Saturday, February 26, 2011

Book Review - "Captured By Grace" by Dr. David Jeremiah

I've been reading a lot lately, and I realized it's been a while since I posted an actual book review.

I love talking, singing, and reading about grace, so naturally, I was intrigued by this book's title. Dr. Jeremiah looks at the topic of grace through the stories of the apostle Paul and John Newton, author of "Amazing Grace."

Each line of the famous song becomes a touch point for discussing grace. For example, "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound" demonstrates "The Captivating Presence of Grace." Detailed verse analysis from the book of Romans delves us further into the nature of grace.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, and I definitely got a lot out of it. However, in a few moments, there was a suggestion of something that just made me feel uncomfortable. For example, this line "Have you been excusing sin in your life by calling it another name?" goes on to say that perhaps your "unfortunate trait," "weakness," or "unproductive habit" is actually sin. Well, having known a lot of people who suffer from addictions, biochemical disorders, and other medical issues, this passage made me uneasy. Yes, sin can be a result of this things, but not the cause. Although Dr. Jeremiah doesn't quite come out and say that sin causes these issues, he comes close enough to implying it to make me feel uneasy.

I could be misinterpreting what is being said here, and I welcome the thoughts of Dr. Jeremiah's team, but I do know that, as much as I enjoyed the book, these passages would make me hesitant to recommend it.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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