You can dress a book cover up, give it a fancy title, make it sound provocative, but if what is inside is stale and mediocre, all that time and energy is for not. Unfortunately, that was my experience with The Jesus Code: 52 Scripture Questions Every Believer Should Answer by O.S. Hawkins.
I had company over when I opened the package with this book in it. Everyone oohed and ahhed over the beautiful leather cover. The cover is beautiful. It looks like a piece of art to be framed. And I was excited by the prospect of having to answer questions about scripture, thinking it would deepen my faith and understanding. What I found inside was a let down. It is simply 52 old-King-James-esq questions, such as "Has God Indeed Said...?" and "Should Such a Man Flee?" and the authors commentary on the verse accompanying the question. At the end of each question is what I presume was intended to be a personal question to relate this to the reader, but even these are more preachy than self-exploring.
The bottom line is it feels like a book that should have been written 50+ years ago. The questions in this book are too simple and obvious to the modern Christian and even if intended for a new believer, it uses too much "Christianese" to make it interesting or relevant.
I really don't recommend this book. It's not horrible, but there are so many better options out there. Even as a gift, it falls flat. If you want something a little more "old school", find a nice leather bound copy of Oswald Chamber's My Utmost for His Highest.
I was provided a copy of this book free of charge by Thomas Nelson in return for my honest review.
No comments:
Post a Comment