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Customer Reviews for Bethany House Christians Are Hate-Filled Hypocrites . . . and Other Lies You've Been Told
Bethany House Christians Are Hate-Filled Hypocrites . . . and Other Lies You've Been Told
Christians are used to the stories of the media that pronounce the slow death of the church in the west. Backed up by sociological statistics and other sources of information, they often make the claim that Christians are really no different from their secular counterparts. But are they correct?
In this short, but poignant book Christians Are Hate Filled Hypocrites and Other Lies You've Been Told University of Connecticut sociologist Bradley R.E. Wright shatters these reports and shows them to be nothing but myth. For example Wright shows that:
The media, of course, would have us believe none of this. But yet it is true, and it is a testimony to the lives and health of the western church. Nevertheless all of these statements is true, but we've been told the opposite time and time again. Why is the church being misled? And hat is the true state of Christianity in America today? Wright sifts through the relevant data and shatters popular myths in the process.
He reveals how Christians are doing when it comes to everything from marriage and morality to church growth and public perception. While not all the news is good, it turns there is a wealth of encouraging information that has been hidden from us. In this book you will get the truth behind the statistics you have been hearing and how the numbers are being manipulated, and discover what is really happening in American Christianity.
In this short, but poignant book Christians Are Hate Filled Hypocrites and Other Lies You've Been Told University of Connecticut sociologist Bradley R.E. Wright shatters these reports and shows them to be nothing but myth. For example Wright shows that:
- Evangelicals are more respected in society today than they were 20 years ago.
- Divorce rates of Christian couples are lower than those of non-believers
- The percentage of young people who attend church has held steady over the past 20 years
The media, of course, would have us believe none of this. But yet it is true, and it is a testimony to the lives and health of the western church. Nevertheless all of these statements is true, but we've been told the opposite time and time again. Why is the church being misled? And hat is the true state of Christianity in America today? Wright sifts through the relevant data and shatters popular myths in the process.
He reveals how Christians are doing when it comes to everything from marriage and morality to church growth and public perception. While not all the news is good, it turns there is a wealth of encouraging information that has been hidden from us. In this book you will get the truth behind the statistics you have been hearing and how the numbers are being manipulated, and discover what is really happening in American Christianity.
Average Customer Rating:
(10 Reviews) 10
Rating Snapshot (10 reviews)
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3 out of 3100%customers would recommend this product to a friend.
Customer Reviews for Christians Are Hate-Filled Hypocrites . . . and Other Lies You've Been Told
Review 1 for Christians Are Hate-Filled Hypocrites . . . and Other Lies You've Been Told
Overall Rating:
Counterpoint to Recent Panic-filled Reports
Date:December 9, 2011
Edward Gotts
Location:Madison, Indiana
Age:Over 65
Gender:male
Quality:
5
out of
5
Value:
5
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
5
out of
5
Wright delves into numerous national studies to find data that bear on the question of how Christians (and especially Evangelicals) are viewed by others and themselves. He takes an objective and balanced approach, allowing the findings to speak for themselves, even when they are less than complimentary. His general conclusion is that Christians come off far better than their critics say, but that they have room for improvement--they're not perfect. We're not perfect. He states where we need to improve!
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+2points
2of 2voted this as helpful.
Review 2 for Christians Are Hate-Filled Hypocrites . . . and Other Lies You've Been Told
Overall Rating:
hypocrites
Date:November 23, 2011
Ginny
Location:Riverside, CA
Age:55-65
Gender:female
Quality:
4
out of
5
Value:
5
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
4
out of
5
A good analysis of the inaccuracies of statistics and how they are passed on as facts
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+1point
1of 1voted this as helpful.
Review 3 for Christians Are Hate-Filled Hypocrites . . . and Other Lies You've Been Told
Overall Rating:
Great book.
Date:April 29, 2011
C3901
Quality:
5
out of
5
Value:
5
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
5
out of
5
Clear, balanced and even humourous assessment; easy read, interesting ideas.
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1of 1voted this as helpful.
