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The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical
Many of us find ourselves caught somewhere between unbelieving activists and inactive believers. We can write a check to feed starving children or hold signs in the streets and feel like we’ve made a difference without ever encountering the faces of the suffering masses. In this book, Shane Claiborne describes an authentic faith rooted in belief, action, and love, inviting us into a movement of the Spirit that begins inside each of us and extends into a broken world. Shane’s faith led him to dress the wounds of lepers with Mother Teresa, visit families in Iraq amidst bombings, and dump $10,000 in coins and bills on Wall Street to redistribute wealth. Shane lives out this revolution each day in his local neighborhood, an impoverished community in North Philadelphia, by living among the homeless, helping local kids with homework, and “practicing resurrection” in the forgotten places of our world. Shane’s message will comfort the disturbed, and disturb the comfortable . . . but will also invite us into an irresistible revolution. His is a vision for ordinary radicals ready to change the world with little acts of love.
368 pages, Paperback
First published January 23, 2006
About the author
Shane Claiborne
15 books570 followersShane Claiborne is a prominent speaker, activist, and best-selling author. Shane worked with Mother Teresa in Calcutta, and founded The Simple Way in Philadelphia. He heads up Red Letter Christians, a movement of folks who are committed to living "as if Jesus meant the things he said." Shane is a champion for grace which has led him to jail advocating for the homeless, and to places like Iraq and Afghanistan to stand against war. And now grace fuels his passion to end the death penalty.
Shane’s books include Jesus for President, Red Letter Revolution, Common Prayer, Follow Me to Freedom, Jesus, Bombs and Ice Cream, Becoming the Answer to Our Prayers, his classic The Irresistible Revolution and his newest book, Executing Grace. He has been featured in a number of films including "Another World Is Possible" and "Ordinary Radicals." His books have been translated into more than a dozen languages. Shane speaks over one hundred times a year, nationally and internationally. His work has appeared in Esquire, SPIN, Christianity Today, and The Wall Street Journal, and he has been on everything from Fox News and Al Jazeera to CNN and NPR. He’s given academic lectures at Harvard, Princeton, Liberty, Duke, and Notre Dame.
Shane speaks regularly at denominational gatherings, festivals, and conferences around the globe.
Shane’s books include Jesus for President, Red Letter Revolution, Common Prayer, Follow Me to Freedom, Jesus, Bombs and Ice Cream, Becoming the Answer to Our Prayers, his classic The Irresistible Revolution and his newest book, Executing Grace. He has been featured in a number of films including "Another World Is Possible" and "Ordinary Radicals." His books have been translated into more than a dozen languages. Shane speaks over one hundred times a year, nationally and internationally. His work has appeared in Esquire, SPIN, Christianity Today, and The Wall Street Journal, and he has been on everything from Fox News and Al Jazeera to CNN and NPR. He’s given academic lectures at Harvard, Princeton, Liberty, Duke, and Notre Dame.
Shane speaks regularly at denominational gatherings, festivals, and conferences around the globe.
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January 12, 2008
In the spirit of sweeping generalizations, youth pastors fall into two categories. The first is the middle aged man who excitedly pumps students up with pizza parties and all-night lock-ins. Then there are the too-cool-for-cool ones. The youth pastor at my church fell into the second category. He was one of those, "You think I'm cool, but I'm not. Because only, Jesus, man. Jesus is cool."
Shane Claiborne is one of those dudes, too.
In The Irresistible Revolution, he makes the very provocative case that the only possible life for a real Christian to follow is to sell all of one's possessions and work for the widow, the orphan, the poor, the oppressed. Unfortunately, his book screws it all up.
Don't get me wrong, Claiborne's message - and his life that seems to truly reflect that message - is powerful. Jesus said to care for those who need care, and Claiborne took the call to heart: working with Mother Theresa in Calcutta, advocating for the homeless in his city, building community with his poor neighbors.
However.
First, and this is the least of my complaints, Claiborne gives no practical advice to how to cross race and class lines in an intentional community, aside from "love each other." Well, having spent much time myself at an intentional community house, I can tell you that it's not that easy. And what about when you have to hold down a 9-to-5 in order to make rent, something he doesn't have to worry about?
Claiborne could have left out the chapters that aimed to legitimize all the things that go exactly against what he claims to stand for - namely, being a middle class Christian consumer who goes to church on Sundays, prays at the dinner table, and donates clothes to the Salvation Army. He could have said, when Zondervan and Jim Wallis apparently begged him relentlessly to write the damn thing, "Fine, I'll do it. But I'm not compromising the message, you're not putting my picture on the cover, and you're not going to package it to be the next cool book on the social justice conservative college student bookshelf."
Instead, no fewer than six pictures of Claiborne grace the cover - dreadlocked, grooming his vegetable garden, hanging out with "urban youth" in front of a graffiti-ed wall. Sarcasm aside: all good things. But they, along with the too-cool-for-mainstream-culture "duct-taped" "cardboard" cover and the "dude, man" rhetoric, are clearly just cogs in the consumerist machine.
Shane Claiborne is one of those dudes, too.
In The Irresistible Revolution, he makes the very provocative case that the only possible life for a real Christian to follow is to sell all of one's possessions and work for the widow, the orphan, the poor, the oppressed. Unfortunately, his book screws it all up.
Don't get me wrong, Claiborne's message - and his life that seems to truly reflect that message - is powerful. Jesus said to care for those who need care, and Claiborne took the call to heart: working with Mother Theresa in Calcutta, advocating for the homeless in his city, building community with his poor neighbors.
However.
First, and this is the least of my complaints, Claiborne gives no practical advice to how to cross race and class lines in an intentional community, aside from "love each other." Well, having spent much time myself at an intentional community house, I can tell you that it's not that easy. And what about when you have to hold down a 9-to-5 in order to make rent, something he doesn't have to worry about?
Claiborne could have left out the chapters that aimed to legitimize all the things that go exactly against what he claims to stand for - namely, being a middle class Christian consumer who goes to church on Sundays, prays at the dinner table, and donates clothes to the Salvation Army. He could have said, when Zondervan and Jim Wallis apparently begged him relentlessly to write the damn thing, "Fine, I'll do it. But I'm not compromising the message, you're not putting my picture on the cover, and you're not going to package it to be the next cool book on the social justice conservative college student bookshelf."
Instead, no fewer than six pictures of Claiborne grace the cover - dreadlocked, grooming his vegetable garden, hanging out with "urban youth" in front of a graffiti-ed wall. Sarcasm aside: all good things. But they, along with the too-cool-for-mainstream-culture "duct-taped" "cardboard" cover and the "dude, man" rhetoric, are clearly just cogs in the consumerist machine.
March 26, 2009
A year or so ago my friend recommended this book to me. I came to this page and read the 5 star and 1 star reviews, and because of the 1 star reviews wrote it off as one-sided and an attempt to convert people to a new way of thinking.
Many of the 1 star reviews mentioned that they believe the author thinks the ONLY way to live out your faith is how he does. I'm not interested in someone getting my attention just to persuade me I'm wrong. A few weeks ago Shane was in town so I went with some friends to hear him speak. He addressed the idea that not everybody is called to being an ordinary radical in the same way. One young man said that after reading the book he and his wife moved into innercity housing, like the author, and was trying to create community. The response was "love your wife." He then said "you don't have to move out of the suburbs to create community."
After he continued talking about the need for ordinary radicals everywhere in all different walks and circumstances of life, I decided then and there to read the book.
Having just finished it, I decided to leave my own review. This book is moving and inspiring and opens your eyes to the reality of the world. He addresses MANY different kinds of injustices and how he and his friends have responded to them, but instead of just calling the reader to imitate that and do the exact same thing, I believe the point of it is to spark the imagination of the reader to consider their gifts, passions, resources, skills, and situations and how to best respond to the injustices of their daily life in a way that is glorifying to our Lord.
Many of the 1 star reviews mentioned that they believe the author thinks the ONLY way to live out your faith is how he does. I'm not interested in someone getting my attention just to persuade me I'm wrong. A few weeks ago Shane was in town so I went with some friends to hear him speak. He addressed the idea that not everybody is called to being an ordinary radical in the same way. One young man said that after reading the book he and his wife moved into innercity housing, like the author, and was trying to create community. The response was "love your wife." He then said "you don't have to move out of the suburbs to create community."
