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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
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Avg. Customer Rating:  70 reviews
Sales Rank: 541
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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Product Description
Based on groundbreaking Barna Group research, unChristian uncovers the negative perceptions young people have of Christianity and explores what can be done to reverse them.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 65 more reviews...
Somberly, Prayerfully December 26, 2007
117 out of 132 found this review helpful
I grew up in the church. My parents were ministers. I did overseas missions work, and I now write novels with characters who deal with the spiritual questions we face in the world of steel and greed and humanity. My first twenty years of life I was a gung-ho believer, ready to change the world. The next twenty years, I tried to change the church through ministry positions, toeing the lines, trying to gain the respect and authority to have a say.
I believe I wasted my time. There are too many who want to hold onto what has always been, instead of seeing it for what it has become. I wish I had simply done all the things I felt I should be doing--helping the poor, the HIV-infected, and knowing Jesus as a lifestyle, not just on Sunday mornings. "unChristian" is one of the most precise books I've come across, for its unflinching stare into the mirror. It deals with most of the critical observations that "outsiders" have, but these are really the same observations of any honest Christian. In fact, by working for the past fifteen years outside of the "ministry," I could've identified almost to a T every criticism outlined in this book. Simply step out of the ivory tower and you'll see and hear all these issues raised.
While "unChristian" can come across somewhat dry and prosaic in its dispensing of information, it is a valuable and necessary dissertation on the ills of our current form of Christianity. It's also a sincere and noble call back to those things that we should be about. The authors don't pull punches, but they do write with grace and love for the church of Christ's followers, regardless of denomination or style. This should be a book for every Christian to consider somberly and prayerfully.
 The 'C' Bomb October 10, 2007
72 out of 98 found this review helpful
The C Bomb
By Bill Dahl
I was reading a blog recently and appreciated the author's heartfelt apology about his inadvertent "church sucks" post. Trust me, we have all said and written stuff that we regret. It's when we overlook the fact that we are all fallible (or we assume we are bulletproof), we're really in trouble. I shared with the author that I was delighted to note that he is human, and a sensitive and lovable one at that. I welcomed him to the foot in mouth club - we're ALL members. (many of us have multiple memberships).
Yet, his apology for the "church sucks" post ( "confession and repentance") illuminated other issues for me (and I assume, many others). We have the A-bomb, the F-bomb, and whether we like it or not, we now have the "C-bomb." The term "C-bomb" refers to Christians, Christianity and the Church. This is NOT my opinion. It is an empirically verifiable fact, as evidenced by the research conducted over the past several years by the Barna Group. I have also written extensively about my own personal struggle with the C-bomb. You can find some of my more cogent thoughts here: The Next Questians - [...]
This research is laid out in David Kinnaman's newly released book (October 2007) entitled, UNchristian - What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity. Kinnaman has been George Barna's protege over the last 12 years and is President of the Barna Group, unequivocally the ongoing source of reliable social research about Christians, Christianity and the Church.
This book is sobering. I wept at certain parts of it. We Christians have made a mess of Christianity in North America and the established Church most certainly has its share of the blame. As Kinnaman says, "We can't change what we are known for unless we change how we live." (p. 231). This "living" includes the "life" of the Church. Kinnaman goes on to say that we must "discern how deep and serious the problems are, so that our missional engagement in the coming years won't be more of the same."
We have to embrace the uncomfortable truth that the Church as an institution provides much of the momentum to preserve the status quo --- more of the same. Although the natural reaction to those who presently have a vested interest in the Church to "church sucks" is likely to be a defensive and perhaps polarizing one, I wonder if the reaction does not also contain an element of denial...a terribly important element that we must ALL come together to overcome.
Listen to Kinnaman and the Barna Group:
"The nation's population is increasingly resistant to Christianity...the aversion and hostility are, for the first time, crystallizing in the attitudes of millions of young Americans. A huge chunk of a new generation has concluded they want nothing to do with us. As Christians, we are widely distrusted by a skeptical generation. We are at a turning point for Christianity in America. If we do not wake up to these realities and respond in appropriate, godly ways, we risk being increasingly marginalized and losing further credibility with millions of people." P. 39.
