The Way Back: How Christians Blew Our Credibility and How We Can Fix It

Filmmaker Cooke and producer Bock provide a glimpse behind the curtain of the modern Christian church in this cursory but passionately argued book. With the intention of bolstering belief in Christians, the authors offer a path to spiritual thriving through Christ in a world that can be hostile to belief. They argue that the Christian world has created a god in its own image, abandoning the biblical image of God creating man in his image, and that everyone needs to return to the original teachings of Christ. The result of this distortion has led to the creation of “That Other God,” they write, and the consequences are deep and potentially fatal to believers and society as a whole. Cooke and Bock, wielding an effective rhetorical scalpel, call for a combination of extreme commitment to living out one’s Christian affirmation with what they term a “radical humility” (professing unencumbered love, even toward those who express hatred). This serious work, easily understood by clergy and laity alike, provides a timely wake-up call for the modern church. Agent: Rachelle Gardner, Books and Such. (Feb.)