After he continued talking about the need for ordinary radicals everywhere in all different walks and circumstances of life, I decided then and there to read the book.
Having just finished it, I decided to leave my own review. This book is moving and inspiring and opens your eyes to the reality of the world. He addresses MANY different kinds of injustices and how he and his friends have responded to them, but instead of just calling the reader to imitate that and do the exact same thing, I believe the point of it is to spark the imagination of the reader to consider their gifts, passions, resources, skills, and situations and how to best respond to the injustices of their daily life in a way that is glorifying to our Lord.
July 24, 2008
The Irresistible Revolution is a book written from a place of love by someone who has put his love into action, and as such, I would recommend it to anyone who can read around its sometimes glaring flaws to find the challenging truths that make up the bulk of the book.
Claiborne writes with humor, kindness, and humility. He challenges the status quo of American Christianity, calling us to love the poor. He shines light on and brings into question beliefs and practices of both conservative and liberal Christians. Above all, he challenges all of us to know the poor. He writes, "I had come to see that the great tragedy in the church is not that rich Christians do not care about the poor but that rich Christians do not know the poor." How else can we truly love them? Claiborne goes on to say, “I truly believe that when the poor meet the rich, riches will have no meaning. And when the rich meet the poor, we will see poverty come to an end.”
He calls us from the isolation and – ironically – crowd-focused mentality of the church we have built in America to an all-encompassing love.
The problems come when Claiborne misuses Scripture to make valid points. For example, in Chapter 12, he makes reference to 2 Samuel 7, in which David decides to build a temple for God – a “permanent residence,” so to speak – but God tells David that he is not the man to build a temple. Claiborne uses this passage to validate his point that God doesn’t want us constructing multimillion-dollar church buildings. “God just digs camping,” he writes, seeming to completely ignore the next part of the passage, in which God says that David’s son will build Him a temple (v. 12-13).
The point is valid and he could have simply relied on Acts 17:24 (God does not live in “temples built by hands”) – a verse he references in the same paragraph – to make it, not to mention the time he spends prior to this talking about the church’s misguided endeavors to draw crowds, from which the desire to build these “temples” grows.
These instances of scriptural manhandling are not numerous, but they stick out like the Crystal Cathedral and will probably lead many readers to completely dismiss Claiborne.
The end product, though, is a challenging, convicting work that needs to be read. Christians should read this book for Claiborne’s heart, even if his head is not always in the right place.
Claiborne writes with humor, kindness, and humility. He challenges the status quo of American Christianity, calling us to love the poor. He shines light on and brings into question beliefs and practices of both conservative and liberal Christians. Above all, he challenges all of us to know the poor. He writes, "I had come to see that the great tragedy in the church is not that rich Christians do not care about the poor but that rich Christians do not know the poor." How else can we truly love them? Claiborne goes on to say, “I truly believe that when the poor meet the rich, riches will have no meaning. And when the rich meet the poor, we will see poverty come to an end.”
He calls us from the isolation and – ironically – crowd-focused mentality of the church we have built in America to an all-encompassing love.
The problems come when Claiborne misuses Scripture to make valid points. For example, in Chapter 12, he makes reference to 2 Samuel 7, in which David decides to build a temple for God – a “permanent residence,” so to speak – but God tells David that he is not the man to build a temple. Claiborne uses this passage to validate his point that God doesn’t want us constructing multimillion-dollar church buildings. “God just digs camping,” he writes, seeming to completely ignore the next part of the passage, in which God says that David’s son will build Him a temple (v. 12-13).
The point is valid and he could have simply relied on Acts 17:24 (God does not live in “temples built by hands”) – a verse he references in the same paragraph – to make it, not to mention the time he spends prior to this talking about the church’s misguided endeavors to draw crowds, from which the desire to build these “temples” grows.
These instances of scriptural manhandling are not numerous, but they stick out like the Crystal Cathedral and will probably lead many readers to completely dismiss Claiborne.
The end product, though, is a challenging, convicting work that needs to be read. Christians should read this book for Claiborne’s heart, even if his head is not always in the right place.
April 6, 2016
At first, I liked this book. I actually recommended it to a friend. Ignoring the first forty-something pages full of prefaces, forwards, dedications, and author's notes (which really tried my patience), I thought that the author started off by making good points. Then all the crap came out. First, this guy has a big problem with authority. Being someone who is a self-professed follower of Jesus, he should be more submissive to authority. And it's not just police or the president (although his attitude toward those is sickening); his general attitude toward any form of governing order, and just general attitude toward any normal person that doesn't act like he does is horrendous. Most of this book isn't really about Jesus at all. It's more about his political beliefs about police, America, Americans, the middle class, upper class, the war on terror, the war in Iraq, voting, and probably a lot of other things that i cant remember.
I get it.
Claiborne doesn't have to believe what I believe. I don't care. But if you want to start a revolution, you don't start it by demeaning everyone who reads the book. You don't go out and say that being poor is what God really wants for people--because it's not. He clearly has a warped interpretation of many things that the Bible talks about. Like I said, the first part of the book that talks about loving people and actually DOING what the Bible talks about was great. But once he got on his soap box and just wrote the rest of the book as a rant against people, that's when his misquotations of scripture became too much. It was SO awful that I couldn't bear reading it anymore. If you want a terrible book about personal politics, anti-war sentiment, and misuses of the word of God, then buy it. It wont help you, but it will feed your ignorance.
I get it.
Claiborne doesn't have to believe what I believe. I don't care. But if you want to start a revolution, you don't start it by demeaning everyone who reads the book. You don't go out and say that being poor is what God really wants for people--because it's not. He clearly has a warped interpretation of many things that the Bible talks about. Like I said, the first part of the book that talks about loving people and actually DOING what the Bible talks about was great. But once he got on his soap box and just wrote the rest of the book as a rant against people, that's when his misquotations of scripture became too much. It was SO awful that I couldn't bear reading it anymore. If you want a terrible book about personal politics, anti-war sentiment, and misuses of the word of God, then buy it. It wont help you, but it will feed your ignorance.
Read
August 28, 2013This book put me in mind of Saint Francis of Assisi rather than the contemporary USA. It is the simple everyday story of a spiritual quest. The author as he grows older takes part in a number of churches including at one point spending time with Mother Teresa in India, attending services and getting involved, each is insufficient in some way so eventually he ends up living the most Christian as in true to the life that Jesus and the Apostles led in the Gospels as he can.
Founding a new church, or a mega-church isn't new, apart from the suspicion that Elmer Gantryism might be involved, it is a fairly typical story of the same old approach but with a novel twist or two. However the aspiration to a completely Christian lifestyle - trying to live communally and without money while acting in the wider community took me back to the religious impulse that we associate with St.Francis and more with lay movements like the Beghards.
Whether of course this type of movement can thrive and establish itself in the religious and secular environment of the contemporary USA is of course another question.
Of course I was interested in what his family made of all this, he must have come from at least a conventionally religious background and his constant searching for a 'purer' form of Christianity strikes me as implicitly a criticism of anyone else's practise, but of course this is his account of his own journey. It does also strike me that to have a higher education in the USA, move from one denomination to another, work for various Church organisations and give up all your possessions you have to relatively well-heeled, I suppose very well to do by global standards in the first place. That too I suppose is another similarity with St.Francis. I'm sure that somewhere something witty has been written about the fine spiritual attractions of poverty to the wealthy. But it does please me to read about the same tension between a life in the world and a life in line with that in the Gospels that has reoccurred throughout the history of Christianity in different ways in different times and places. The cover is pretty irritating though.
Founding a new church, or a mega-church isn't new, apart from the suspicion that Elmer Gantryism might be involved, it is a fairly typical story of the same old approach but with a novel twist or two. However the aspiration to a completely Christian lifestyle - trying to live communally and without money while acting in the wider community took me back to the religious impulse that we associate with St.Francis and more with lay movements like the Beghards.
Whether of course this type of movement can thrive and establish itself in the religious and secular environment of the contemporary USA is of course another question.
