This is an excellent thesis which explains how many honest believers in Jesus Christ have been suckered into eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (judgmentalism) rather than the tree of life (the love of Christ). "Taking a stand against sin" should begin as a private matter in each believers' own life... treating their own sin as tree trunks, and others' sins as little specks. When we engage in judgment, we indicate that we do not trust the Holy Spirit's ability to deal with people and conform them to the image of Christ.

While a previous reviewer exclaimed that Boyd's repetitiveness is an insult to the reviewer's intelligence, I happen to appreciate this characteristic of his writing style. It is clear that he wants people to understand the message, because he goes up many different sides of the mountain (so to speak) to reach his conclusions. Also, by placing a mini-review at the beginning of each chapter, you are reminded of the foundational principles from the previous chapters... which is helpful if you are reading the book over a period of several days.

All in all, a very good book... and worth the $10-$12 you'll spend on it... particularly if it drives you to release the love of God shed abroad in your heart to a lost and dying world...

Judson Cornwall does an excellent job of explaining that our conversations with our Heavenly Father should be a RESPONSE to what He has already said. As we delight ourselves in the Lord and in His Word, He will place His desires in our hearts (Psalm 37:4). If we abide in Him, and His Word abides in us, we will ask whatever we desire and it shall be done for us (John 15:7).

It would be prudent to read this book at least once a year.

The doctrine of "Hyper-Sovereignty" (i.e. "God controls everything" and/or "God has a purpose for everything... even evil") is so damaging! This teaching has probably alienated immeasurably more people from God and His goodness than it has drawn to Him.

In this book, Greg Boyd builds an excellent, Biblically-based case for rejecting the Augustinian idea that God unilaterally controls and/or has a purpose for everything that happens on this earth. This is cleverly accomplished by taking evil out of the abstract and defining it by specific tragic events, such as the Holocaust. Specifically, Boyd refers to a young Jewish girl named Zosia, whose eyes were pulled out of their sockets by Nazi SS guards.

Boyd also argues that if God unilaterally controls everything, then the concepts of prayer and spiritual warfare make absolutely no sense. ... In other words, God doesn't have to will tragic events in order to fulfil His will; He fulfils His will in spite of tragedy!

Boyd's work is a modern day "95 theses" that successfully protects God's character, and clears His record of the slanderous things that have been said about Him throughout the ages. I would have given it 5 stars, but parts of the book are cumbersome.

"God of the Possible" and "Is God to Blame" are other works by Boyd that deal with this same issue.... and they do not appear to be quite as cumbersome.

Another excellent book is "Living in the Balance of Grace and Faith" by Andrew Wommack.