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God Without Religion (Library Edition): Can It Really Be This Simple? (2011)

by Andrew Farley(Favorite Author)

4.21 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

1609812948 (ISBN13: 9781609812942)

languge

English

genre

Nonfiction

publisher

Oasis Audio

review 1: I wanted this book to be good. I wanted this book to be as good as The Naked Gospel. I wanted to be able to finish it.Three strikes. You're out!God Without Religion means well. Andrew Farley tries, as he did in The Naked Gospel, to show that God isn't about religion and obligations, but about grace. He tries to show how far our religions of rules, responsibilities, commands and demands have taken us from the heart of God.What God Without Religion is, though, is a series of what appear to be Sunday sermons on the general topic, but turn out to attack specific ideas in a way that, frankly, is not very gracious, and often not well presented.The first few chapters start the downhill trend of proof by convenience. Right up front Farley tries to support his specific points by ta... moreking not only verses out of context, but going so far as switching translations in mid-sentence. It turns into dizzying circular logic that might actually have some validity, if it were presented better.There are tidbits of wisdom hidden in here, but I advise against trying to find them in the mud of rationalization.I hope Tullian Tchividjian's Jesus + Nothing = Everything serves the purpose better.
review 2: This book should be titled "God Without Hypocrisy." From the very onset of the book, it's made clear that Farley is attacking the legalistic viewpoint that Christians work their way to heaven. That part is ok with me, I totally agree (and so do most "religious" Christians)! The next part of the argument is where the problem lies. According to him, most organized Christian religions hold to the idea that somewhere in the sky there is a supreme being with a really large log keeping tab on our sins almost like a giant Santa Clause. Religion, he claims, teaches people this idea, thus causing them to feel immensely guilty and overburdened. My question: since when has religion become such a bad word? The Jesus vs. Religion idea is actually a popular yet false dichotomy. As a Catholic (one of the religions picked on in Farley's book) I have had firsthand experience with a traditional religion that teaches that one's works are NOT enough to get into heaven, and that Christ's grace IS NECESSARY to gain eternal life. I'm not sure what Farley thinks "religion" is, but his sweeping generalizations simply do not do justice to the millions of orthodox religious that follow Christ's example. Farley says religion, coming from the Latin meaning "to bind," literally is legally binding. I say that's the wrong way to look at it: religion "binds" the faithful to their Savior, Jesus Christ, in a loving relationship and "binds" believers together in strong faith-filled communities. God does not hate religion. In fact, Proverbs 6:16-19 lists seven things that God does hate, and it's no surprise that religion is not there. What is there is that God hates "one who sows discord among brothers," ironically something that Andrew Farley must not have read before attacking his religious brothers and sisters. I can see that Farley's true fight against hypocrisy is based on good intentions, but pinning religion, tradition, and orthodoxy as the culprit will only sow discord among those he is attempting to reach. less

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