Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

The first thing to note is that this is not a Tim Keller book. I understand that he's the biggest name associated with the book, but he's not the author. He wrote one chapter and collaborated on the introduction and conclusion. If there is a primary author, it would be John Inazu. He's listed second on the cover, after Keller, but the book is essentially a further elaboration / exploration of a book he wrote called "Confident Pluralism." The rest of the chapters (12 total) are written by other writers. The only familiar names to me were Sara Groves and Lecrae. (I did have one of those, "Oh, that guy!" moments when I read the chapter written by the guy who invited Black Lives Matter to speak at Urbana and was very surprised that anyone disagreed with this decision. I remember that happening, but I didn't remember any names associated with it.) Listen, there's nothing wrong with compilations. I'm just camping out here for a minute, because some of the marketing for this book is misleading. Based on the cover and the Amazon page, you would get the idea that Tim Keller wrote this book, with the assistance of someone you've likely never heard of named John Inazu. (The thumbnail that led me to purchase this book only listed Tim Keller's name as the author.) If that doesn't matter to you, great! If you're a huge fan of John Inazu, then this book is for you. If you love Lecrae or Sara Groves or any of the other contributors, then you might want to buy this. Frankly, I'm a huge Tim Keller fan and might have purchased the whole book for his one chapter. (I'm a Gen X'er and we used to buy whole albums for the one good song, so I'm used to it.) You just need to know that this is NOT A TIM KELLER BOOK. I could go deeper, critiquing some chapters and praising others, but I'll just say that this is a very uneven compilation. Some of the chapters are excellent! (See Keller, Tim.) Some of the chapters are just okay. Some of the chapters were banal and sophomoric. The chapter that lauded Pope Francis' immigration policies (musings?) made my eyes roll so violently that I almost lost consciousness. (You can agree with his views on the refugee crisis or disagree with them, but this particular author made almost no attempt to engage the complexities of national borders and citizenship questions, beyond an admission that he / she interviewed some border guards and discovered to his / her great surprise that they were normal human beings. I'm being generous to suggest that this particular chapter belonged on the editorial pages of a college newspaper.) Another reviewer rightly pointed out another problem with the book, namely, it's lack of specificity. Are you "walking with wounded wayfarers"? Do you have "reclaiming words" on your checklist for the week? I think I know what that means. My guess is, you think you know what that means. Do we both mean the same thing? Probably not, which is (ironically) the problem the book is trying to solve. This is my final complaint, and it's a big one. One of the reasons I love Tim Keller's preaching and writing is that he allows the gospel to critique both "conservative" and "liberal" positions … finding the good intentions and flawed assumptions that undergird both positions. His chapter in this book is no exception. It's fantastic. The rest of the authors leave the impression that the real problem with the world is people like me - white, middle-aged, middle-class, suburban, politically and religiously conservative people. That's fine. I fully realize the depth of my sins and shortcomings. Critique away! My only question is, "Is there no critique for anyone else? Does the gospel have anything to say to left-leaning white people? Does the gospel have nothing to say to black and brown people? What about women? What about 1% of people who are able to write best-selling books and albums?" (If you haven't picked up on it, let me say this explicitly. I'm describing the authors of the book, none of whom, with the exception of Keller and a man named Warren Kinghorn - the white grandson of an infamous segregationist - believe that Jesus has anything critical to say about them.) The only author in the book who attempts to engage "both sides" with the gospel is Tim Keller. The rest of the authors have a clear villain in mind - the white, middle-class, Republican, male, Evangelical … who is likely wearing a red "Make America Great Again" hat. Does that guy exist? Absolutely. Is that person worthy of a gospel-centered critique? Yes. Is that person allowed to repent? Sure. But since the problem is structural and not individual, that person's individual repentance is essentially meaningless. One-way critiques fill this book, which is its fatal flaw. One-way critiques produce two-dimensional books, books which (ironically) undermine the whole idea of finding common ground. If you'd like to buy this book only for the Keller chapter, great! It's a very good chapter. If you're familiar with John Inazu and really resonated with his book about pluralism, you'll probably like this a lot. If you're looking for ways to find "common ground" across religious, political, social, and gender lines … I would look elsewhere.