Of course I was interested in what his family made of all this, he must have come from at least a conventionally religious background and his constant searching for a 'purer' form of Christianity strikes me as implicitly a criticism of anyone else's practise, but of course this is his account of his own journey. It does also strike me that to have a higher education in the USA, move from one denomination to another, work for various Church organisations and give up all your possessions you have to relatively well-heeled, I suppose very well to do by global standards in the first place. That too I suppose is another similarity with St.Francis. I'm sure that somewhere something witty has been written about the fine spiritual attractions of poverty to the wealthy. But it does please me to read about the same tension between a life in the world and a life in line with that in the Gospels that has reoccurred throughout the history of Christianity in different ways in different times and places. The cover is pretty irritating though.
May 27, 2007
Everyone should read this book. Shane has such a beautiful perspective on the world. As I have often found myself frustrated and disenchanted with what I have seen in American Christianity, Shane reminds me that my God is a God of the small but beautiful things, who calls me to be part of his empire-toppling revolution of love. Shane calls particularly this generation into "small things with great love" and lives a profound example of that. One of the most encouraging things about this book and this man, is his persistent dedication to the Church. Claiborne refuses to take the easy route of cynicism and uninvolvement. Instead, he takes on the responsibility of being a voice within the Church that will speak of the desires of God's heart and not be silenced.... I was repeatedly moved to laughter, and to tears... and I have a growing discontent with what my life looks like currently.
July 24, 2007
I got through half this book. It got wacky. I gave it a couple more chapter. And then I gave up. This book is pretty liberal. I'm not. This author seems to think very highly of himself. He seems to think to be a true Christian you must give up any sort of business, live among the poor and blah blah blah. He thinks he's so open minded and new age, but he's actually REALLY close minded. What about the average Christian who is looking to be the best they can at showing Christ's love in their world. Not living in the slums. What about the big business man who needs Christ? What about working moms? It's not just the poor who need Christ. Good for him that he feels that is his calling, but guess what, it isn't mine. I feel as though my life, in working and hanging out with middle class folk, is the way I need to spread the word of the lord. So, I gave up on the book cause I knew I wouldn't be moving into downtown Orlando under the 408 any time soon.
July 25, 2007
Shane Claiborne has a lot of interesting stories and valuable insights. It's a funny book; very Donald Miller-esque in tone. There were several parts where I had to cringe as Claiborne tended to border on self-righteousness from time to time, but I don't think that it distracted too much from the beautiful images he successfully presented of what it means to live in real Christian community, the way Jesus did and required ALL his followers to do as well.
The accounts of the time Claiborne spent in Iraq were most poignant and personally challenging for me to read. In the first few years following the United States' spring 2003 occupation in Iraq, I heard several Bush-supporters say to me accusationally, "It's easy for you to march down the street and hold a sign saying you want peace, but there are young men and women overseas right now actually putting their lives on the line for what they believe in." They were right. It was easy for me to march in anti-war rallies and say what I thought, but Claiborne actually put his belief in Jesus' teachings about love into action by joining his brothers and sisters in the Middle East as a Christian peacekeeper. That's what sets the Christian pacifists apart from regular pacifists, I'd say.
Overall, the book leaves the reader with a very strong message that waving our hands in the air at a trendy megachurch every Sunday has nothing to do with Jesus' teachings on discipleship. Hopefully I will be able to take some of the new insights I've gleaned from this book and actually do something with them. I think that's the point.
The accounts of the time Claiborne spent in Iraq were most poignant and personally challenging for me to read. In the first few years following the United States' spring 2003 occupation in Iraq, I heard several Bush-supporters say to me accusationally, "It's easy for you to march down the street and hold a sign saying you want peace, but there are young men and women overseas right now actually putting their lives on the line for what they believe in." They were right. It was easy for me to march in anti-war rallies and say what I thought, but Claiborne actually put his belief in Jesus' teachings about love into action by joining his brothers and sisters in the Middle East as a Christian peacekeeper. That's what sets the Christian pacifists apart from regular pacifists, I'd say.
Overall, the book leaves the reader with a very strong message that waving our hands in the air at a trendy megachurch every Sunday has nothing to do with Jesus' teachings on discipleship. Hopefully I will be able to take some of the new insights I've gleaned from this book and actually do something with them. I think that's the point.
September 8, 2014
It was interesting reading some reviews AFTER I finished reading the book. Apparently some people got a whole different message than I did! Shane Claiborne IS young, idealistic, & has a bunch of radical ideas. And I didn't once feel like I was being guilted to sell all I own and move under a bridge. I DID, however, feel compelled to dig back into the Bible to pay more close attention to the words and actions of Jesus. How HE lived and what HE had to say about what was important. Shane isn't the final word on anything, and I didn't think he was trying to be. He is simply trying to get the attention of a very comfortable, middle-class, American Christianity and ask us (I certainly include myself) if our lives really look like the Jesus of the Bible. The book makes you think. And maybe see things from a different perspective.
February 9, 2017
An absolutely beautiful book. Shane Claiborne has an incredible heart for his neighbor, and tells the story of his journey to a genuine discipleship of Christ in a disarmingly friendly, simple, witty, and humorous way. Don't let the tone fool you, however - this is a book that challenges the Church to re-examine what its core principles really are, why it is on this earth, and provides support for those disillusioned by the oppositional, self-centered Christianity that is too prevalent in Christendom today. He makes the radical suggestion that we follow Christ's teachings, fully and completely, regardless of how they may clash with capitalism, politics, religion, and life and relationships as we know it. It's a powerful idea in and of itself, but without an application, an idea is all it is. Shane's life offers a glimpse into what that idea looks like, lived out, and it is a beautiful, glorious, humbling, simple, and moving portrait of a man simply trying to follow in the footsteps of Christ. It is evident that society - including many Christians - regards his way of life as foolish and impractical. And it is, judging by the standard of the capitalistic, politically-charged perspective of America. Fortunately, that perspective is miles away from that of Christ.
March 2, 2008
I had a hard time reading this book because of the writing, which left a lot to be desired. I'm sure it was not the author's intent, but at times he comes across as a bit self-righteous. I think his youth is evident in his writing; a lot of passion, idealism, and an appetite for revolution. ;-)
My basic thought was that this was more a book about the redistribution of wealth than it was a discourse on how to live for Jesus (I'd love to hear from him again when he reaches middle age!). However, all that said, he does make some very solid observations about our culture, and the churches impact (or lack of impact) on it, and he is doing something to make a difference, and living his faith with dedication and passion. For that, I can applaud him.
My basic thought was that this was more a book about the redistribution of wealth than it was a discourse on how to live for Jesus (I'd love to hear from him again when he reaches middle age!). However, all that said, he does make some very solid observations about our culture, and the churches impact (or lack of impact) on it, and he is doing something to make a difference, and living his faith with dedication and passion. For that, I can applaud him.
January 29, 2008
Ahh, the irresistible revolution of left-wing politics. Blech. I can't tell whether Shane is a follower of A) Barabbas, a messianic freedom-fighter (almost) executed by an oppressive empire for his solidarity with the poor, or B) Jesus.
Assuming it's B, I will pray for this brother in Christ-- I'll be praying that he can give up his individualism and attachment to stuff, and join a real monastery. That would involve committment, a vow of poverty, obedience to a superior, and a lot less attention.
He's a good guy with a good sense of humor, but this smug and arrogant book does more harm than good for the cause of Christ. Pope Benedict's book, Jesus of Nazareth, is much better.
Assuming it's B, I will pray for this brother in Christ-- I'll be praying that he can give up his individualism and attachment to stuff, and join a real monastery. That would involve committment, a vow of poverty, obedience to a superior, and a lot less attention.
He's a good guy with a good sense of humor, but this smug and arrogant book does more harm than good for the cause of Christ. Pope Benedict's book, Jesus of Nazareth, is much better.
June 17, 2008
Do you have a desire to follow the calling of God? Is there a deep yearning inside you that cannot be filled only with faith, but must have action as well? The Irresistible Revolution is a novel that searches for real and true Christians. From as far as Wall Street, to the ghettos of America, slums in Iraq and orphanages in Calcutta, the author Shane Claiborne takes the reader on a journey though the social injustices and ungodly principles of the world and the Christian church today. Convinced that the church is not doing enough, Claiborne spends his days fulfilling the commandment of Jesus; ‘Go into the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation’ (Mark 16:15). His great passion for Christ and dedicated study of our Lord brings him to the realisation that the world can be overcome with love for God by one small act of kindness at a time. Political scenarios and protests for human rights fill each page, covering relevant topics such as war in Iraq, poverty, mixing politics with religion, social injustice, terrorism and consumerism.