The reality is the C-bomb is not being stored in some underground bunker. The C-bomb has detonated in our midst! What shall we do? Walk around in stunned silence? Continue to deny that we are the walking wounded as others avoid us? Are we going to pick up the pieces and rebuild a remnant of the memory of more of the same? something that doesn't produce the results that bring glory to our Lord and Savior by focusing on more of the same or will be become capable of coming together in a new revolution of hope:
"A revolution of hope is not just a matter of reading a book or hearing an inspiring sermon. True, a book or sermon or personal encounter may be a vehicle through which hope wins our hearts. But a revolution of hope makes radical demands of us. It requires us to learn new skills and habits and capacities: the skills of a new way of thinking, the capacities of a new way of living....it is a new way of life that changes everything." - Brian McLaren, Everything Must Change - Jesus, Global Crises and a Revolution of Hope. Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, TN Copyright 2007 by Brian D. McLaren. P. 283.
I want to learn a new way of living that changes everything. I am not coming `armed' to life anymore. I'm coming surrendered. The C-Bomb has detonated. The devastation is all around us. Yet, for those of us with a love of Jesus, and a thirst for imagining the future, and our respective roles in it, my prayer is that God's Spirit will provide each of us with eyes to see and ears to hear a "new thing" that He is doing in our midst. Kinnaman's book also has dozens of suggestions about what that might look like.
I believe the blog authors apology contained the essence of the attitude I need to maintain today, as we approach the Christian life --- come surrendered Bill, come humble, be prepared to learn and unlearn. Come to listen. Come to pray. Come to celebrate Christ alive among us. Come to be inspired by God's Spirit.
Humility. It's a powerful thing. Unchristian - What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons is a literary seismic event that will rearrange the face of faith.
Buy this book. Read it on your knees. Stay knelt until you are able to rise surrendered to what you thought you knew about being a Christian.
One of my Top 10 for 2007.
Bill Dahl
http://www.ThePorpoiseDivingLife.com
good news gone bad January 9, 2008
57 out of 68 found this review helpful
In his book The Heart of Christianity (2003) Marcus Borg of Oregon State University describes how his university students have a uniformly negative image of Christianity. "When I ask them to write a short essay on their impression of Christianity," says Borg, "they consistently use five adjectives: Christians are literalistic, anti-intellectual, self-righteous, judgmental, and bigoted."
Christians might object, rather defensively, that it's unfair to draw sweeping conclusions based upon the report of one person. If you think that way, you'd be right in your logic but wrong in your conclusion. A new book called unChristian (2007) by David Kinnaman of the Barna Group presents objective research that supports Borg's subjective anecdote. Kinnaman's three-year study documents how an overwhelming percentage of sixteen to twenty-nine year olds view Christians with hostility, resentment and disdain.
These broadly and deeply negative views of Christians aren't just superficial stereotypes with no basis in reality, says Kinnaman. Nor are the critics people who've had no contact with churches or Christians. It would be a tragic mistake, he argues, for believers to protest that outsider outrage at Christians is a misperception. Rather, it's based upon their real experiences with today's Christians. In addition to their statistical research, the book includes anecdotes from people who were interviewed, follow-on comments at the end of each chapter by some 30 Christian leaders, and reflections about why we've come to such a place and how we might make it better.
According to Kinnaman's Barna study, here are the percentages of people outside the church who think that the following words describe present-day Christianity:
* antihomosexual 91%
* judgmental 87%
* hypocritical 85%
* old-fashioned 78%
* too political 75%
* out of touch with reality 72%
* insensitive to others 70%
* boring 68%
It would be hard to overestimate, says Kinnaman, "how firmly people reject-- and feel rejected by-- Christians" (19). Or think about it this way, he suggests: "When you introduce yourself as a Christian to a friend, neighbor, or business associate who is an outsider, you might as well have it tattooed on your arm: antihomosexual, gay-hater, homophobic. I doubt you think of yourself in these terms, but that's what outsiders think of you" (93).
Gabe Lyons of the Fermi Project who commissioned the Barna research remembers his first look at the data. "I'll never forget sitting in Starbucks, poring through the research results on my laptop. As I soaked it in, I glanced at the people around me and was overwhelmed with the thought that this is what they think of me. It was a sobering thought to know that if I had stood up and announced myself as a 'Christian' to the customers assembled in Starbucks that day, they would have associated me with every one of the negative perceptions described in this book" (222, his italics). Sad to say, Marcus Borg was even more right than he knew.
 Satan and the world never thought well of Christianity February 2, 2008
51 out of 88 found this review helpful
Methods such as surveys, observations, and testimonies infrequently produce a definitive reason why a specific social group with a large population has adopted certain behaviors. Researchers drawing any conclusion from these methods must assume that those participating in the study are objective and those interpreting the data are objective. These methods become less reliable when the effect (i.e. a % of mosaics and busters stop going to church) is the only objective part of the study. Unless cause theories can be implemented into a test group in a controlled environment, the real cause will never be discovered. With this many variables, researchers can afford only an educated guess at best.
