20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Review from the left she is trying to reach, August 31, 2006
This review is from: Reaching the Left from the Right: Talking About Social Issues with People Who Don't Think Like You (Paperback)
I am a big fan of Barbara Curtis's writing. As a non-Christian liberal, I often have a lot of trouble even understanding what Christians are trying to say, much less finding areas of common ground. So when I discovered Barbara's blog, Mommylife.net, I was thrilled to find a person espousing different beliefs than mine who I could not only communicate with, but also connect with.
Barbara has lived on both sides of the equation, living in the San Francisco Bay Area for years, and changing from being a liberal activist to a strong conservative with her conversion to Christianity, so she understands a lot of the ways in which liberals think about things. This knowledge makes it easier for her to know how to communicate her Christian and conservative beliefs to liberals.
Christians would like to think that for a liberal like me, reaching out and conversing with Christians about their religious and political beliefs would be easy if the desire was there to do so, but it is not. In the section on communication, Barbara says that, "Most Christians are probably not aware that sometimes the "language" they speak is almost as alien to nonbelievers as Spanish is to English-speakers."
As a non-Christian, I can assure Christians that this is absolutely true. I reached out and tried to speak with a couple of Christians that I know in person, and didn't have much success in finding common ground. Words and phrases like "the good news", covenant, "feel convicted", testimony, "sin nature", and the frequency with which Christians say the names Jesus, God, and Christ, are disconcerting to non-Christians, and Barbara has a whole section listing some of the words that non-Christians may find off-putting or not understand. She also shares some communication strategies that Christians can use to be true to their God without stunting conversation with non-Christians.
Barbara also talks about a lot of politically charged social issues such as abortion and homosexuality. She talks about the liberal belief system that leads us to many of our beliefs and shows some of the most compelling conservative and Christian arguments against those beliefs. She also has a section at the end of each chapter with questions to ask yourself and discuss with others, issues to research or think about more deeply, and things that real people can do to get involved in their community and make a difference on the issues that Christians and conservatives often care about the most.
What I loved most about this book is the way Barbara is able to be clear-eyed and honest about the ways conservatives and Christians need to improve in order to make a convincing stand against these issues. She doesn't just bash the evil liberals like many have made a living doing, she endeavors to provide understanding of both sides, and constantly encourages humility and warns against self-righteousness, so that Christians can make good use of their opportunities for friendship and discussion with those who don't think like them.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An Important read!, September 18, 2006
This review is from: Reaching the Left from the Right: Talking About Social Issues with People Who Don't Think Like You (Paperback)
In Reaching the Left from the Right, author Barbara Curtis gives new meaning to the phrase, "been there, done that." As a previous I-hate-America hippie activist to a reformed Christian woman who loves the Lord, Curtis opens our eyes to what it means to look at all of God's children with love and acceptance--even when they have different moral or political values than yours.
You know what I enjoyed about this book? Truth. The kind of no-holds-barred truth that hit me right between the eyes and convicted me of my own prejudices towards others, who thought and believed differently than I did. I didn't avoid them because they didn't act or look the way I did. I avoided them because I didn't understand their position, their thoughts, or their beliefs. And because I didn't understand, I never took the steps to get to know them better. My great loss.
But as Christians we're called to action. Curtis lends sage advice stemming from years of experience of living on both sides of a movement on how to bridge the gap between the left and rightmovements. As she describes these groups in her book, the similarities between the two sides is uncanny, "It's justthat members of each group--thinking inside their own established paradigms--have a hard time seeing this about the other side, because the ways of going about it are radically different."
Curtis coaches us to compare what the Lord says in the Bible and the beliefs of others, while sharing ideas on how as Christians we can step outside of our comfort zones and reach out to others who we might normally avoid.
If you want a book that will teach you to compassionately connect with those around you, then I highly recommend Reaching the Left from the Right. Jesus did not come to minister to those who were saved, but to the unsaved. If we are going to do what Christ calls us to do, then we must first learn what others believe so that we have the compassion to meet them where they live.
Armchair Interviews says: An appropriate book for this world today.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
3.0 out of 5 stars
OK, December 21, 2011
This review is from: Reaching the Left from the Right: Talking About Social Issues with People Who Don't Think Like You (Paperback)
The book was a quick read. It made me think about some things differently. But it seemed like it linked "left" with "non-Christian". I know quite a number of people on the "left" who are Christians. I was hoping to see more about how to talk to them and the book was lacking here. Since that was my main objective, I was disappointed.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No