How bad is not good enough?

Several weeks ago, I was at the gym, and because I get bored easily while on treadmill or stair stepper, I usually listen to a play list off my phone. That day for some reason, I decided to listen to a podcast. The one I stumbled on had as a guest that day Mike Lyon, author of I’m not Hitler: A Real Conversation about Entry to Heaven (Artistic Lyon, LLC, 2019). The podcast seemed to be faith-based, but the conversation with Mike had quite a different tone to it than I am used to. Nothing negative implied there, frankly I found it refreshing. He was admitting to being human, that is, not perfect, but despite the fact that his language might be a little salty at times, he still loves Jesus, and believes, trusts, has faith that Jesus loves him.  Since I enjoyed listening to the podcast, and found the title of the book rather intriguing, when I finished with the machines, it was time to visit Amazon and buy the book.  Definitely not disappointed.

                There are 23 short chapters, and each one concludes with a couple of questions that really make one think. Mike addresses a number of issues that are often stumbling blocks pre-believers, but as he talks about his own experiences, doubts, and fears, he quickly puts those concerns to rest.

Two of the issues that quickly jump out are the questions of how good do you have to be to get to heaven, (and why, if you’re a good person, can’t you get to heaven without Jesus)? And what do we do with all those other religions, all of whom claim exclusive rights to heaven. The point he makes so clearly is that contradictory statements can’t all be true—either they are all wrong, or one is right, and the rest are wrong. And then he lays out his thought process for believing that Jesus is the way to heaven.

                At first the title didn’t make much sense, until I stopped to think about his main premise, that just being good isn’t good enough. But I imagine that there are still people who think they can be good enough, and anyway, even if they fall short in some areas, they’re not as bad as Hitler (or Genghis Khan or Saddam Hussein, or any of the evil doers of our day).

                I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. The author’s candor made it come alive for me as he made his various points. 

                This would be a great book for a small group to study, and it can be quite a valuable tool for helping pre- or new-believers better understand the Christian faith.

                5/5