For the first time ever, I've read a book and am still undecided what I think about its contents.
In the Land of Believers by Gina Welch is interesting. She gets off to a slow start, but she's also laying groundwork and foundation for this "weird" culture of Evangelicals, specifically, Thomas Road Baptist Church, the home of Liberty University. If you haven't heard of this book, an atheist Yale grad begins to attend Thomas Road for the sole purpose of writing a book explaining what Evangelicals are truly about. She fakes a conversion experience, is baptized, and even goes on a mission trip whose sole purpose is evangelism.
Like many non-southerners, her attitude toward the Bible belt is condescending and excessively arrogant. Unlike many, she does come to recognize that different doesn't necessarily mean inferior or uneducated, but I don't think she ever totally grasped southern culture. As for the religious culture, she did get a decent view of life with Evangelical Christians. But unlike most anthropologists who study people groups for more than just two years (and more than just one or two select groups of friends), Welch limits her "exposure" to a small handful, giving her a very narrow, albeit eye-opening, experience.
By the time I hit 3/4 through the book, I was absolutely appalled at her lack of compassion for people, her inability to tell the truth, and her supreme selfishness. The last few chapters did reveal her to have some sense of feeling for anyone outside of her circle of thinkers, but not much. The last chapter revealed more than anything just how clueless she truly is to the fact that Evangelicals truly are people who are capable of loving and caring.
If you want a raw look at how someone with absolutely no Biblical knowledge views fundamental Christians, I highly recommend this book. If you struggle with things in the church or are easily offended, then it's best you stay away from it. I can hear Pastor Mike stating that had the altar workers at Thomas Road spent adequate time with this young lady and had been trained in the Netcaster program, her experience at Liberty could have been totally different. Regardless, it never hurts to look at yourself in someone else's mirror.
In the Land of Believers by Gina Welch is interesting. She gets off to a slow start, but she's also laying groundwork and foundation for this "weird" culture of Evangelicals, specifically, Thomas Road Baptist Church, the home of Liberty University. If you haven't heard of this book, an atheist Yale grad begins to attend Thomas Road for the sole purpose of writing a book explaining what Evangelicals are truly about. She fakes a conversion experience, is baptized, and even goes on a mission trip whose sole purpose is evangelism.
Like many non-southerners, her attitude toward the Bible belt is condescending and excessively arrogant. Unlike many, she does come to recognize that different doesn't necessarily mean inferior or uneducated, but I don't think she ever totally grasped southern culture. As for the religious culture, she did get a decent view of life with Evangelical Christians. But unlike most anthropologists who study people groups for more than just two years (and more than just one or two select groups of friends), Welch limits her "exposure" to a small handful, giving her a very narrow, albeit eye-opening, experience.
By the time I hit 3/4 through the book, I was absolutely appalled at her lack of compassion for people, her inability to tell the truth, and her supreme selfishness. The last few chapters did reveal her to have some sense of feeling for anyone outside of her circle of thinkers, but not much. The last chapter revealed more than anything just how clueless she truly is to the fact that Evangelicals truly are people who are capable of loving and caring.
If you want a raw look at how someone with absolutely no Biblical knowledge views fundamental Christians, I highly recommend this book. If you struggle with things in the church or are easily offended, then it's best you stay away from it. I can hear Pastor Mike stating that had the altar workers at Thomas Road spent adequate time with this young lady and had been trained in the Netcaster program, her experience at Liberty could have been totally different. Regardless, it never hurts to look at yourself in someone else's mirror.
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