Review 4 for Christians Are Hate-Filled Hypocrites . . . and Other Lies You've Been Told
Overall Rating:
Date:September 5, 2010
Judy Dudley
This was an interesting yet somewhat confusing book. The author is a sociologist who attempts to present data to show that the state of Christianity is much better than most people tend to believe. He suggests that Christians are not as "bad" as the surveys seem to indicate. We are actually pretty decent folk who are more respected by society today than 20 years ago.While I don't argue much with his conclusions, I was a little surprised as to how he came to those conclusions.Here's what I'm talking about: In chapter 1 (entitled Why Do We Hear So Much Bad News About Christianity?), Mr. Wright shows how so many of the surveys we see and hear about in the media are not to be believed. Why? Because the data is either skewed to reflect certain presuppositions, the questions themselves are not clear or are limited in their exact meaning, or the interpretations of the data are flawed because of so many variables that exist in the reasons why the questions were answered in a certain way. In other words, who can we trust when looking at surveys about religion/Christianity? How can we accurately interpret them with so many variables? How do we know what the results of the surveys actually say about Christians and our society?Here's where the confusing part came for me. The rest of the book was dedicated to proving the state of Christianity by using data from surveys! The author appeared to be contradicting himself by presenting data from the very medium he warned us was unreliable at best and untruthful at worst. His use of survey results was not convincing. He was doing the very thing that he had said in the first chapter was problematic. He did say he likes statistics, but I did not see how he used them any better than anyone else in showing the truth of the matter. The book is full of statistical data and graphs. If you like those kinds of things, then maybe you will enjoy this book. I, however, could not stay interested in it for very long.
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Review 5 for Christians Are Hate-Filled Hypocrites . . . and Other Lies You've Been Told
Overall Rating:
Date:August 22, 2010
Debra
I'm a geek. May as well state that up front. So telling you that Statistics was one of my favorite college courses probably doesn't shock you. I also really enjoyed my Social Psych courses, especially when we got into the idea of massaging statistics to convey the ideas we wanted to convey. Okay, they weren't encouraging us to be manipulative, rather they were trying to make us understand that we needed to look deeper at the conclusions being drawn by any study. Do the data really support it?So this book was fascinating to me.Wright goes through a lot of the statistics out there about Christianity in general, and examines if the conclusions being drawn are really legitimate. He is funny, and he usually succeeds in writing in English (instead of in jargon) which I really appreciated. I hadn't mentioned how long it has been since I took that Statistics course... and there are a lot of technical details I just don't remember.The media, and people within the church, often paint a very bleak picture. Wright goes through one fascinating chapter after another, showing where "everyone" got it right, and where the interpretations are misleading. I don't think I'm spoiling anything by telling you that "misleading" beats "right" more often than not.I loved this book. I'm planning a statistics course for my high schooler, and this book is going to be a supplementary text.Disclosure: Bethany House provided me with a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes. No other compensation was received, and all opinions are my own.
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Review 6 for Christians Are Hate-Filled Hypocrites . . . and Other Lies You've Been Told
Overall Rating:
Date:August 12, 2010
Brenda
A book about statistics is going to be boring right? Wrong , I figured when I picked up this book that I wasn't going to be able to make it past the first chapter but I was pleasantly surprised. The author gives a true look at alot of negative statistics that are floating around about church and Christians in general, and he does a great job of debunking those statistics. Thru his research he shows us that the numbers are exaggerated and basically not true. The statistics given about any survey are only as good as the people collecting the data and putting out the data, so you soon realizes that they can manipulate the numbers to whatever suits their fancy.Truthfully I am so not into reading graphs and data in general but the authors style of writing which is light and humorous made it much easier to read this book.If your interested in the true state of Christians and the church then this book may be for you.I was provided a copy of this book by Bethany House in return for an honest review.
