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Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream
The Radical Question: What is Jesus Really Worth to You?
both by David Platt
Read: as a review copy from Waterbrook Multnomah (Radical: 240 pages; The Radical Question: 64 pages)
Rating: 8 out of 10 (finished 4/26/10)
Synopsis: In Radical, David Platt challenges you to consider with an open heart how we have manipulated the gospel to fit our cultural preferences. He shows what Jesus actually said about being his disciple — then invites you to believe and obey what you have heard. And he tells the dramatic story of what is happening as a “successful” suburban church decides to get serious about the gospel according to Jesus. In The Radical Question, a short companion guide to Radical, Platt breaks down what it truly means to abandon everything for the gospel.
Overall Impression: I was immediately drawn to the title of this book. At first I thought this might be a somewhat political book, but really it’s more about the American Dream. James Truslow Adams first coined the phrase American Dream, calling it “a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position.” On the surface, it’s not really a bad thing to strive for. Be the best you can be. Work hard and reap the rewards. But Platt argues that this leaves little room in our lives for God to work, and believes that the American Dream is in many ways destroying the faith lives of American Christians. If we’re consistently in the mindset of “I can do this,” then there is no room for “God can do this.”
Platt does a great job of breaking down how the American Dream and the Bible are at odds with one another. He sums up the whole book on page 183: “Real success is found in radical sacrifice. Ultimate satisfaction is found not in making much of ourselves but in making much of God. The purpose of our lives transcends the country and culture in which we live. Meaning is found in community, not individualism; joy is found in generosity, not materialism; and truth is found in Christ, not universalism. Ultimately, Jesus is a reward worth risking everything to know, experience, and enjoy.”
I got a ton out of this book, and it helped flesh out a lot of the things I’ve been wrestling with when it comes to living as an American Christian. It made me consider how we “do church” and how we live our American lives so separated from the rest of the world. It made me think about how much other Christians around the world have to sacrifice everything just to meet in secret to worship. The best part of the whole book is that Platt gives real-life suggestions on how to move toward a more radical faith: read the entire Bible in a year, pray for the world, sacrifice (not just give off the top) your money for a purpose, spend a week outside your culture, and find a church body that looks outward instead of remaining inward. The whole thing was really well done.
Pros: Really makes the reader consider everything they know about the church in America, offers suggestions to actually change the way you live your life — instead of just pointing out a problem with no solution, good real-life examples of people living out the opposite of the American Dream
Cons: Felt a little disjointed now and then. I’m not sure I needed the companion guide — it rehashed a bunch of what the book went through. I think readers are okay just using the regular book.
Extras: Download the first chapter
Other books I’ve read by David Platt: none
Other blogger reviews: The Prodigal Returns (Have you reviewed this? I’ll link you here!)
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Waterbrook Multnomah as part of their Blogging for Books program. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