This account of one man’s experiences and vision for the world sets the readers heart on fire and urges them to share the word of God with great love, standing up for what’s right in the eyes of God. Claiborne outlines the “Irresistible Revolution” as a Jesus revolution that is slowly creeping over the world like a vine, growing more each day. We, as followers of Christ and as God’s ambassadors, must take action to further spread this message of love and hope! Are we supporting the greed and money making schemes of many companies and churches of this world? Or are we giving all that we have to the poor, demonstrating the extent of God’s love? Shane examines the world that we live in, unfolding a great spiritual sickness, but through the smog and pollution, a light shines true. God promises a place of warmth and love, but never safety. Although many Christians cling to security and comfort, Claiborne proclaims that Jesus is constantly getting him into trouble, daring him to take on new challenges and to fight against the powers and principalities of this world. After all, Jesus preaches that we should not be afraid of things that destroy the body, but of things that destroy the soul (Matt 10:28). Finishing on a triumphant note of love and mercy, this book encourages the followers of Christ to hear the call and continue the work of Christ, planting the hope of the Kingdom of God like the planting of a small mustard seed.
This account of one man’s experiences and vision for the world sets the readers heart on fire and urges them to share the word of God with great love, standing up for what’s right in the eyes of God. Claiborne outlines the “Irresistible Revolution” as a Jesus revolution that is slowly creeping over the world like a vine, growing more each day. We, as followers of Christ and as God’s ambassadors, must take action to further spread this message of love and hope! Are we supporting the greed and money making schemes of many companies and churches of this world? Or are we giving all that we have to the poor, demonstrating the extent of God’s love? Shane examines the world that we live in, unfolding a great spiritual sickness, but through the smog and pollution, a light shines true. God promises a place of warmth and love, but never safety. Although many Christians cling to security and comfort, Claiborne proclaims that Jesus is constantly getting him into trouble, daring him to take on new challenges and to fight against the powers and principalities of this world. After all, Jesus preaches that we should not be afraid of things that destroy the body, but of things that destroy the soul (Matt 10:28). Finishing on a triumphant note of love and mercy, this book encourages the followers of Christ to hear the call and continue the work of Christ, planting the hope of the Kingdom of God like the planting of a small mustard seed.
May 30, 2012
This is my new favorite book; this is the most moving Christian testimony I have read in years. The Irresistible Revolution is the most inspiring, creative, accessible and insightful take on Christian social justice from a white guy I have ever read. I learned something new on every page; familiar Bible passages became incandescent and shockingly relevant. Claiborne writes with (at times dorky) wit and wisdom with humility and urgency. His power comes from a combination of deep learning, extraordinary experiences and the creative spirit of evangelical youth culture. Claiborne is a charismatic “dude” from E. Tenn who is radicalized by his reading of the Bible and experiencing poverty in Philadelphia while a student at Eastern U. He interns for Mother Theresa at a leper colony, travels to Iraq with Christian pacifists, and with his gang of “theological pranksters” helps organized an intentional Christian community, “The Simple Way”—part of the “new monasticism”—in a rough area of Philly.
July 29, 2015
Well, this was interesting.
The message of the book I have no real complaint with. It would be wonderful to see more people doing more on a smaller scale to make a difference in the world. Every little bit does count, an if we each do something small the effect would be huge. Yes, churches and Christians do need to be more aware of the messages of what they preach. There's a lot of hypocrisy in the commercialized Christianity that must of the world is familiar with.
Both of these topics could have been treated in a much better way than they were in this book. Shane Claiborne has put together a book that is big on messages but falls horrifically short in execution. The book shouts ACTION but gives no advice on what action to take. It condemns people for not doing things, but doesn't even point the reader in a direction to really... do anything.
In addition to this it's written in a maddening style that is big on ill-placed humor, attempts to use supposedly cool lingo (really, Jesus saying 'Help a brotha out' when you're mocking the "Jesus is My Homeboy" shirts?)
This book could have been a lot better than it was.
The message of the book I have no real complaint with. It would be wonderful to see more people doing more on a smaller scale to make a difference in the world. Every little bit does count, an if we each do something small the effect would be huge. Yes, churches and Christians do need to be more aware of the messages of what they preach. There's a lot of hypocrisy in the commercialized Christianity that must of the world is familiar with.
Both of these topics could have been treated in a much better way than they were in this book. Shane Claiborne has put together a book that is big on messages but falls horrifically short in execution. The book shouts ACTION but gives no advice on what action to take. It condemns people for not doing things, but doesn't even point the reader in a direction to really... do anything.
In addition to this it's written in a maddening style that is big on ill-placed humor, attempts to use supposedly cool lingo (really, Jesus saying 'Help a brotha out' when you're mocking the "Jesus is My Homeboy" shirts?)
This book could have been a lot better than it was.
July 29, 2016
This is more like a 4.75 because there were a few chapters that I kind of skimmed because they didn't interest me as much. However, the parts I did read were absolutely amazing.
This book is Shane Claiborne explaining his perspective of God, the Bible, and what it looks like to follow Jesus. He covers hypocrisy in the church and how Christians get too comfortable with their faith life, among other things.
I really connected to the life experience he shared. It added to what I've already been learning this year, so I was especially excited by the things he was saying.
I think all Christians would benefit from reading this. Even if you completely disagree with what he thinks, it will make you consider what you believe and why you live the way you do, if nothing else.
This book is Shane Claiborne explaining his perspective of God, the Bible, and what it looks like to follow Jesus. He covers hypocrisy in the church and how Christians get too comfortable with their faith life, among other things.
I really connected to the life experience he shared. It added to what I've already been learning this year, so I was especially excited by the things he was saying.
I think all Christians would benefit from reading this. Even if you completely disagree with what he thinks, it will make you consider what you believe and why you live the way you do, if nothing else.
June 13, 2020
This was a "It's not you; it's me" book.
Pre May 28th? I was digging this. I enjoyed reading about how Claiborne went looking for a new type of Christianity, found it aboard, and brought it back in a radical intentional community. Being a huge proponent of living in deep community (sharing food, inviting people over), it was awesome to read about that kicked up a notch.
And then the George Floyd murder happened, and I just couldn't see Claiborne having a Jubliee celebration on Wall Street or asking to defuse situations with the unexpected anymore. Not to be a downer, but I wasn't digging a white guy laughing off how many times he has been jailed for protesting and crowing about how much he's learned from the inner city people he lives among.
I'm sure there's advice for me in here, but right now I'm too full of sadness and anger to hear it from Claiborne.
Pre May 28th? I was digging this. I enjoyed reading about how Claiborne went looking for a new type of Christianity, found it aboard, and brought it back in a radical intentional community. Being a huge proponent of living in deep community (sharing food, inviting people over), it was awesome to read about that kicked up a notch.
And then the George Floyd murder happened, and I just couldn't see Claiborne having a Jubliee celebration on Wall Street or asking to defuse situations with the unexpected anymore. Not to be a downer, but I wasn't digging a white guy laughing off how many times he has been jailed for protesting and crowing about how much he's learned from the inner city people he lives among.
I'm sure there's advice for me in here, but right now I'm too full of sadness and anger to hear it from Claiborne.
January 1, 2023
I found this book thoughtfully challenging for what it means to be a christian. Claiborne presents a radical vision of a countercultural way of life in which we all live in community beyond class lines and borders. The section I found most compelling was the part about Jesus’s politics of economics. I appreciated reading this during a time in my life where I feel disillusioned by the modern church and yearn for the sacrificial and inclusive community that he describes.
March 22, 2024
Ganz zum Schluss ein Zitat, dass die Message gut darstellt: „Lasst nicht zu, dass eure Augen sich an die Dunkelheit gewöhnen.“
Ein richtig gutes und aufrüttelndes Buch, dass die Frage stellt wie wir Nächstenliebe praktisch umsetzen (sollten).
Ein richtig gutes und aufrüttelndes Buch, dass die Frage stellt wie wir Nächstenliebe praktisch umsetzen (sollten).
