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sandrahunt90's review against another edition
4.0
Maybe this deserves 4.5 or 5 stars. I'm not sure. My church is reading this together, and he brought up many good points. I like how he constantly focuses on Jesus as being subservient, hanging out with the oppressed and the marginalized, and pushing back against the systemic oppression of his time. I think it was helpful that I had already read several other books on anti-racism prior to reading this, and parts of this that were familiar to me may have been more powerful to me if I had not already done so. While certainly white Christians have much to learn here, he has a message for Christians of all races, ethnicities, genders. For anyone who is interested in how individual Christians can learn and move forward, I would recommend Alston Channing Brown's book I'm Still Here in addition to this one, which I think is helpful to read with a collective group of Christians.
jayoder16's review against another edition
5.0
This book is packed. I'm thinking I want to get a hard copy so i can read and re-read, highlight, dog-ear....i think I would learn something new and gain new insights every time.
kate_hockman's review against another edition
4.0
I’m still processing a lot from this book, but it had such good things to say. While at times I felt I wasn’t smart enough to understand the writing, the ideas presented were amazing.
madisonboboltz's review against another edition
5.0
I'm extremely grateful for this book. I've been super confused about this issue lately and have been looking for a resource I can use to educate myself. As I study Jesus and scripture, I've been feeling led to defend and support the black lives matter movement, but I am criticized by those around for doing so because it is in opposition to the police. With this being a major topic in recent news, and with so much division, I have felt lost as far as how to approach the issue as a Christian. This book provided so much clarity. It challenged me, enlightened me, made me uncomfortable and opened my eyes. Hart interwove facts, scripture, and personal experience together so well to create a compelling piece of work; I pretty much underlined the entire thing. This book painted a beautiful, honest portrayal of Jesus, and it provided readers with practical ways they can better represent him by denouncing hierarchy and oppression, bringing hope to the world, and pursuing justice for their communities. HIGHLY recommend.
ricefun's review against another edition
5.0
This is essential reading for anyone who identifies as Anabaptist, particularly those of us immersed in white culture who are part of the church. Hart's book weaves personal stories, historical narrative, and theology into an important and compelling argument that for too long the church has propped up a system permeated with white supremacy. Instead, the church as a collection of followers of Jesus Christ, should be at the forefront of breaking down all barriers, including racial divides. I hope to be more conscious about my own activities, particularly where they relate to race relations.
susannadkm's review against another edition
3.0
“To be a black American is to have to constantly tell yourself that you are somebody, that you are made in the image of God, that you are creative and intelligent.” This was probably the most impactful quote for me.
There was a lot to learn from the book, especially for white American Christians, and even more especially for those of us familiar with Messiah College and central/eastern PA. It was disheartening and eye-opening to hear how difficult the author’s experience was with racism at Messiah, but also encouraging to hear about the work Harrisburg BIC is doing in racial reconciliation.
But I was also a little disappointed. I wish there were more stories about the church and fewer vague jargony descriptions.
Nitpick: One of the things that started to frustrate me was how often the author used some of his favorite key words (like subversive and Jesus-shaped), sometimes several times a page or even twice in one paragraph.
There was a lot to learn from the book, especially for white American Christians, and even more especially for those of us familiar with Messiah College and central/eastern PA. It was disheartening and eye-opening to hear how difficult the author’s experience was with racism at Messiah, but also encouraging to hear about the work Harrisburg BIC is doing in racial reconciliation.
But I was also a little disappointed. I wish there were more stories about the church and fewer vague jargony descriptions.
Nitpick: One of the things that started to frustrate me was how often the author used some of his favorite key words (like subversive and Jesus-shaped), sometimes several times a page or even twice in one paragraph.
somanytictoc's review against another edition
2.0
I just couldn't get into it. Maybe I've read too much about systemic racism, but it felt kind of shallow. Like an "Introduction to Black People's Lives" that you'd find at LifeWay. I didn't finish it.
sdurr's review against another edition
5.0
I read the first chapter quickly because it's narrative and easy to follow Hart's story of his experiences. But I took longer to complete the rest of the book because I kept stopping to underline and ponder his points. Then I typed a "notes" page from those underlinings and used them to write an entry in my blog. This after I was less than half done. It was emotional.
I took a break and read some other books but recommend this one to others -- although I had not finished reading it. After several weeks' break, I returned to reading it as the news caught up to what Hart wrote here about how we live in our racialized society, how we've all bought in to the racial divide -- either consciously or unconsciously -- in one way or another.
I like how he links his idea to his faith, how his faith helps him view the world differently. I finished reading it a couple of days ago and highly recommend it to all people of faith.
I took a break and read some other books but recommend this one to others -- although I had not finished reading it. After several weeks' break, I returned to reading it as the news caught up to what Hart wrote here about how we live in our racialized society, how we've all bought in to the racial divide -- either consciously or unconsciously -- in one way or another.
I like how he links his idea to his faith, how his faith helps him view the world differently. I finished reading it a couple of days ago and highly recommend it to all people of faith.
paperpaladin's review against another edition
2.5
My rating system
1 - Did not enjoy
2 - Not irredeemable but has too many flaws to say I enjoyed
3 - Enjoyed it
4 - Great book but didn't love it
5 - Amazing book
1 - Did not enjoy
2 - Not irredeemable but has too many flaws to say I enjoyed
3 - Enjoyed it
4 - Great book but didn't love it
5 - Amazing book