Here's a book I'm interested in reading. Bradley R. E. Wright is associate professor of sociology at the University of Connecticut.Christians are Hate-Filled Hypocrites . . . and Other Lies You've Been Told presents a more hopeful and positive look at the church in contrast to works like UnChristian. Wright is a quantitative sociologist and favors statistics that are peer-reviewed and use large sample sizes (unlike Barna, Lifeway, and other Christian researchers, who will often use surveys of only a few hundred respondents and never peer-review their work.)
You can see a 13-part review of UnChristian by Wright on his blog. I found it informative, insightful and confirmed some of my suspicions.
The catalog description follows:
"According to the media, the church is rapidly shrinking, both in numbers and in effectiveness. But the good news is, much of the bad news is wrong. Sociologist Bradley R. E. Wright uncovers what's really happening in the church: evangelicals are more respected by secular culture now than they were ten years ago; divorce rates of Christians are lower than those of nonbelievers; Christians give more to charity than others do. Wright reveals to readers why and how statistics are distorted, and shows that God is still effectively working through his people today."
This is a book that will definitely be swimming against the tide but deserves a hearing. Look for it next July. It will be a paperback with 256 pages and sell for $14.99.
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