March 31, 2008
What seems radical in our post-modern world would not be considered to be radical in other periods of time; as such, the reality that Gen-Xers push forward the global Christian community into living a life of orthodox authenticity seems to be impossible. The tattooed, skate-boarding generation may have once been looked down upon for their alternative lifestyles of bonding together through inclusion of all people into what appeared to be unlawful cliques by the previous generations; however, what springs from these "cliques" is a desire for and an understanding of what community and communion with global humanity making Gen-Xers the voice of the body of Christ through their actions.
Claiborne's book exposes his quest for authenticity in the church to act upon what preaching and Bible study exposes. While membership in American megachurches continues to rise, the gospel message of care for all of humanity often ends as soon as it leaves the pulpit falling dead before it ever reaches many of the gathered congregation. Claiborne pushes for a return to the concept that the church is the body of Christ and not a structure of bricks and mortar that more often traps the gospel than disburses it. To this end, Claiborne spends his life living amongst and helping those that other people do not even appear to see.
Claiborne calls this a new form of monasticism. Through his study, he returned to the works of the desert fathers that feed generations before him and found that they not only fed him but prompted him to live as they lived. Combined with his belief that the church is not made of bricks but rather the people and environments around him, he sought to, not live a cloistered life, live among the people to hear their stories, feed them, house them, heal them, and teach them to do the same with other human beings and the environment. The new monasticism pushes forward a Biblically authentic Christianity, a return to orthodoxy (right belief) but more importantly a return to orthopraxis (right living and action) that the early desert fathers claimed for their lives.
New monasticism is not a call for the faithful to leave churches as many would assume (as I did before I read the book), but it is a call for the body of Christ's missing Gen-Xers to remain or return to the deadened brick churches with our knowledge of community and show them that the body of Christ is in everyone regardless of what we think or believe. Orthodox belief while incredibly important will not come to fruition through vocal preaching or insistent prayer for the world to change but will only come to fruition through the preaching and prayer of action illuminating the love our world cries out for, the love of God shown through his disciples. The internal love of God can only be spread to others through the actions of the disciples and not the words of people.
Claiborne's book exposes his quest for authenticity in the church to act upon what preaching and Bible study exposes. While membership in American megachurches continues to rise, the gospel message of care for all of humanity often ends as soon as it leaves the pulpit falling dead before it ever reaches many of the gathered congregation. Claiborne pushes for a return to the concept that the church is the body of Christ and not a structure of bricks and mortar that more often traps the gospel than disburses it. To this end, Claiborne spends his life living amongst and helping those that other people do not even appear to see.
Claiborne calls this a new form of monasticism. Through his study, he returned to the works of the desert fathers that feed generations before him and found that they not only fed him but prompted him to live as they lived. Combined with his belief that the church is not made of bricks but rather the people and environments around him, he sought to, not live a cloistered life, live among the people to hear their stories, feed them, house them, heal them, and teach them to do the same with other human beings and the environment. The new monasticism pushes forward a Biblically authentic Christianity, a return to orthodoxy (right belief) but more importantly a return to orthopraxis (right living and action) that the early desert fathers claimed for their lives.
New monasticism is not a call for the faithful to leave churches as many would assume (as I did before I read the book), but it is a call for the body of Christ's missing Gen-Xers to remain or return to the deadened brick churches with our knowledge of community and show them that the body of Christ is in everyone regardless of what we think or believe. Orthodox belief while incredibly important will not come to fruition through vocal preaching or insistent prayer for the world to change but will only come to fruition through the preaching and prayer of action illuminating the love our world cries out for, the love of God shown through his disciples. The internal love of God can only be spread to others through the actions of the disciples and not the words of people.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 23, 2012
From emergent churches to the many recent books about new movements in Christianity (McLaren, Cox, Bass et al), something is happening in the world of faith. Shane Claiborne is a unique ‘something’ and central figure in those changes. For the last decade or so, he has been taking the gospel “seriously” and offering a vision severely different than the hypocritical mess that most people see in Christianity today. Part theology, part biography, this book is Claiborne’s description of what “ordinary radicals” can offer to the world’s poor and to the disciple’s soul. He is quite persuasive about the principles behind his Simple Way movement—what amounts to a new “urban monasticism”—but he is also so encouraging about people building their own communities, that there is great advice here even for folks not yet willing to uproot themselves completely from “overconsumptive but malnourished spirituality.” (39)
Like many leading Christian thinkers today (Wallis, Bell), Claiborne has one foot in an evangelical past, and another firmly in, or claimed by, the liberal/progressive/activist wing. On one hand, he has a great gift of exegesis, and can sling Bible passages with the best of them: “if you tell me I have to be born again to enter the kingdom of God, I can tell you that you have to sell everything you have and give it to the poor…” (99) Even when he comes off a touch sanctimonious, it’s God’s agenda he pushes, with nothing that isn’t based in Scripture. On the other hand, he is perfectly comfortable in protests, prison and actually practicing the sort of life that Jesus might live today. This, along with his dreadlocks, bubbles, and charming stories of “holy mischief” makes him simultaneously an enemy, curiosity, and hero for different parts of the Church.
Irresistible Revolution has perhaps more ideology and stories than his next books, preachable and well written, though less crafted. It constantly addresses money and politics (slightly dated, but still relevant, sadly so), with plenty of comment on race, violence, prayer and church life. Claiborne touches it all, in his living and his writing, because Jesus never compartmentalized, and because it is too easy in modern America to make very narrow lists of ‘religious’ beliefs and values. This is not to say his theology shies away from God’s authority; Claiborne is happy to say God demands certain behavior, though he shifts deeply the traditional, often mistaken categories of those behaviors.
There is a lot to enjoy about this book. One day I hope I can enjoy its lessons more practically, along with all the other people, young or old, Christian or questioning, who find in such holistic discipleship an alternative to patterns of regular, modern emptiness.
Like many leading Christian thinkers today (Wallis, Bell), Claiborne has one foot in an evangelical past, and another firmly in, or claimed by, the liberal/progressive/activist wing. On one hand, he has a great gift of exegesis, and can sling Bible passages with the best of them: “if you tell me I have to be born again to enter the kingdom of God, I can tell you that you have to sell everything you have and give it to the poor…” (99) Even when he comes off a touch sanctimonious, it’s God’s agenda he pushes, with nothing that isn’t based in Scripture. On the other hand, he is perfectly comfortable in protests, prison and actually practicing the sort of life that Jesus might live today. This, along with his dreadlocks, bubbles, and charming stories of “holy mischief” makes him simultaneously an enemy, curiosity, and hero for different parts of the Church.
Irresistible Revolution has perhaps more ideology and stories than his next books, preachable and well written, though less crafted. It constantly addresses money and politics (slightly dated, but still relevant, sadly so), with plenty of comment on race, violence, prayer and church life. Claiborne touches it all, in his living and his writing, because Jesus never compartmentalized, and because it is too easy in modern America to make very narrow lists of ‘religious’ beliefs and values. This is not to say his theology shies away from God’s authority; Claiborne is happy to say God demands certain behavior, though he shifts deeply the traditional, often mistaken categories of those behaviors.
There is a lot to enjoy about this book. One day I hope I can enjoy its lessons more practically, along with all the other people, young or old, Christian or questioning, who find in such holistic discipleship an alternative to patterns of regular, modern emptiness.
January 6, 2021
Let's be honest a Book that has a mixture of 5* and 1* reviews to start with was definitely going to be read. It starts of with a bazillion prefaces, so yeah once you weave your way through those glowing recommendations you expect it to be amazing.
To be fair it starts off well. I was highlighting and underling many things. I was on board. Then oh dear, it went AWOL. I don't often struggle to finish books, but this was a slog. Frustrating in places, I was just yelling "Put that back in the context you took it from" or "Where do you see that in Scripture". I'm just bewildered by this book and some of its points.
But don't get me wrong, the author did make some points that had me equally nodding in agreement. Few and far between - but they were there.
Let's not get me started either on the way it was written, lets call it 'accessible' and leave it there.
Overall I think I'll join the 1* club rather than the 5*.
To be fair it starts off well. I was highlighting and underling many things. I was on board. Then oh dear, it went AWOL. I don't often struggle to finish books, but this was a slog. Frustrating in places, I was just yelling "Put that back in the context you took it from" or "Where do you see that in Scripture". I'm just bewildered by this book and some of its points.
But don't get me wrong, the author did make some points that had me equally nodding in agreement. Few and far between - but they were there.
Let's not get me started either on the way it was written, lets call it 'accessible' and leave it there.
