Customer Reviews

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Evangelical Christianity

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

With so much misunderstanding and angst swirling around the term "evangelical" Mr. Cobia takes on a huge challenge - to define and illustrate evangelicalism's roots, beliefs, and practices. This is a most helpful manual for those don't know, and perhaps even more helpful for those who think they know, what an evangelical is.

I'm up to page 35 so far and while the writing is good, the content very good, the copy editing is sabotaging much of the book's credibility.

I'm not just griping about the normal typos. The text consistently writes "tenets," meaning points of belief, as "tenants." As bad as that is it isn't the worst, though: The name of the highly historically significant Harry Emerson Fosdick is given as "Henry Emerson Fodsick," the intellectual equivalent of a New York sportswriter referring to Giants quarterback "Ernie Menning."

This is extremely shoddy work, and unfortunately wondering what the next howler's going to be is impairing my receptivity to what the book has to teach. I mean you start wondering what else is wrong that you're not catching.

(Added later) More than halfway through and while it continues to be a good, worthwhile read, sorry to say the copy-editing continues to stink. Megaselling author Jerry Jenkins becomes "Larry Jenkins," the confrontation between Charles Darrow and William Jennings Bryan at the Scopes Monkey Trial is depicted as "the confrontation between Jennings and Bryan," etc.

An excellent resource for skeptic and non-skeptic alike. Well researched and very readable, a one-volume primer on this vast subject. In addition to a plethora of information, the book is full of real life stories and anecdotes that illustrate the point of view of both believers and non-believers with regard to various issues related to evangelicalism today. Don't let the title fool you -- this is a very substantive read. Bonus: the author has a great sense of humor.

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Evangelical Christianity is unique because it offers the reader an objective perspective regarding the history of Christianity in this country. Dr. Cobia goes out of his way to recount the good, the bad and the ugly as it pertains to the church in America, but more importantly he educates both the faithful and the skeptical about the core beliefs of those Americans who have - for the past 400 years - built their lives on the life and teaching of Jesus. It is an amazing history which must be understood by anyone who wants to engage in an honest and intelligent dicussion about the role of faith in this country.

Finally, a thought provoking outlook on the basis of true Christianity, a Christianity that is intelligent, caring, socially responsilble, and open to discussion. Even if you aren't an idiot, take the time to absorb this. Dr. Cobia's views are, if not refreshing-dispelling so many of the inaccuracies regarding Chrisitanity we're still suffereing from, but he's also fairly astute in the irony of it all. Believe it or not, it's a hilarous read and you'll finally gain a little insight.

Dear Author/Publisher: I don't think you thought your cunning plan all the way through. First off, props to you for identifying "Idiots" as your target audience. Well played, indeed. One caveat: "Idiots" usually can't read. So, here we have a hackneyed "Complete Idiot's Guide To..." concept which totally loses its irony when paired with Evangelical Christianity, but it's O.K. because idiots can't read, right? Keep it simple - maybe ditch the text and replace with whimsical illustrations of Christian things, like maybe a pair of kangaroos merrily hopping their way up a ramp, beside a smiling Noah and his ark full of animals, such as dinosaurs and the like. Be sure to include a "do's and dont's" section so you can teach good Christians how to avoid bad things like, let's say, science. How about a 'shopped pic of Richard Dawkins with a lolcat "do not want" caption? "

Hey, they already have a complete idiot's guide to evangelical christianity . . . its called the bible.