Thou Shalt Not Be Horrible.
Imagine for a moment what the world might look like if we as people of faith, morality, and conscience actually aspired to this mantra.
What if we were fully burdened to create a world that was more loving and equitable than when we arrived?
What if we invited one another to share in wide-open, fearless, spiritual communities truly marked by compassion and interdependence?
What if we daily challenged ourselves to live a faith that simply made us better humans?
John Pavlovitz explores how we can embody this kinder kind of spirituality where we humbly examine our belief system to understand how it might compel us to act in less-than-loving ways toward others.
This simple phrase, “Thou Shalt Not Be Horrible,” could help us practice what we preach by creating a world where:
- spiritual community provides a sense of belonging where all people are received as we are;
- the most important question we ask of a religious belief is not Is it true? but rather, is it helpful?
- it is morally impossible to pledge complete allegiance to both Jesus and America simultaneously;
- the way we treat others is the most tangible and meaningful expression of our belief system.
In If God Is Love, Don’t Be a Jerk, John Pavlovitz examines the bedrock ideas of our religion: the existence of hell, the utility of prayer, the way we treat LGBTQ people, the value of anger, and other doctrines to help all of us take a good, honest look at how the beliefs we hold can shape our relationships with God and our fellow humans—and to make sure that love has the last, loudest word
- ASIN : B08YJ6BTSZ
- Publisher : Westminster John Knox Press (September 28, 2021)
- Publication date : September 28, 2021
- Language : English
- Print length : 245 pages
- Page numbers source ISBN : 0664266843
My Review
If God Is Love, Don’t Be a Jerk: Finding a Faith That Makes Us Better Humans
If God is Love, Don’t Be A Jerk may hit you right between the eyes. No matter what you believe or what political affiliation you might identify with, this book should make you pause and examine your beliefs. I couldn’t put it down as the author seemed to be living in my headspace during these traumatic times.
John Pavlovitz will have you exploring your beliefs about God and religion and where they originated in your life. Were we blindly led along our path to believe what we do? Did we question and explore and challenge the religious authority in our lives that led us to where we are today? Is the way we treat people based on our religious background? Are we cruel in our judgment because we believe that is what God tells us to do? How do we interpret God’s love? Is it a love of inclusion or exclusion? If God is Love Don’t Be a Jerk should have us all examining how we live in the name of religion.
I would imagine the author is going to get flack over this piece of work because it goes against the norm of what we expect from books about Christianity. Finally, someone says what many of us have wondered but not dared to speak in our religious affiliations. John Pavolitz in If God Is Love Don’t Be A Jerk, Finding a Faith That Makes Us Better Human Beings, challenges all of us to do better in our lives and our interactions with others.
About The Author
John Pavlovitz is a pastor, writer, and activist from Wake Forest, North Carolina.
In the past four years his blog Stuff That Needs To Be Said has reached a diverse worldwide audience. A 20-year veteran in the trenches of local church ministry, John is committed to equality, diversity, and justice.
In 2017 he released his first book A Bigger Table: Building Messy, Authentic, and Hopeful Spiritual Community, and his forthcoming book Hope and Other Superpowers: A Life-Affirming, Love-Defending, Butt-Kicking, World-Saving Manifesto, arrives November 6th, 2018.
Available in Print, Ebook and Audiobook. Publishes September 28, 2021
Find John Pavlovitz at: johnpavlovitz.com
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Reblogged this on Author Julie Seedorf and commented:
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