Overall I think I'll join the 1* club rather than the 5*.
June 30, 2019
Let me start by saying the updated version isn’t ideally read on a black and white kobo - the introduction said that new comments would appear in another colour font but of course that’s not true on the kobo so it’s almost impossible to tell the difference between original book and updated bits which often appear one paragraph after another. Read in paper or in colour, that’s my first recommendation.
I dated a man who lived by this book, specifically the first edition. And it seems to me that the author has mellowed on some things where my ex did not.
I instantly chafed in the first chapter when Shane said he went looking for real Christians and couldn’t find any. Well, that’s a harsh judgment on many thousands of people who are on a discipleship journey. We all fall short. That’s part of being human. Church and community should bolster our efforts, not condemn our failures.
Shane eventually acknowledges that it’s possible to be as legalistic a revolutionary as the legalistic religious folks. (New text or old though, I couldn’t tell) So then let’s all have grace for one another and not do this soap box “you’re not a real Christian if you don’t live in the slums doing the Shane Claiborne version of authentic community with the poor.”
Being a Jesus follower is as diverse an experience as people trying to do it. You can’t know the details of everyone’s life, faith, or service. So take the log out of your eye and don’t wag your finger at every Christian doing life differently than you. That’s not your job. You don’t know what generosity and service and loving others looks like in their day to day. Jesus told us to love everyone, that of course includes the poor, but he didn’t tell us ONLY to love the poor. Loving others is hard work no matter what context you are in.
I can’t rate this without the bias of seeing the way this message was applied by one person in a way that led them to proclaim how every social service agency (government, corporation and Christian for that matter) in Canada fails to measure up. Perhaps if I had only ever read this book I might feel encouraged by the alignment in Shane’s desire for the world and the heart and passion I see every day in my coworkers serving the poor and homeless in Toronto. Instead, I simply saw the criticism and aggressive moral superiority that this has turned into (at least for one person) and how discouraging it feels to continue to try in light of that.
I dated a man who lived by this book, specifically the first edition. And it seems to me that the author has mellowed on some things where my ex did not.
I instantly chafed in the first chapter when Shane said he went looking for real Christians and couldn’t find any. Well, that’s a harsh judgment on many thousands of people who are on a discipleship journey. We all fall short. That’s part of being human. Church and community should bolster our efforts, not condemn our failures.
Shane eventually acknowledges that it’s possible to be as legalistic a revolutionary as the legalistic religious folks. (New text or old though, I couldn’t tell) So then let’s all have grace for one another and not do this soap box “you’re not a real Christian if you don’t live in the slums doing the Shane Claiborne version of authentic community with the poor.”
Being a Jesus follower is as diverse an experience as people trying to do it. You can’t know the details of everyone’s life, faith, or service. So take the log out of your eye and don’t wag your finger at every Christian doing life differently than you. That’s not your job. You don’t know what generosity and service and loving others looks like in their day to day. Jesus told us to love everyone, that of course includes the poor, but he didn’t tell us ONLY to love the poor. Loving others is hard work no matter what context you are in.
I can’t rate this without the bias of seeing the way this message was applied by one person in a way that led them to proclaim how every social service agency (government, corporation and Christian for that matter) in Canada fails to measure up. Perhaps if I had only ever read this book I might feel encouraged by the alignment in Shane’s desire for the world and the heart and passion I see every day in my coworkers serving the poor and homeless in Toronto. Instead, I simply saw the criticism and aggressive moral superiority that this has turned into (at least for one person) and how discouraging it feels to continue to try in light of that.
June 9, 2016
A self-righteous, "I'm not part of the system" manifesto that advocates helping (and joining) the poor as the main purpose of Christianity and condemns all war and wealth… and that may have a point.
If you can get past the gut “this is crazy talk!” reaction, this book will definitely make you think (or, if you’re already a down-on-the-church hipster, it will give you plenty of catchy ammunition to back up your discontent). The main problem is that most of the good points are so over-stated (probably in an effort to break through complacency) that they border on the obviously false.
For example, there is a pretty pervasive disdain for heaven and a constant implication that any kind of eternally-focused Christianity is lame compared to a heaven-on-earth focused Christian activism. "We were not interested in a Christianity that offered these families only mansions and streets of gold in heaven when all they wanted was a bed for their kids now." and "As my teacher Tony Campolo used to ask, "Even if there were no heaven and there were no hell, would you still follow Jesus? Would you follow him for the life, joy, and fulfillment he gives you right now?" I am more and more convinced each day that I would." Claiborne does say he's excited about the afterlife, but he really harps on the old "it's not just pie in the sky by and by" case to make the point that Christians are ignoring God’s kingdom on earth (which, a lot of the time, we are). This is a valid point: "...Jesus came not just to prepare us to die but to teach us how to live." But it’s easy (and especially common for people my age) to take the scorn-for-heaven tone to extremes. The Bible is pretty clear that eternity is the point "If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied", and forgetting this can lead to trying to create heaven on earth rather than trying to be faithful to God. As C.S. Lewis wrote in the guise of Screwtape: "Once you have made the World an end, and faith a means, you [the tempter] have almost won your man."
Another example: scorn for intentional evangelism in favor of an ‘organic’, ‘grass-roots’, love-them-until-they-convert-themselves approach. "Sometimes we have evangelicals (usually from the suburbs) who pretentiously ask how we "evangelize people." I usually tell them that we bring folks like them here to learn the kingdom of God from the poor, and then send them out to tell the rich and powerful there is another way of life being born in the margins.". The point that follows is the classic 'no one cares how much you know until they know how much you care’. Do some Christians have a problem with throwing the words of the gospel at people without actually loving them? With treating the gospel like a sales pitch? Yes… a very few do. Many, many more have the problem of not evangelizing at all, and for those (including me), the “verbal-evangelism-is-for-newbs” attitude becomes the perfect excuse. We say, “I don’t want to push it on people,” or “I need to start a relationship first,” or “I try to let my life be a witness to people”… and we think this excuses us from actually, literally telling people about Jesus. The apostles were definitely willing to tell people about Christ (and sin)... even people they didn't know and hadn't befriended, fed, or helped physically.
There is a lot in the book about pacifism. There’s no real “pacifism is the way because of A, B, and C” proof (more of a tacit assumption that all violence is bad (“the myth that violence can be an instrument for good”), peppered with a few of Jesus’ statements about not taking revenge and without addressing other Biblical statements about violence). But proving pacifism isn’t the point. What this book does do is make you think carefully about your assumptions, bringing the reality of war and violence close enough to remind you that actual families and people are being maimed and killed when bombs are dropped.
There is also a lot in the book about the poor. Helping the poor, living with the poor, and caring for the poor seems to be what Claiborne cares about most. This is good in some ways, because poverty is probably the thing that the church tends to care about least (to our chagrin). We should care about the poor more, provide more for them, help them more, spend more time with them. This is undeniable. And while I believed this was true before reading The Irresistible Revolution, the book stretched me. While it did make quite a few assumptions that seem like pretty naïve zero-sum economics (like if the rich just shared what they had, poverty would be ended “what is crazier: one person owning the same amount of money as the combined economies of twenty-three countries, or suggesting that if we shared, there would be enough for everyone?”)*, it forced me not to be completely dismissive of the possibility that we may have a personal and societal obligation to the poor… that “the system” may have some fault. His quote of Martin Luther King Jr. sums it up best, “We are called to be the Good Samaritan, but after you lift so many people out of the ditch you start to ask, maybe the whole road to Jericho needs to be repaved.”. Whether this is through government and societal changes, or through the transformative power of Christ, I think it’s true (although it doesn’t excuse us from continuing to lift people out of the ditch while the road is still broken).
*This would only be true if all the rich were saintly enough to work just as hard to get money for other people as they do for themselves, and if all the poor were saintly enough to work just as hard when someone is giving them money as they do when someone is not.
Finally, Claiborne has some great self-awareness. He sees some of the negative aspects / temptations of his brand of Christianity (a tendency towards hipsterism and church-bashing that can become just as useless to God’s kingdom as the institutions it despises). “I saw very little fruit from those days,” he says. “My ripped jeans and punk rock hair made me feel pleasantly distant from the “filthy rotten system,” but I also found myself estranged from sincere folks who were polarized by the way we preached the truth… I began to feel a self-righteousness mirroring that of conservative Christianity... I handed out flyers to convert people to the movement and felt as coercive and detached as I did handing out Christian tracts at the mall… it is our love for God and our neighbor���not our rage or our arrogance—that counts.”.