Kinnaman and Lyons increase the number of variables in their research by imposing their own set values and cultural influences. Both authors assume that the church is primarily for the unsaved; therefore, the church should be tailored to attract the unsaved rather than be a place to encourage and disciple Christians. They assume that if the church reflects cultural trends, that sinners in droves will stampede the church doors to get saved. They also assume that church culture (jargon, etiquette, polity) is not part of discipleship because the church should reflect a secular culture. They also assume that the pleasures of this world have little influence in causing a falling away from the church. They also assume that cultural relevance is the primary method for drawing people to Christ and keeping them in the church. They also assume that God's will and marketing trends are synonymous with each other. They also assume that a Christian's primary role is to be liked by the unsaved. They also assume that every Christian should be perfect, that is, always saying everything with perfect love and wisdom. With these set of assumptions, it is obvious why they believe that the church universal is Satan incarnate or at least one of its imps. "IF IT WERE NOT FOR CHRISTIANS THERE WOULD BE LESS PEOPLE GOING TO HELL!"--balderdash!
Sure, the church can do a number of things to make Christianity more palatable, but when the dust settles, a crucified Messiah will always be a stumbling block or foolishness to the world, and many people will be drawn away by their own lust. Jesus must have failed many people in Israel since the Jews accused Him of being a blasphemer; Paul must have failed since most in Israel and the surrounding Greek areas hated him.
When we stand before God, we cannot blame imperfect Christians and outdated churches as an excuse for not following Christ: "God I did not become a follower of Christ because some Christian offended me when he told me that homosexuality is a sin; it hurt my feelings."
However, in our efforts to change this falling away, every church should be designed to give Christians the tools to be self-feeders so that they can have a personal relationship with Christ and the skills to reach the unsaved.
More than just lies, damned lies, and statistics. December 29, 2007
43 out of 85 found this review helpful
This could have been a useful means of addressing an interesting development in our culture. The original idea was a good one, but Kinnaman and Lyons have added something new: gross incompetence. A well reasoned professional approach would have made this a landmark text. Instead, it is better suited to hold up the end of the sofa with the short leg. The entire point of the book is to decry how the percentage of Christians is declining in American society. Page 76 of the text puts the number at 73% for those over 41 and at 65% for those younger. Unfortunately, page 46 claims four out of every five Americans (80%) are Christian. Unless you are counting the deceased, there is no mathematical way for this to occur. It gets more absurd. As part of the analysis, a category of Outsider was created (about 24% of the population) which consists of: Atheists, Agnostics, Buddhists, Jews, Hindus, Mormons, Muslims, Pagans, and the Unchurched. This group of Outsiders apparently has the ability to change its characteristics from chapter to chapter. For example, page 152 claims that Outsiders are one of the four faith groups that make up the Christian electorate! (Apparently there is no non-Christian electorate.) Sometimes members of the Unchurched, also referred to as the deChurched, change categories as well. On page 74, the majority of teenagers are described as Christian and most of them leave the church within 10 years of joining (this means over 50% leave, in case either of the authors wants to know). The teens are described as having made a commitment to Christ at some point in their lives, but since they left the church they should now fall in the Outsider category. Do the math. If most leave, less than 50% remain, but the next graph shows 65% have made a commitment to Christ that is still important! They aren't Outsiders anymore (at least for this page). Are they the prodigal teens? In addition to inconsistent analysis, you'll also find misinformation about the founding of the Holy Roman Empire (it was in 962 not 337). Additionally, a Religion Professor from Rice University blatantly lies when claiming that enrollment at secular colleges and universities didn't increase from 1990 to 2004 (yes, it did, 28% at private and 13% at public, according to the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities). The level of analysis never gets beyond hoping that the church will be less judgmental to Outsiders while claiming that only those who follow Christ can be virtuous (page 217). I guess slandering two-thirds of the world's population is the author's idea of withholding judgment. As an aside, the authors never mention the 1998 study by Hadaway and Marler that showed that almost 50% of the Christian population lies about church attendance (they are typically Unchurched). I guess that makes the Outsider category larger than the Christian one. I wonder what a professional analysis of the data would reveal. Unfortunately, this text has probably stifled any honest look at the changes in American religious demographics.
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