[... "A.J. Jacobs' Year of Living Biblicall...", posted with vodpodI have passed AJ Jacobs' book, The Ye...]

I have passed AJ Jacobs' book, The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible, many times in the bookstore and would have purchased it on several different occasions if it weren't for the fact that I currently have about 20 books on my shelf at home waiting to be read. I do like his style though: sort of Hunter S. Thompson meets Nerdcore. I can relate to that.

I enjoy what he has to say in this video. Jacobs is very witty and creative, but what impresses me the most about him is his honesty and willingness to take other people and their ideas seriously even though, by his own admission, he believes them to be "crazy". I believe the Church would do well to adopt this perspective.

The three highlights for me were:

1. The self effacing description of himself as being Jewish in the same way that the Olive Garden is Italian.

2. His admission that he has found Evangelical Christianity to be so broad and far reaching that it is unfair to make generalizations about it.

3. His reverence for Jim Wallace and Tony Campolo. I here so many people within the Church, especially of the baby boom generation, talk about guys like Campolo, McLaren, Rob Bell, and others like they are heretical mavericks leading Christians astray. I think Jacobs' remarks solidify the case that these people are the few Christian leaders who are really relating to secular culture in a compassionate and non-polarizing way. By the way, I also recommend Tony Campolo's book, Red Letter Christians, as well as an older book he co-authored with Brian McLaren titled Adventures in Missing the Point.

I have passed AJ Jacobs' book, The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible, many times in the bookstore and would have purchased it on several different occasions if it weren't for the fact that I currently have about 20 books on my shelf at home waiting to be read. I do like his style though: sort of Hunter S. Thompson meets Nerdcore. I can relate to that.

I enjoy what he has to say in this video. Jacobs is very witty and creative, but what impresses me the most about him is his honesty and willingness to take other people and their ideas seriously even though, by his own admission, he believes them to be "crazy". I believe the Church would do well to adopt this perspective.

The three highlights for me were:

1. The self effacing description of himself as being Jewish in the same way that the Olive Garden is Italian.

2. His admission that he has found Evangelical Christianity to be so broad and far reaching that it is unfair to make generalizations about it.

3. His reverence for Jim Wallace and Tony Campolo. I here so many people within the Church, especially of the baby boom generation, talk about guys like Campolo, McLaren, Rob Bell, and others like they are heretical mavericks leading Christians astray. I think Jacobs' remarks solidify the case that these people are the few Christian leaders who are really relating to secular culture in a compassionate and non-polarizing way. By the way, I also recommend Tony Campolo's book, Red Letter Christians, as well as an older book he co-authored with Brian McLaren titled Adventures in Missing the Point.