Review: Sinners in the Hands of a Loving God: The Scandalous Truth of the Very Good News Brian Zahnd

Review: Sinners in the Hands of a Loving God: The Scandalous Truth of the Very Good News

Brian Zahnd

Waterbrook Press

2017

This author has done some thinking.  I'd recommend this book if for no other reason than to challenge yourself as to what and why you believe what you do.  I'm sure there will plenty of posts in some sectors that will not approve of Zahnd's conclusions.  Others will cheer the direction he has taken.  He's a very persuasive author, but comes off a bit strident at times throughout this book.  I did find most of what he had to say a welcome change of rhetoric.  In fact, I think this is a long overdue corrective to some of the teachings in the Christian religion.  

 

Each chapter can be read alone, but I think a better over view of the author’s mind set would probably come from the order it is presented.  As the title hints, Zahnd presents his version of how God treats sinners which is different from that of Jonathan Edwards ideas from the 1700's.  Gone are the rather frightening word pictures that Edwards sermon depicted.  Zahnd replaces them with pictures of love.  But, this is not one of those sappy God is love presentations.  Not at all. Instead, he presents his case through the lens of the life and teachings of Jesus.  Didn't the puritans do that?  Not well according to Zahnd which he interprets somewhat more broadly than Edwards did. 

Overall, this one to read and think about and one of the best books of its kind I've read lately. 

I received this book from the publishers in exchange for a review.