put the book aside for some time before picking it up again. I knew I needed to read it, but had a difficult time doing so. Perhaps it is because I don't really want to know how bad things are for Christianity and the future. In spite of the positive comments about the future found in the back of the book, the body of material is disturbing indeed.
It has not escaped notice that the 19-35 yr. olds are largely absent in our churches. We can keep children through High School and then . . . . what happens to them? Although the book is not specifically addressing the needs of children raised in the church, the material gives great insight into what their peers are thinking and, undoubtedly, what causes many of them to leave the fold as well.
The book has heightened my sensitivities and has caused me to repent of certain attitudes. God help us to be the people he has created us to be.
 Very disappointing December 26, 2007
30 out of 84 found this review helpful
I bought this book on a recommendation, thinking that it would treat seriously the reasons why the Christian church does not appeal to the younger crowd (whom the author calls Mosaics and Busters), that is, those under 30. While the writers pinpoint the problems well enough, their solutions are tired, old, craftily recycled bromides that I still doubt will work.
For example, the chapter on how the Church's hostility toward gay people has turned off this up-and-coming generation, the authors relate heartbreaking stories of gays who have been attacked and vilified by so-called Christians, and rightfully lament the behavior of their co-religionists. Unfortunately, they continue to decry "homosexual behavior" and simply believe that by showing compassion so-called Christians can convert gay people to a life of celibacy through faith in Christ, which they then mistakenly believe will make Christianity more acceptable among the young since they see how humane Christians really are. It is the same old "love the sinner and had the sin" approach, but just packaged in a more slick and manner, using a lot of social science techno-babble.
The writers each belong to an evangelical research foundation/project, the Barna Group and the Fermi Foundation. Their credentials and affiliations sound impressive, but beware. They may have done the statistical analysis of why the "new generation" has eschewed Christianity, and even provided a solid explanation (that Christians give the impression of being intolerant and unloving people) but it appears they use their resources mainly in an effort to dress up the Church's image rather than seeking to understand the Gospel more completely -- especially its call to love others and accept those who are different.
It seems never to have crossed their minds that the best way to get younger people to think seriously about Christianity might be by actually accepting gays fully into the church as equals, who can express their God-given sexuality just as straight people can.
I can't help but wonder whether these guys would have tried to get 19th-century Christians to "understand" how hard slaves had it and to empathize with their situation rather than actually calling for their freedom.
In sum, don't believe the hype of this book; it is definitely not what it appears to be. In fact, the glib protestations of its premise being different simply make it all the more dishonest.
Good advice in spite of a fatal flaw in the research January 30, 2008
25 out of 30 found this review helpful
"Christianity has an image problem." That's how unChristian begins, and it is the problem it attempts to resolve, not by explaining the Christian faith to non-Christians, but by urging professing Christians to fix their image in 6 specific areas. According to the research done for this book (from the Barna Group), Christians are accused of being hypocritical, insincere in their efforts to convert people, antihomosexual, sheltered, too political, and judgmental. Because of these accusations, the writers contend, evangelical Christians, or those who are considered to be "born again," have lost the respect of those outside the church. These non-Christians consider the Christian faith as it is practiced today to be unChristian, that is, "they think Christians no longer represent what Jesus had in mind, that Christianity in our society is not what it was meant to be" (p. 15). Are they right?
It is tough to argue with the data gathered from the research. The authors make a convincing case that even those inside the church--young Christians in particular--agree that something has gone terribly wrong with modern Christianity. I found myself nodding in agreement quite a bit as I read the accusations hurled at the faith I myself possess. If our faith has become "unChristian," we must not delay in working to fix it. And even if we are tempted to think that it doesn't really matter what non-Christians think about us since non-believers will always disapprove of what we believe (the authors field this charge and respond to it on pp. 36-39), we have to realize that perceptions, even wrong perceptions, still affect the way people respond to us. If as Christians we desire to be heard by non-Christians, then we would do well to listen first to them.
