Mere Discipleship: Radical Christianity in a Rebellious World
It is easy to forget that Christianity began as a radical religion, that the assertion "Jesus is Lord" is radical. Camp reminds us of the faith's radical roots. He starts in "the most Christian country in Africa": Rwanda, a land rife with ethnic tension and violence between two ostensibly Christian tribes. He shifts to Nashville, arguably the most Christian city in the U.S., and there, too, is tension, albeit not violence, between the two largest denominations in town, Southern Baptists and Churches of Christ Baptists, longtime antagonists. As Camp sees it, this is wrong. There should be no compartmentalization of faith: you either follow Christ or not. He believes that contemporary Western culture subverts the Christian message, and he suggests a reading of the New Testament that aims to help his readers understand discipleship in a more authentically biblical way. Such practices as worship, baptism, and prayer are God's gifts, he says, rather than things we "must do"--that is, rather than elements of rote ritual. A fascinating and erudite examination of "true" Christianity.June SawyersCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved