Customer Reviews

This We Believe

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In a world that resisits truth and pays the price in growing irrationality, fragmentation, and evil, Jesus says we are to be "salt" and "light"--- radiating centers of Gospel light amidst a world utterly consumed by darkness.

But how well do we understand the Gospel? A group of prominent church leaders and scholars did more than just ask that question. They drafted a clear, definitive statement of the essentials of the Gospel titled "The Gospel of Jesus Christ: An Evangelical Celebration." Leaders from across the denominational landscape have endorsed it, and the list of names, already impressive, continues to grow. This remarkable show of unity affirms the core beliefs about our salvation that evangelicals hold in common. In the face of our differences, these are what bind us together as the church of Jesus Christ and make Gospel the Good News of Great Joy.

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OUR OPINION:

Every Christian should read and commit themselves wholly to this profound affirmation of the Biblical Gospel. The fact that the reviewer at BeliefNet takes issue with it simply underscores that organization's committment to "the broad way that leads to destruction."

And that is a great tragedy... one that should move us to tears.

And to pray...

-- The Discerning Reader (@Amazon zShops)

i think the beliefnet review is very useful. i think there are wide diversity within evangelicalism. somehow the american types and the british type are already not exactly the same. and beyond the evangelical tradition, the Christian Church has even more diversity. to me the bottom line being all of us confessing christians who participate in the life of the church share the same faith.

to be honest, i haven't read through the whole book. but as an editor of the publisher who will publish the book's chinese version, i'll rate it 4-star. and i am looking forward to read kevin vanhoozer's piece on jesus. he is a theologian that has depth.

First, I am a non-denominational Christian. I am not a Mormon who goes to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Therefore, I am not writing to defend LDS' doctrine. Don't be misled. I am just writing to point out some error in this book.

In "This We Believe" on page 289 in Chapter 11 which titled "The Evangelical Family: Its Blessings and Boundaries", Joseph M. Stowell wrote:

"Sometime ago, a friend was telling me about her Mormon neighbor. She rejoiced in their friendship and said how much she appreciated the times they prayed together. She asked me, "Have you ever prayed with a Mormon?" The inference was that she and her friend were wonderfully one in prayer. While one could cultivate a friendship with Mormons, praying with them would be quite another issue. Because they deny the doctrine that Christ is God, spiritual oneness with them is not only wrong but impossible, according to the Bible. Historically the church has persistently held to the fundamental realities of truth about Christ as a test of faith: his virgin birth, divinity, resurrection, and return."

The phrase "[Mormons] deny the doctrine that Christ is God" is blunt falsehood. LDS affirms that Christ Jesus is God. They might have their Trinity doctrine varied from the one confessed by the mainstream churches but they DO affirm the deity or "Godship" Christ. This is what I'd term "unchristian apology" - affirming the importance of truth on one hand but telling "untruth" on the other (not necessarily lying but by, perhaps, a big careless mistake).