In his new book Resurrecting Religion: Finding Our Way Back
to the Good News (NavPRess, 2018) Greg Paul tells some real-life stories of
people learning to live the Gospel, to share justice as it’s described in the
Bible, and how to live in community. Sanctuary, located in Toronto, is not just
a place where society’s down and out can go for a meal and a bed, rather it’s a
community where people can learn to experience the love of Christ in an
entirely, for many, new way.
I
enjoyed reading the book, since I’ve long felt that our churches are often very
unbalanced when it comes to who we care for. Think James and his admonition against
treating the rich man differently from the poor man. Greg demonstrates how people from across the broad
spectrum of society can come together in a community based on their similarities
in Christ, regardless of the differences in their circumstances as the world see
them.
Although
this is a compelling case for being the church instead of doing church, the
juxtaposition of passages from the Epistle of James and stories from communal
life at Sanctuary left me wondering whether this is supposed to be a commentary
on James, using examples from Sanctuary, or the story of Sanctuary describing
how they fit the model of the church as described by James.
But above
all, this book is a call for justice, a call to justice. And not our worldly
view of justice that suggests that the system makes sure that the ‘bad guy’
gets what he deserves. This is a call to biblical justice, where those who tend
to be marginalized in and by society experience the love of Christ, the grace
of God, and as they experience love and grace they recognize that they have worth,
and they learn to share that love with others.
Everyone
deserves to be treated with respect and dignity, and the lessons in this book
make a good start in teaching us how to move in that direction.
I received
a complimentary copy of this book from Tyndale House Publishers
4/5
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