Some final quotes to share:
We live in a world of dangerous extremes. "These are extreme times," Dr King said. "The question is not whether we will be extremists but what kind of extremists will we be. Will we be extremists for hate or for love?" (p. 270)
A good question, the followers of Jesus should indeed be 'extremists for love and grace.'
I used to think that those of us who hope for things we cannot see and who believe that the world can be different than it is were the crazy ones. We are usually called that by people who spend their lives trying to convince everyone that the crazy things they do actually make sense. Now more and more people are starting to imagine that mabye another world is possible and necessary and actually imaginable. I'm starting to wonder if, actually, we have gone sane in a mad world. In a world of smart bombs and military intelligence, we need more fools, holy fools who insist that the folly of the cross is wiser than any human power. And the world may call us crazy. (p. 343)
Do we have the confidence in the gospel to believe that the whole world may be mad but believing in Jesus is the only kind of sane there is? This challenge works on so many different levels.
On the whole Shane's book is challenging, although some of the later chapters are repeating, or let's be positive, reinforcing points made earlier in the book. I can understand Shane's zeal for this kind of Christian living he has found and experienced, but, and this is a big but, he is not describing 'normal' Christian living. I'm well aware there's a huge debate about what 'normal' Christian living may be, but any one description doesn't do justice to the width and variety of Christian living.
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