Customer Reviews

Since Nobody's Perfect, How Good Is Good Enough?

5 star:		(66)
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2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

If you've been involved with any major religion for longer than an hour, you'll come away with its basic message: be good and chances are you'll get to Heaven.

It's a wonder why so many are fed up with the church. Andy Stanley begs the question that plagues those stuck in institutional religion. How good is good enough?

Stanley takes us to the heart of the very un-religion--Christianity. He speaks with a clarity rare among evangelical preachers, boldly proclaiming God's truth as the only truth while also clearly defining the parameters of our faith.

His conversational tone takes us through the main arguments for works-based religion and refutes them with the statements of Jesus and simple logic.

Not only is this book great for seekers, tired of performance based faith, but it would also be an excellent primer for Christians who still wonder if they are saved or not.

Lastly, Stanley cuts to the heart of the great debate within the church, refuting the arguments put forth by Lordship Salvation proponents and clearly stating the foundation of the Gospel: by faith alone in Christ alone. Plus or minus nothing.

I would highly recommend this book--its a simple, yet profound read. And it may just shake your thinking when it comes to the most important issue in life.

It takes a brave man to write another book geared towards convincing unbelievers that being good simply isn't enough to earn God's favor. There are so many similar books available and most unbelievers have heard the arguments so many times that they simply fall on deaf ears. Andy Stanley, though, wrote How Good Is Good Enough? to cover this topic one more time and he covers it admirably.

The book is based around the premise that every religion other than Christianity is based on the premise that good deeds can earn us a favorable place in the afterlife. This, the world's most popular theory about heaven, falls flat when examined in depth, and Stanley examines it thoroughly. He asks the usual questions ("if you were to stand before God and He were to ask why He should let you get into heaven, what would you say?") and uses the familiar arguments ("Jesus was either a liar, a lunatic or exactly who He said He was") yet somehow avoids making the book fell like it is filled with nothing but cliché. Perhaps the fact that it is written conversationally, almost as if Stanley was sitting in a room with you and just sharing his faith, makes it feel different. It is filled with examples from his own life and ministry, giving it a sense of genuineness.

The book is divided into two sections. The first speaks about common understandings of God, the afterlife and how we can secure a place in heaven. The second section presents the Christian alternative to the arguments of other religions. Stanley shows, for example, how a common objection to the reality of heaven and hell is that sending people to hell is not fair. To counter this, he presents God as merciful rather than fair, for fairness would condemn us all to hell.

The book concludes with a prayer and the author is careful to point out that faith, not a prayer, is what saves. The prayer covers sin, the fact that we deserve punishment and the reality of Jesus' substitution.

Theologically the book was solid, and examining it from my Calvinist viewpoint I found no significant shortcomings. Especially noteworthy was that the author used a solid Bible translation throughout and did not "dumb down" the message of the gospel and neither did he rob it of its power by giving only half the story. This is the good ol' fashioned gospel presented honestly and powerfully.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book and recommend it as a gift for a friend or family member who does not believe. It is easy to read, short (a mere 92 pages) and covers the topic as well as any similar book I've read.

A superb presentation of Christianity's answer to this question.
If you wonder about God, the Bible, or Heaven; this book is a must read. For Evangelical Christians, this is an excellent book to give to people who are searching, wondering, questioning spiritual areas of existence. This is simply written, a quick read (1-2 hours) and presents the Bibles response to the question posed in the title. An excellent precursor to other written material that provides more in depth information on what the Bible says, such as The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus by John R. Cross, etc.

If you're not a Christian, you're going to have a hard time with this book, but you should read it anyway. And if you are a Christian, you're going to reminded of your wise choice.

You see, every faith except Christianity is about a set of laws and trying to be good enough to live up to them. Jesus Christ, God's only Son, lived on earth for 33 years and taught us that Christianity is about grace, mercy and forgiveness because no one is good enough to live up to a set of divine laws as a means for going to heaven.

Andy Stanley gets to the heart of the Gospel (Good News) message by stating: "Christianity is the fairest possible system in a world that is irreversibly unfair. What could be fairer than this? Everybody is welcome. Everybody gets in the same way. Everybody can meet the requirement." The requirement is so simple it's easy to dismiss: Ask God to forgive your sins; place your faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior; and claim your eternal reward (see John 3:16).

The author concludes by saying that "the ultimate question
each of us must answer for ourselves is not whether Christianity is fair" but "is Jesus who he claimed to be?" I invite you to read this book, study the Bible and draw your own conclusions.

This is a story about how can we get to heaven. Andy Stanley argues against the belief that "Good people go to heaven" (10). This is starting with the presupposition that there is a heaven to go to after death. If you don't believe in heaven, then this book is not right for you. The idea that only good people go to heaven is troubling for Stanley. How do we determine what good is and how much good does a person have to do? Is there a scale of goodness and where does one have to fall on the scale to be allowed through those pearly gates. Are we rejected if we fall one good deed short? It does point to the flaw in this type of thinking.

Stanley does say that "the logic behind good people go to heaven is seemingly impenetrable on two accounts. First, it is fair. Second, it coincides with the notion that there is a good God." (19) He deals with a good God notion first in the book and with the fairness issue at the end of the book.

I did appreciate the analogy that he uses in his argument that only good people go to heaven by using the bible story of the thief on the cross next to Jesus. That argues against the only good people go to heaven worldview and against the fairness all in one fell swoop. The thief wasn't good and it wasn't fair that he lived a life of crime and yet Jesus promises him heaven at the end of the day.

Stanley goes on to make the case for Christianity versus just following the Ten Commandments or other systems of rules and regulations for goodness. He says that if we are going to follow this particular set of rules, we can just pick and choose which Old Testament rules one follows. He says, "Christianity is the fairest possible system in a world that is irreversibly unfair." (77)

And let's face it, in the end, we really don't want to be judged on fairness, what we really want is mercy.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

This is a great little easy read book that explains the gospel in a clear concise way answering the question "How good is good enough?" Most Americans have a belief that they will get to heaven because they are good enough. This is a dangerous and an even irrational assumption. Andy Stanley debunks this theory chapter by chapter until the reader is left with the only best option being that God is fair and we must trust in Christ's finished work on the cross to get to heaven. This is a great read for those uncertain about their eternity and those who need a logical approach to talking with nonChristians.

This little booklet is very well written, snappy, and to the point. It is short enough to read in one go, and yet has managed to include all the most important points on the subject. We will find it more useful than anything else that we have come across to date on this subject.

If you wonder about God, the Bible, Heaven or Hell; this book is a must. For Evangelical Christians, this is an excellent gift for friends, family or others; it is simply written, a quick read (1-2 hours), and presents the Bibles response to the question posed in the title. For Spiritual Seekers, this is an excellent precursor to more in depth writings on what the Bible says, such as The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus by John R. Cross, etc.

Summer 2004 Reading List - Mini Review

Andy Stanley presents a nice easy refutation of the idea that good people go to heaven. The book is at once encouraging and challenging without being preachy or condascending.

*i received this book free from the publisher in exchange for this review*

i wanted to like this book. i actually had planned on recommending it- assuming it would deliver on what it advertised. and for all of the bright spots and clever illustrations, i dont think i can recommend it.

though he is seeking to persuade readers to believe the christian answer to "what type of person goes to heaven", the content is void of the biblical concept of god's wrath against sin & sinners.

he does speak of god's love which is important & necessary, but to completely leave out the consequence of *not* believing the gospel is negligent & dangerous. its as if there is no "bad news" if you don't choose what christians call "good news". and so because of that, this book's gospel presentation is incomplete and i cannot recommend it.