Customer Reviews: Read 7 more reviews...
 A radical and challenging read September 3, 2006
Julian B. (Norfolk UK)
17 out of 18 found this review helpful
Shane Claiborne is a radical Christian who wanted a more authentic style of living his faith. He spent time with Mother Theresa in India, Iraq and protesting in his home country, the USA, trying to challenge injustice and bringing 'community' into being. He lives in community.
This book details some of his journey linking it to what he has learnt, his ideal of community and Jesus. It covers areas from materialism, the 'poor',politics,Iraq, recycling, and all in the context of community. The style of the book is not academic but it is well written and flows well. His argument is well written.
I found this book an excellent read - not comfortable but very challenging. I have read similar authors like the excellent Jim Wallis but this is the most challenging - it actually got me wanting to live this lifestyle and thinking how I could put it into practice.
The author does not come across as an armchair philosopher but a genuine radical who you can't ignore if you are interested in Faith and Community.
Julian from Norwich
We're all lepers April 29, 2007
Matt Wilson (MANCHESTER UK)
8 out of 9 found this review helpful
Every now and again you come across a life that is so bright and well defined that it makes your own life seem dim and shapeless. That's how I'm feeling reading Shane Claiborne's biography-of-sorts Irresistible Revolution. As a student Shane found his faltering faith awakened in the company of a group of homeless families taking refuge in a derelict cathedral in Philadelphia. Before long his journey had taken him to work alongside Mother Teresa in Calcutta and later to the war-torn streets of Bhagdad. Shane's gracious voice of provocation and challenge is especially poignant in his reflections on his time amidst the lepers of Ghandiji Prem Nevas:
"I learned from the lepers that leprosy is a disease of numbness. The contagion numbs the skin, and the nerves can no longer feel as the body wastes away. In fact, the way it was detected was by rubbing a feather across the skin and if the person could not feel it, they were diagnosed with the illness. To treat it, we would dig out or dissect the scarred tissue until the person could feel again. As I left Calcutta, it occurred to me that I was returning to a land of lepers, a land of people who had forgotten how to feel, to laugh, to cry, a land haunted by numbness. Could we learn to feel again?"
I can relate to that. To me it sounds like a metaphor for the church - a place where those riddled with the leprosy of selfishness find a community in which they can start to feel again. After all, how anyone be a true Christian without the ability to feel?
Really inspiring August 28, 2006
C. Swain (St. Albans, UK)
9 out of 11 found this review helpful
I bought this book on a whim having never heard of Shane Claiborne or his book. Seeing the review from Rob Bell on the back sparked my interest and this book follows the same style as his 'Velvet Elvis' which I adore. The book is full of testimony and challenges all backed up by the Bible. Claiborne has had some incredible experiences with Mother Teresa in Calcutta and churches in Iraq. He lives a really interesting life in a community house based on the principles of 'the simple way.' I read the whole thing in 2 days and underlined the majority of it. It is really inspiring and has caused me to question many of my lifestyle choices. I would really recommend this to anyone who is looking to be challenged, it you like Rob Bell or Donald Miller you'll love this book!
Powerful September 7, 2007
Martin H. Spence (martin-spence.com)
6 out of 8 found this review helpful
Read this book whilst on holiday...
Wow - what a challenege to a middle class follower of Christ...
Radical and unsettling - easy to read, now it's time for application!!!
Was so challenged returned home and bought 20 copies for friends to read and pass on...
May we wake up and be performers of the gospel as well...
Life Changing! August 14, 2007
McSteen (Washington DC)
1 out of 25 found this review helpful
Well what can I say? A masterpiece! After reading this book I immediately quit my job as a civil servant. I have now booked my ticket to Angola where I will spend the rest of my life holding hands with dying Ebola victims as they gurgle their last, bloody breath.
Sincerly
Karl Rove
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