Christi-Anarchy: Discovering a radical spirituality of compassion [Paperback]

Dave Andrews (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2001

An analysis of much of the evil and injustice perpetrated throughout the last 2000 years that reveals that Christians and Christianity is at its heart. Faced with this, how can anyone with integrity follow the example of Christ himself? This exploration of what Christ said, and how he behaved, reveals a model for a radical community lifestyle which embodies his Spirit. The author argues that this must be inclusive, based on an individual's orientation to Christ, not on whether they subscribe to a set of dogmas about him. He cites practical examples of followers of Christ who have drawn others to him through their determination to live out Christ's example.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Lion Pub (May 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0745942342
• ISBN-13: 978-0745942346
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,257,690 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hat's off from a Socialist, December 6, 2002

By 

Fred Abbott (London, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Christi-Anarchy: Discovering a radical spirituality of compassion (Paperback)

If I didn't respect the person so much that gave me this book I would never had read it. Until recently I've considered religion `the opium of the masses' and wanted nothing to do with this "Christ". Marx's critic is an excellent one; religion is a drug that stops the people from questioning the tyranny of the system. But after reading Dave Andrews I no longer associate the Jewish Messiah Jesus with Christianity. I now see that Christianity is a religion that has been irreversibly distorted by its neglect of the actual figure and teachings of Christ.

The most appealing thing about the book is that Andrews commitment to what he sees as the non-violence of Jesus is even carried into the way the book is written. He doesn't appeal to the reader to come over to where he stands and see it the way he does rather he (with the integrity of a true anarchist) is not a reformer but proposes a new open(!) construct that people can engage with total disregard for the drug that has met it's used by date: Christianity.

I have not yet finished but I would also recommend "Not Religion, but Love" which Andrew's also wrote. Both books are excellent.

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Freakin' awesome!!, December 5, 2002

By 

Jarrod Saul McKenna (Perth, W.A. Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Christi-Anarchy: Discovering a radical spirituality of compassion (Paperback)

This book is for all those who are as turned on by Christianity as they are by the idea of their grandparents doing the bump and grind.

If you've ever been enchanted with the figure of Jesus and yet wouldn't touch Christianity with a bargepole because of the amount of BS, this book will resonate with your experiences and encourage and challenge you in living a life of radical justice and compassion.

This isn't just another undressing religiosity from the idea of following Jesus but Dave Andrews states Christianity must be thrown out!! (The Chapter "Christianity is Dead - Long Live Christi-anarchy" is amazing!) His brilliant uncovering of the brutality and violence of Christianity's histories is concise and easy to read and his deconstruction of ideological underpinning of Christianity is challenging.

This book will be hated by the religious and the status quo and written off, if not burned. But for those who earnestly seek a holistic spirituality of peace; it will become a close friend.

It returns the figure of Jesus to the marginalised and to the oppressed from the clutches of those who would use the symbols for control and oppression.

Read it... I dare you.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars for followers of Gandhi, December 6, 2002

By 

Jyotsna (Rajasthan, India) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Christi-Anarchy: Discovering a radical spirituality of compassion (Paperback)

If you have found it hard to reconcile Gandhi's deepest connections to his Hindu nonviolence being Christ's Sermon on the Mount and yet Christians saying Gandhi isn't "saved" this book will help. Andrews is a real practitioner and the lives of hundreds of people here in India's slums and in the boarding homes of Brisbane tell of this humble man's greatness. I think Andrews is a little christ, a little mahatma.