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1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 Every practicing Christian needs to read this one! Nov 18, 2009
No matter what denomination, (or non-denom :) ) you will take away something of value. This book describes the answers to questions about how Christians are preceived by the younger adults today.
Without ever asking us to give up a stand for God this book asks us to consider what we look like to outsiders. There are ways we can do better to present the gospel in a real way that is also hearable by our much more sophisticated and often church-hurt young adults.
This book gives specifics about how we are preceived and suggestions on how to present Christ rather than our own selves.
My 17 yr old daughter is now anxiously waiting for me to finish the last few pages so she can have it next.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 Good data, biased opinions Nov 17, 2009
unChristian is a great book when it comes to revealing the thoughts and opinions of various groups of people, ranging from older born-agains to young outsiders. The data is interesting and causes deep thought about the future of the church (universally) and Christianity (no matter what one believes).
I appreciated very much the scientific nature of much of the book. I was frustrated, however, that the author essentially assumed he knew who was reading the book. There was a constant assumption that the reader was born-again and wanted to learn how to evangelize or live most effectively. The author failed to take into account various types of Christians who read the book.
For example, the author writes about homosexuality and the way the church is perceived concerning the issue. Beyond the perceptions, though, he states several times that Christians should believe that homosexuality is wrong. He fails to take into account that not all Christians believe in the infallibility of the bible or those who believe in interpretation of text (rather than hard-and-fast belief in the text as we have it today).
I am not writing this review blindly and I recognize my lenses. I hold degrees in Religion and History from a religiously affiliated university. I work in ministry. I am openly gay. I cannot adequately describe my faith journey other than to say that it is active and I am growing (most would call me agnostic). I do not believe that the bible is inerrant or even that it should be read as literal.
Most likely, I would be labeled as unChristian if held to the definitions set by the author. The problem is that no definition is adequate and no human-made definition will ever be accurate.
1 of 7 found the following review helpful:
 Makes you wonder... Nov 09, 2009
Makes you wonder... if Christians lived perfect, sinless lives, would the world love and accept us then? Oh, yeah, that was tried once and "He was despised and rejected of men." Mmmmmm. "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. (John 15:18-19) So what this new generation really thinks about Christianity is the same thing every generation really thought about Christianity. So what? Christ warned us about that a long time ago. It's not going to be different no matter how we tweak our actions. Waste of time to read this book. Might want to read the Bible instead.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
A great revelation of what we've done wrong. Nov 01, 2009
For decades we've heard Christians blame society for the dwindling popularity of Christianity. Now David Kinnaman lends overwhelming statistical support to the truth - that we Christians are largely to blame for the decline of Christianity in America.
Why are we to blame? Because we behave in an "UnChristian" manner, especially in the areas of hypocrisy, pushy evangelism, hatred for gays, cutting ourselves off from society, judgmentalism, and the Religious Right (these are chapters 3-8 in the book).
Chapters 3-5 are the hardest to fix. For example, it's impossible for all Christians to avoid being hypocritical, because we all do things that we don't believe we should, and some Christians do things they think are right that other Christians believe are sin. Also, the Bible does speak ill of homosexuality in four places, so it's hard to agree with the Bible here without offending the public. It's impossible to follow the Bible and please the people on every count (and the author seems to understand that); nonetheless, these chapters educate us on what the public feels, so we can have some empathy for them and better relate to them.
Where this book disappointed me is in its lack of Bible verses supporting its arguments. For example, the Bible is loaded with anti-judgmentalism verses. And it never records Jesus or His disciples trying to make non-Christians or non-Jews follow Christian morality (neither on a personal nor political level) without first becoming Christians. Also, the Bible contains over 100 quotes opposing greed and oppression of the poor. Many of these are contrary to the interests of the Religious Right and its support of all things Republican. It's these anti-biblical behaviors that drive so many away from the church.
Despite containing insufficient Bible quotes, I recommend this book for every Christian, because it directs our finger-pointing inward to a place where we can each make a difference, and because it seeks to realign the church with God's will - a church that's other-centered rather than self-promoting.
1 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Great perspective, particularly on Gen Y Oct 30, 2009
If you are not a person actively pursuing a deep relationship with Jesus Christ, this book may confirm the pain you have suffered as a result of someone (or many people) who claimed to be a Christian yet their behaviors did not reflect the love of Christ. They provide some great insights into why too often Gen Y is disengaged from a deep faith even though they deeply want to fill that void in their lives. This is precisely why Kinnaman and Lyons wrote the book. The teachings of Jesus are universally accepted as positive, enriching truth and yet the term "Christian" evokes a wide range of emotions. Read this book to understand how even sincere people are failing to demonstrate Christ's love through their actions, gain some perspective on how that could change, and consider what will happen to Christianity in America if people say they believe that Jesus rose from the dead, but do not reflect that belief in their actions.
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