Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream by David Platt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
In a way, I feel a little weird writing a review of this book. It’s not really the type of book to be reviewed. I mean, sure, I could analyze the author’s arguments and major premise. I could point out how many of the chapters focus on his own personal experiences and the experiences of people in his church in order to pull our emotional strings, rather than being based solely on the Word of God. I could note that the five elements of his final challenge to be radical mostly equate to doing things that we already know we ought to be doing, and are really less “radical” than the author makes them seem.
But this is less of an academic work, and more a work just to be challenged and inspired by. And Radical certainly did both of these things for me.
I want to live a life radically devoted to Christ. The American dream often gets in the way of doing that. I get sucked into worrying about my bank balance. I get consumed with the latest and greatest gadgets. As soon as I recently upgraded my camera gear, I started thinking about the next photography purchase that would make my gear even better. Almost all of this seems completely superfluous in light of the millions who have never even heard the name of Jesus.
And even if the final challenges are less than radical, they are still good challenges. How often have I gotten used to the comfort of my life’s routine? How often have I become complacent in my devotion to Christ? All too often. This book challenges me to keep a close eye on how I live, how I think about wealth, and my purpose in life.