All of the curated books on Sunday to Saturday. Visit our Good Reads page for more book reviews.
Over hundreds of years and the entanglement of church and state American Christians have lost their prophetic and Biblical voice when it comes to justice and punishment. Pastor Dominque DuBoise Gilliard tells the history of incarceration and the churches role and theological posture – both good and bad – with incarceration in the United States before tracing the history of Christian’s views on criminals and crime to retributive justice that is at odds with the Bible.
The church, specifically the American church in the context of Postcards from Babylon, has been seduced by the allure of power and influence. This is not a new phenomenon, but has been going on for hundreds of years. The intertwining of faith and empire has blinded our eyes to the teachings of the Bible that calls the church to be a counter-cultural, prophetic voice against violence.
A history of another brutal part of America’s past that is glossed over Worse Than Slavery tells the story of convict leasing, a thinly veiled system of slavery, through the songs of convicts, court documents, and local newspapers.
What does it mean to do justice? Is justice a primary concern in the Bible? Can we separate justice and evangelism? What characteristics should make Christians unique and distinct in the world? Pastor Tim Keller answers those questions and more in a thorough explanation of Biblical justice while making the case that justice and the pursuit of justice is a primary concern of the Bible and Jesus’ ministry on earth.
Gay Girl Good God is a story of redemption not from the clutches of homosexuality, but of a life lived devoid of God. Jackie Hill Perry’s story fills the reader with hope not because it claims that its pages contain the secret to “curing” homosexuality, but because it points just one thing – God.
Grounded in Genesis in the Imago Dei The Gospel in Color firmly traces the evolution of racism back to the garden of Eden when sin entered the world. But, Jesus coming into the world and dying on a cross allows us to be reconciled to him while modeling what it takes to be reconciled to each other.
Primarily written to the American church pastor Drew Hart weaves personal narratives with a little bit of church history, a little bit of American history and a little bit of theological history as a call to the church to change the way it views racism.
The color of one’s skin is a driving force in how one experiences the world. A brown person’s experience is distinctly different from that of a white person. With this lens professor Robert Chao Romero tells the history of the exploitation of his people on multiple continents while incorporating the birth of the brown church.
How to Fight Racism by Jemar Tisby is a book to help you take the next step when you want concrete, actionable advice and recommendations on how to work against racism. It is a Christian’s guidebook on being an anti-racist similar to how Compassion and Conviction is a guidebook for Christians engaging with politics.
Sure, most Americans have heard of lynching and perhaps it was perfunctorily talked about in a high school history class, but few understand how common and ruthlessly callous it was.