As for the specific allegations leveled at us, can there be any doubt that Christians by and large are guilty of being hypocritical? It is true that for many of us our lives do not reflect what we say we believe. And we can surely understand that many of our attempts at evangelism have lacked in genuine interest for the person with whom we are sharing our faith. Yes, the Christian faith can seem "like a religion of rules and standards" (p. 123), and surely many of us have far too often made others feel like we were judgmental, setting ourselves up as the judge and jury of morality. We are known more for what we are against than for what we are for. We are too quickly associated with a political party and with antihomosexual values. What is helpful in this book is the authors' ability to help us see why we should not wear many of these charges as badges of honor. Each chapter concludes with a section from various contributors explaining ways in which we might change these perceptions of non-Christians.
There are, however, a couple of areas in which I think the authors have erred.
First, in chapter 5, in which the authors' deal with the accusation that Christians are unloving and hostile to homosexuals, I found the authors to be wrong about some of their conclusions. They quote (favorably) one pastor who says, "the struggle of gays being attracted to the same sex is no different than my struggle in being attracted to the opposite sex" (96, emphasis mine). Now I agree that the sin of homosexuality is no different than the sin of immoral heterosexuality as far as God's judgment of sin is concerned. But the Bible does suggest that there is a progression in reprobation, and according to Romans 1, homosexuality is further down that progression than other sins. The authors also ask if "we really want government regulating the sex lives of its adult citizens" (96). Does this mean that we should oppose a Federal Marriage Amendment? Do the authors think that government should not regulate morality in any way? I agree that "we cannot assume that politics is the only or best way to influence people" (106) and that we can further burn the bridges by which we hope to reach homosexuals by unloving political jargon. But this doesn't mean that Christians should abdicate this issue politically and cease in our efforts to influence our legislators toward a biblical morality. The authors also imply that we shouldn't speak so passionately against the right of homosexuals to adopt children because "our most important concern must be the response of young people to Christ, not merely what type of home they grew up in." While there is much to learn from this book's chapter on homosexuality, I was disappointed by these suggestions that we shouldn't fight the issue politically because of the potential that our opinions will alienate the homosexuals we should be trying to reach with the gospel.
Second, and perhaps even more importantly, there is a potentially fatal flaw in the research that supports this book. On page 46 the authors tell us that in their research, "when it came to nonreligious factors--the substance of people's daily choices, actions, and attitudes--there were few meaningful gaps between born-again Christians and non-born-agains." The point is clear: this book is built upon the assumption from the research that born-again Christians do not live much differently from those who are not born-again. The authors even tell us how they identify those who are born-again: "a person has to say he or she has made a personal commitment to Jesus that is still important and that the person believes he or she will go to heaven at death, because the person has confessed his or her sin and accepted Christ as Savior" (46). Based on these conclusions, the book attempts to help these "born-again" Christians recover an authentic Christian faith.
But a survey cannot identify true "born-again" Christians without error. Just because a person makes the necessary profession to be classified doesn't mean he or she really is. The authors say that two out of every five adults nationwide qualifies as being "born again." Really? Forty percent of adult Americans are born again? What the authors miss is that behavior is a better identifier of regeneration. Of course, only God knows those who are truly his, but the Bible says we are to inspect the "fruit" of people's lives in discerning those who are truly born-again (1 John 3:10). I do not deny that true believers are often guilty of the accusations leveled at them in this book by non-Christians. But I do think that Christianity gets much of its bad reputation from those who are not truly born again. So I'm afraid the research for this book is skewed.
Nevertheless, the damage is done to the Christian reputation, even if the guilty party are those who profess to be Christians but truly are not. Keeping that in mind, this book does offer some helpful advice for Christians who truly desire to convey to "outsiders" what it means to be Christian. I give this book 4 stars.
 Worth your time. October 7, 2007
22 out of 25 found this review helpful
One thing that's always been a little challenging for me is when christians are portrayed poorly on tv and film. I love it when it's funny (think Owen Wilson in Meet the Parents). But, when it's just harsh and cynical, it kind of bugs me because it doesn't seem to accurately reflect the genuine people I know who are investing their lives following Jesus.
That said though, there are some equally genuine people, who I love dearly and are not christians, who really do have some harsh and cynical views of us. And, I've been thinking lately that it might be a good idea for all of us christians to take some time and consider what they're perceiving. Who knows? We might just learn something important.
If you want to get an objective read on what people think about christians and why it matters, please go get David Kinnaman's new book and give it a read. David Kinnaman is someone I trust deeply. His work is always well researched, well written, fair and honest.
I think any thoughtful person would appreciate what he has to say.
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