Rejecting a Religion of Fear for the God of Love

by Greg Garrett

• Christian Living

• Publisher: Westminster John Knox
• Published: 2011

Publisher's Description

According to recent surveys, many Americans associate the label “Christian” with judgmental attitudes, hypocrisy, fear of hell, and a committment to right-wing politics. Author Greg Garrett suggests another way, arguing that a faith that focuses solely on personal morality and the afterlife misses much of the point of Jesus’ message. The other way of following Christ is not concerned with an array of commandments or with holding the “right” beliefs. Rather it is centered on loving each other and loving God, or as Garrett puts it, “love, where the rubber meets the road, where faith meets the world.” Personal and moving, the book relates the author’s personal experience growing up in–and leaving–a disapproving conservative church and then finding his way back to a different kind of Christian community, which is communal, missional, just, and loving. Garrett draws upon popular culture to illustrate his spiritual points, showing how authentic Christian truth can be found in unlikely places.