"Radical" in the NY Times

Denny Burk writes:

David Brooks’s column in today’s NY Times is all about David Platt’s book Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream. Brooks tries to set Platt’s book in the context of nation’s sluggish economy and of citizens who are seeking to find “noneconomic ways to find meaning.” He concludes: 

“Platt’s arguments are old, but they emerge at a postexcess moment, when attitudes toward material life are up for grabs. His book has struck a chord. His renunciation tome is selling like hotcakes. Reviews are warm. Leaders at places like the Southern Baptist Convention are calling on citizens to surrender the American dream. 

“I doubt that we’re about to see a surge of iPod shakers. Americans will not renounce the moral materialism at the core of their national identity. But the country is clearly redefining what sort of lifestyle is socially and morally acceptable and what is not. People like Platt are central to that process." 

Brooks doesn’t have much to say about the gospel underlying Platt’s work, but this is nevertheless an important review. People across the nation will be picking up Radical as a result of this column, and that is a good thing. Read it here.

My only beef with Platt's book is that I wish it were called "Normal Christianity".  We call "radical" what should be normative for all followers of Jesus.  But "Normal Christianity" is pretty much a lame title to catch the eye and sell books.  I get it.  But you get the point.