I think Claiborne really does love the church, and he’s mature enough to see past the initial anger at our problems and try really hard to become the solution. For that, and for encouraging me to put my money (and time, and safety) where my mouth is when it comes to loving my neighbor, I applaud him.
If you can get past the gut “this is crazy talk!” reaction, this book will definitely make you think (or, if you’re already a down-on-the-church hipster, it will give you plenty of catchy ammunition to back up your discontent). The main problem is that most of the good points are so over-stated (probably in an effort to break through complacency) that they border on the obviously false.
For example, there is a pretty pervasive disdain for heaven and a constant implication that any kind of eternally-focused Christianity is lame compared to a heaven-on-earth focused Christian activism. "We were not interested in a Christianity that offered these families only mansions and streets of gold in heaven when all they wanted was a bed for their kids now." and "As my teacher Tony Campolo used to ask, "Even if there were no heaven and there were no hell, would you still follow Jesus? Would you follow him for the life, joy, and fulfillment he gives you right now?" I am more and more convinced each day that I would." Claiborne does say he's excited about the afterlife, but he really harps on the old "it's not just pie in the sky by and by" case to make the point that Christians are ignoring God’s kingdom on earth (which, a lot of the time, we are). This is a valid point: "...Jesus came not just to prepare us to die but to teach us how to live." But it’s easy (and especially common for people my age) to take the scorn-for-heaven tone to extremes. The Bible is pretty clear that eternity is the point "If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied", and forgetting this can lead to trying to create heaven on earth rather than trying to be faithful to God. As C.S. Lewis wrote in the guise of Screwtape: "Once you have made the World an end, and faith a means, you [the tempter] have almost won your man."
Another example: scorn for intentional evangelism in favor of an ‘organic’, ‘grass-roots’, love-them-until-they-convert-themselves approach. "Sometimes we have evangelicals (usually from the suburbs) who pretentiously ask how we "evangelize people." I usually tell them that we bring folks like them here to learn the kingdom of God from the poor, and then send them out to tell the rich and powerful there is another way of life being born in the margins.". The point that follows is the classic 'no one cares how much you know until they know how much you care’. Do some Christians have a problem with throwing the words of the gospel at people without actually loving them? With treating the gospel like a sales pitch? Yes… a very few do. Many, many more have the problem of not evangelizing at all, and for those (including me), the “verbal-evangelism-is-for-newbs” attitude becomes the perfect excuse. We say, “I don’t want to push it on people,” or “I need to start a relationship first,” or “I try to let my life be a witness to people”… and we think this excuses us from actually, literally telling people about Jesus. The apostles were definitely willing to tell people about Christ (and sin)... even people they didn't know and hadn't befriended, fed, or helped physically.
There is a lot in the book about pacifism. There’s no real “pacifism is the way because of A, B, and C” proof (more of a tacit assumption that all violence is bad (“the myth that violence can be an instrument for good”), peppered with a few of Jesus’ statements about not taking revenge and without addressing other Biblical statements about violence). But proving pacifism isn’t the point. What this book does do is make you think carefully about your assumptions, bringing the reality of war and violence close enough to remind you that actual families and people are being maimed and killed when bombs are dropped.
There is also a lot in the book about the poor. Helping the poor, living with the poor, and caring for the poor seems to be what Claiborne cares about most. This is good in some ways, because poverty is probably the thing that the church tends to care about least (to our chagrin). We should care about the poor more, provide more for them, help them more, spend more time with them. This is undeniable. And while I believed this was true before reading The Irresistible Revolution, the book stretched me. While it did make quite a few assumptions that seem like pretty naïve zero-sum economics (like if the rich just shared what they had, poverty would be ended “what is crazier: one person owning the same amount of money as the combined economies of twenty-three countries, or suggesting that if we shared, there would be enough for everyone?”)*, it forced me not to be completely dismissive of the possibility that we may have a personal and societal obligation to the poor… that “the system” may have some fault. His quote of Martin Luther King Jr. sums it up best, “We are called to be the Good Samaritan, but after you lift so many people out of the ditch you start to ask, maybe the whole road to Jericho needs to be repaved.”. Whether this is through government and societal changes, or through the transformative power of Christ, I think it’s true (although it doesn’t excuse us from continuing to lift people out of the ditch while the road is still broken).
*This would only be true if all the rich were saintly enough to work just as hard to get money for other people as they do for themselves, and if all the poor were saintly enough to work just as hard when someone is giving them money as they do when someone is not.
Finally, Claiborne has some great self-awareness. He sees some of the negative aspects / temptations of his brand of Christianity (a tendency towards hipsterism and church-bashing that can become just as useless to God’s kingdom as the institutions it despises). “I saw very little fruit from those days,” he says. “My ripped jeans and punk rock hair made me feel pleasantly distant from the “filthy rotten system,” but I also found myself estranged from sincere folks who were polarized by the way we preached the truth… I began to feel a self-righteousness mirroring that of conservative Christianity... I handed out flyers to convert people to the movement and felt as coercive and detached as I did handing out Christian tracts at the mall… it is our love for God and our neighbor���not our rage or our arrogance—that counts.”.
I think Claiborne really does love the church, and he’s mature enough to see past the initial anger at our problems and try really hard to become the solution. For that, and for encouraging me to put my money (and time, and safety) where my mouth is when it comes to loving my neighbor, I applaud him.
September 8, 2020
Simultaneously convicting and inspiring, Shane invites us to question what it would be like to truly live out Jesus' commands today & reimagine what the church could be. I really appreciated his thoughtfulness on issues, and how he's willing to confront the sins of the church without just ditching religion altogether. He somehow finds a balance of embracing traditions and great thinkers of the faith while challenging the institutions of today. He gives lots of inspiring examples of what this looks like on the ground (success and failure alike) with his own personal experiences and other organizations doing this work. I appreciated how he thinks outside of the box & rebukes many false dichotomies we hear today. The words/phrases that come to mind when I think about the book are joy, creativity, and tangibly loving as Christ would. I found it deeply convicting and encouraging to reimagine what living the words of Jesus could look like today.
February 4, 2013
I have been reading this book for at least a month now. there was just so much in it that I needed to allow to digest, to soak in, and so I'd read a bit, usually before bed, and then stop, and thinking about it, sometimes for days, before picking it up again.
I'd resisted reading this book for a long time. Shane and I graduated from the same college, and at the time, I made a snap judgement that he and his friends were weird, and that having wacky hair and other adornments while trying to help the poor was hypocritical. I never gave their ideas a chance. So when a friend lent me this book a year or two ago, I said "thanks." and "I hope you don't need this back any time soon." And it sat on my bookshelves for a long time.
I guess God just wanted me to read this at the right time. I don't remember what prompted me to finally pick up the book. Maybe it was the cool format, or the sense that I should read the book, so I could clear it off my bookshelf if I didn't like it. Whatever the reason, I started to read...and became entranced. My politics and theology have changed a lot since college, moving in similar directions to Shane's, but separately. So reading this book was almost coming full circle, getting to know someone I could have known more than a decade ago but was too judgemental to bother. And the book blew me away. it confirmed so many things I've come to believe, based on my own rudimentary Bible study since college. And Shane not only backs up what he says with the Bible, but with quotations from and citations of the early church fathers and mothers, and other famous and influential Christian thinkers, both past and present.
I won't pretend I agreed with every single nuance of everything this book said. some things were just too new for me to be comfortable with yet. Too much of a dramatic change and about face. others may simply be issues I won't agree with, based on my interpretation of the Scripture in question.
But what it all comes down to, for both of us, apparently, is that we love Jesus, and we want to know and serve Him better. And that, if you read it without preconceptions, the Bible is pretty clear that the best ways to do so are to serve the poor and the oppressed, to fight for peace and justice and to put others before self, to strive to live in community. This isn't a popular theology in our corporate Christian culture, but it's one that makes sense to me. If I say I believe in Jesus/ the god of the Old Testament, I'm a hypocrite to ignore the vast majority of the Scriptures, that deal repeatedly with the poor, with defending them and meeting their needs.
