Bryan Stone

An exploration of the ethics of evangelism and how Christians are to best exemplify the witness of the crucified Christ.

The author is attuned to the various forms of dominion and empire which have become normative in modern American culture: nationalism, consumerism, and pluralism. He provides a refreshing outlook on evangelism, decrying the hyper-competitive marketing and sales based forms of evangelism en vogue today, seeing them as vestiges of empire and Americanism more than authentic means of communicating the Christ. He spends some time exploring the challenges for military chaplains, mostly in terms of what cannot be said and encouraged in light of the commitment to the empire and its military which chaplains must make.

The author does well to show how various faiths have been commercialized in modern pluralism, all of them equally categorized as "religions" and encouraging a buffet-style choosing of religious belief. He shows instead how faiths are rooted in traditions and ways of looking at the world and acting and therefore cannot be properly reduced to a set of maxims; this allows for the recognition that perhaps one faith is more compelling than another.

The author speaks of truth, good, and beauty, and the importance of using the good and the beautiful to communicate the truth. Evangelism can happen without domination or empire; evangelism is the witness of Jesus, embodied in people living like Jesus, associating with one another as the body of Christ, and welcoming people to join in participating in Jesus' life, death, and resurrection.

An excellent perspective on evangelism, and worthy of consideration. Author is of a Wesleyan background and refers to this many times.

**--galley received as part of early review program… (mehr)