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Review 7 for Christians Are Hate-Filled Hypocrites . . . and Other Lies You've Been Told
Overall Rating:
Date:August 10, 2010
We all know that media tends stretch and exaggerate information and make mountains out of mole hills, much of the time. In his latest book, Bradley Wright, PhD, sets out to expose the lies of both secular and Christian media and shatter the hyped up myths about Christians in general. Does this book accomplish his goal? Im not sure, but I do sense that a book like this may stir the pot and cause controversy, based on Wrights research and statements.According to his research, Wright claims that statistics regarding Christians (Evangelicals) are distorted by the media. For example, according to Wright, the divorce rate amongst Christians is actually lower than those who dont claim any religious affiliation. This of course goes against the information most of us have heard about the divorce rates being the same for believers and non-believers. Some reports have even said that divorce rates were higher amongst Christians. Wright also hits the stereotype of Evangelicals being mostly poor, white, Southern and uneducated. In this book, Wright intends to show how bad news and tabloid sensationalism has pushed aside the Good News of the Gospel that Christians stand for. Being a sociologist, Wright really enjoys statistics and offers plenty of them to combat the information that has long presented Christians in a negative light. I dont know if those who already have a bad taste in their mouth toward evangelicals will be interested in this book, but Wright may find himself with a varied audience. If you are NOT a fan of charts, graphs, statistics, numbers, facts and sociological information, you may want to avoid this book.
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Review 8 for Christians Are Hate-Filled Hypocrites . . . and Other Lies You've Been Told
Overall Rating:
Date:August 2, 2010
"Here are some facts that may surprise you: * Evangelicals are more respected by society today than they were twenty years ago. * Divorce rates of Christian couples are lower than those of nonbelievers. * The percentage of young people who attend church has held steady over the past twenty years. All these statements are true, yet we've been told the opposite time and time again. Why is the church being misled? And what is the true state of Christianity in America today?" That was part of what was on the back of the book. It sounded interesting to me, so I requested a copy to review. I was already bored within the first couple of pages. I felt bogged down with Bradley Wright trying to explain why statistics about Christians are not always accurate. When in the world were most statistics accurate in the first place?I do not understand why a Christian would listen to secular media outlets about Christianity! I felt like Wright was saying that I listened to these statistics and took them to heart, when in reality, I could care less what they say about certain things about Christianity in the first place. I'm not going to go to the media to see how I've been rated in certain areas of my life. Statistics are about comparison. We are commanded in the Bible not to judge others - the only person we are to compare ourselves with is Jesus Christ. Wright makes the comment in the first chapter that he's a researcher as well. If he did any research for this book, he didn't ask me about it! How can I be lumped in with all the other Christians, or whatever we're being called today? I can't be! I feel that if you are a born-again believer and have a solid walk with Christ, then why do you concern yourself with what the world thinks of you? If you are following Christ, you can even make your enemies be at peace with you! I would not recommend this book. If you want to read it, let me know and I'll send it to you!
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Review 9 for Christians Are Hate-Filled Hypocrites . . . and Other Lies You've Been Told
Overall Rating:
Date:July 17, 2010
Before receiving this book, my thoughts were as follows:1.) More Christians divorce over non-Christians2.) Young people are leaving the churches very quickly without returning3.) Christianity is dying in AmericaAs do most people, I thought these things were true based on articles/magazines, statistics, etc. However, what I've thought to be true is actually not entirely correct. Author Bradley R.E. Wright takes the statistics and the common lies that have been told and shows us through research what is really correct. Wright takes common Statistics 101 facts such as the gathering of information for these statistics and surveys the different myths. Who are they surveying for these statistics. Are they asking readers from a particular magazine what they think? Are they focusing on one gender of a certain age or are they getting a proper variety of respondents. Through his research, Wright walks the reader through the many lies we've heard and interprets for us what's really accurate. There is a lot of information and graphs in this books. So it can seem somewhat overwhelming. But reading it a little at a time is very useful. I'm glad that I have the tables and graphs before me to refer to as I make my arguments in the future. I even enjoyed the "report card" for Evangelicals near the back! This is a great book to have on hand!***I received this book to review for free from Bethany House Publishers.
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Review 10 for Christians Are Hate-Filled Hypocrites . . . and Other Lies You've Been Told
Overall Rating:
Date:June 30, 2010
Willie Hamlett
If you want to read a book that is well researched, well written and well...better written than this review, order now! Folks, the good news is there is good news after all. I strongly recommend this book to those in the church and in the academy.
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