I have a feeling that I still don't realize how big of a deal this book has been for me, and what a difference it will make in my life. Not necessarily because of this one book, but because it serves as a catalyst, something that magnifies the still small voice inside me beckoning me to a closer relationship with God and humankind, and prompts me to live my life more in line with that goal. I am going to go back through the book for his various sources and try to read them directly, too--Martin Luther King, Jr, St Augustine, Dorothy Day, Tony Campolo, St John of the Cross, Jonathan Hartgrove-Wilson, and many others.
My life may not take the same path as Shane's--I sincerely doubt that it will--but it will be changed because someone like him dared to question and seek and celebrate and love and share all of that with others, like me.
I'd resisted reading this book for a long time. Shane and I graduated from the same college, and at the time, I made a snap judgement that he and his friends were weird, and that having wacky hair and other adornments while trying to help the poor was hypocritical. I never gave their ideas a chance. So when a friend lent me this book a year or two ago, I said "thanks." and "I hope you don't need this back any time soon." And it sat on my bookshelves for a long time.
I guess God just wanted me to read this at the right time. I don't remember what prompted me to finally pick up the book. Maybe it was the cool format, or the sense that I should read the book, so I could clear it off my bookshelf if I didn't like it. Whatever the reason, I started to read...and became entranced. My politics and theology have changed a lot since college, moving in similar directions to Shane's, but separately. So reading this book was almost coming full circle, getting to know someone I could have known more than a decade ago but was too judgemental to bother. And the book blew me away. it confirmed so many things I've come to believe, based on my own rudimentary Bible study since college. And Shane not only backs up what he says with the Bible, but with quotations from and citations of the early church fathers and mothers, and other famous and influential Christian thinkers, both past and present.
I won't pretend I agreed with every single nuance of everything this book said. some things were just too new for me to be comfortable with yet. Too much of a dramatic change and about face. others may simply be issues I won't agree with, based on my interpretation of the Scripture in question.
But what it all comes down to, for both of us, apparently, is that we love Jesus, and we want to know and serve Him better. And that, if you read it without preconceptions, the Bible is pretty clear that the best ways to do so are to serve the poor and the oppressed, to fight for peace and justice and to put others before self, to strive to live in community. This isn't a popular theology in our corporate Christian culture, but it's one that makes sense to me. If I say I believe in Jesus/ the god of the Old Testament, I'm a hypocrite to ignore the vast majority of the Scriptures, that deal repeatedly with the poor, with defending them and meeting their needs.
I have a feeling that I still don't realize how big of a deal this book has been for me, and what a difference it will make in my life. Not necessarily because of this one book, but because it serves as a catalyst, something that magnifies the still small voice inside me beckoning me to a closer relationship with God and humankind, and prompts me to live my life more in line with that goal. I am going to go back through the book for his various sources and try to read them directly, too--Martin Luther King, Jr, St Augustine, Dorothy Day, Tony Campolo, St John of the Cross, Jonathan Hartgrove-Wilson, and many others.
My life may not take the same path as Shane's--I sincerely doubt that it will--but it will be changed because someone like him dared to question and seek and celebrate and love and share all of that with others, like me.
May 8, 2011
The Irresistible Revolution started off fairly well. Shane has done a lot of cool things with his life and no one can deny that he's doing a wonderful job of living radically. He seems to be one of those people who really lives out his beliefs and that's hard to find these days. A lot of the stuff in this book really made me think. Let me give you some quotes that I found really challenging:
"Jesus never says to the poor, come find the church, but he says to those of us in the church, go into the world and find the poor, hungry, homeless, imprisoned, Jesus in his disguises." p 102
"The tragedy in the church is not that rich Christians do not care about the poor but that the rich Christians do not know the poor."
"Even if there were no heaven and there were no hell, would you still follow Jesus? would you follow him for the joy and fulfillment he gives you right now?"
I think you can get a pretty good idea of the drift of the book by reading these quotes. It's always good to hear/read stuff like this to give yourself a little bit of a shake. These are things that people should think about, and they're much to easy to push to the back of your mind.
To be honest tho I didn't finish the book. As it progressed it began to get more and more about all the things Shane Claiborne knew, and all the sins he was able to point out to people. He started to talk about washing machines ran by bicycles and about how people who try to make money are misguided. Maybe I'm taking these things out of context, but that was the definite vibe I was getting so couldn't make myself go on.
I think if you're looking for a book about living radically for God, then maybe Radical by David Platt is one I'd pick over this one.
Props to Shane tho! I think what he's doing/has done is great. And his house church ministry sounds really neat.
"Jesus never says to the poor, come find the church, but he says to those of us in the church, go into the world and find the poor, hungry, homeless, imprisoned, Jesus in his disguises." p 102
"The tragedy in the church is not that rich Christians do not care about the poor but that the rich Christians do not know the poor."
"Even if there were no heaven and there were no hell, would you still follow Jesus? would you follow him for the joy and fulfillment he gives you right now?"
I think you can get a pretty good idea of the drift of the book by reading these quotes. It's always good to hear/read stuff like this to give yourself a little bit of a shake. These are things that people should think about, and they're much to easy to push to the back of your mind.
To be honest tho I didn't finish the book. As it progressed it began to get more and more about all the things Shane Claiborne knew, and all the sins he was able to point out to people. He started to talk about washing machines ran by bicycles and about how people who try to make money are misguided. Maybe I'm taking these things out of context, but that was the definite vibe I was getting so couldn't make myself go on.
I think if you're looking for a book about living radically for God, then maybe Radical by David Platt is one I'd pick over this one.
Props to Shane tho! I think what he's doing/has done is great. And his house church ministry sounds really neat.
June 3, 2008
An impressionistic review of an impressionistic book:
I finished Irresistible Revolution shortly after debating Gitmo with a friend from church. He argued that we should trust our executive branch to do the right thing, and that innocent casualties in a war are worth the expense. They aren't US citizens, after all.
This book would not change that friend's mind about anything. Indeed, I disagree with a lot of what Claiborne says. But I found the book oddly soothing after that debate. Strange as it is to say, it is good to be reminded that some people who love Jesus are still willing to try to love their enemies even at great cost. So it helped me calm down after a rather disappointing conversation.
Lest anyone misunderstand, warfare is only a small part of the book. Most of the book is devoted to Claiborne's call for economic reform and community life. I could quibble about specifics endlessly. But that would be mostly missing the point.
I finished Irresistible Revolution shortly after debating Gitmo with a friend from church. He argued that we should trust our executive branch to do the right thing, and that innocent casualties in a war are worth the expense. They aren't US citizens, after all.
This book would not change that friend's mind about anything. Indeed, I disagree with a lot of what Claiborne says. But I found the book oddly soothing after that debate. Strange as it is to say, it is good to be reminded that some people who love Jesus are still willing to try to love their enemies even at great cost. So it helped me calm down after a rather disappointing conversation.
Lest anyone misunderstand, warfare is only a small part of the book. Most of the book is devoted to Claiborne's call for economic reform and community life. I could quibble about specifics endlessly. But that would be mostly missing the point.
December 21, 2023
This book appealed to my longing for two things that I have missed in most of my church experiences: a deep sense of fellowship with other believers and a commitment to living out our faith in a way that matters, so that we may be truly by known by our love. It encouraged me to think a little bit harder about how I can live out my faith more radically in a place where the needs are less obvious. (I haven’t yet figured out the solution.) I’m not ready to join a new monastic community, but I am thankful for those who are called to that lifestyle. Together, we can be the church and bring light to the darkness of this world.
April 9, 2017
In a post-evangelical-support-for-Trump America, I've had some crisis of faith, and I've been rereading a lot of books from my youthful energetic days, and this was one of them. It took me awhile to read because I kept escaping into fun sci-fi books rather than stay in the real world.
What can I say? I'm a Shane Claiborne fan. I'm just old and tired, and not really in the mood to go to Iraq to protest war. I just want to be a comfortable Christian, vote the right way, and enjoy my Sunday afternoons.
This version has been updated significantly, and if you are debating reading the original or this one, go with this one.
What can I say? I'm a Shane Claiborne fan. I'm just old and tired, and not really in the mood to go to Iraq to protest war. I just want to be a comfortable Christian, vote the right way, and enjoy my Sunday afternoons.
This version has been updated significantly, and if you are debating reading the original or this one, go with this one.
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