In Primal, Batterson takes us back to the commandment to "love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind and with all your strength" and challenges us to put heart and soul above mind as the order in the verse suggests. (With the comment that Christianity today has become too cerebral and not enough from the heart.)
In general, I thought this was a fantastic read - with lots of thought provoking bits to ponder. However, I think it's a tricky line to walk to urge people back to an "emotional" faith - because that kind of faith doesn't hold up when things go bad. You have to have something (your mind and your strength) to cling to when you don't feel like believing. Having read Wild Goose Chase by the same author and been disappointed with the seeming message that the Christian life is to be one adrenaline ride after the next, I was encouraged that it's toned down considerably here and that there is at least a place for faith based on something other than an emotion.
At the root, Batterson urges the church to reclaim the faith of those who were willing to be martyred for Christ, and that's something I can fully get behind, because that kind of faith is truly based on a person's whole being. And that's the kind of faith that will make a difference in the world.
For more information, go here.
This book was provided for review by WaterBrook Multnomah.
3 days ago
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