The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical Paperback – January 31, 2006

This book sparked a lot of hope in me. I agree with many thoughts on this book about being a follower of Jesus.

Shane Claiborne, The Irresistible Revolution, living as an ordinary radical (Grand Rapids, MI, Zondervan, 2006) This book is an anecdotal autobiography by one of the founders of The Simple Way `homestead' in an especially destitute neighborhood in Kensington, a cluster of neighborhoods in northern Philadelphia. This represents the sixth in a series on Christian community models, most especially as a contrast to the traditional community operating under the Rule of St. Benedict. The Simple Way is one of several examples of a `new monasticism', directed outward to the surrounding community rather than inward like the cloistered communities of Medieval times, with far less discipline and direction that the socially active religious orders which contributed so much to the development of hospitals, charitable organizations, and schools in the 16th--19th centuries, such as those started by St. Vincent de Paul. I sense one very basic difference between the cloistered orders and the `new monasticism'. The former seeks a relation with God through extreme humility, obedience, regularity, and most importantly, deep study of the wisdom one finds in the scripture and in the writings of the `fathers of the church'. Their spiritual forefathers are the authors of the wisdom literature in the OT, especially Proverbs and Sirach. Their template was created when the world was very simple, and the only vocational options men had were to take up your father's (or neighbors) farming, craft, or profession, join the army, or study to become a cleric, and the last was only open to sons from wealthier families. The monasteries offered a fifth option, in a community which offered physical protection from brigands, books, and training. For the less intellectually inclined, this meant heartfelt obedience to the rule. For the intellectual, it meant a deeper study of God's plans and thought, not unlike the ultimate objective of the great Greek philosophers so admired by Clement of Alexandria. The crowning achievements of this path lead to the works of St. Augustine, St. Jerome, St. Anselm, St. Albertus Magnus, and St. Thomas Aquinas. The latter seek direct, immediate experience of the body of Christ by very close contact with those who appear to have lost all hope and dignity. In outer form, their communities have a strong resemblance to the `alternate lifestyles' of the hippie communities which sprang up in the late 1960s and the early 1970s. Their aesthetic is just as undisciplined, if a bit more subdued. Outwardly, this `style' is transplanted to the inner cities, with a slight seasoning of yuppie gentrification. Inwardly, they are very different from either the hippie experience or the early monastic movements. Their motives are about as altruistic as one may imagine, based on an acute sensitivity to the need for some outreach and respect in the `other' felt by their less chosen neighbors, which range, in Claiborne's case from East Indian leprosy sufferers to Iraqi families in harm's way from both their countrymen and from `collateral damage' by American ordinance to homeless Philadelphians who sleep on the streets. In reading Claiborne's book, one gets the overwhelming sense that he and his comrades have bored down to the bedrock of Christian behavior, driven by a very respectable education from a very respectable Christian school (Eastern University in St. Davids, PA, just outside of Philadelphia), where his mentor was the well-known Christian sociologist, Tony Campolo) piled on top of many, many hours of discussions on what constitutes a Christian. But the more one reads, the more one detects a sense of unreality about Claiborne's thinking. The immediate evidence is that Claiborne really doesn't know the Bible from what may be considered a scholar's (by that I mean, factually correct) point of view. He gets all of the surface stuff right, but you start to see fraying around the edges, as when he attributes the execution of Jesus to the representatives of the Roman Empire in Judea. In general, the gospels give Pontius Pilate, and even Herod Antipas, a pass on direct responsibility. They are weak willed cowards for not standing up to the Sanhedrin, so they simply did their bidding, and if Roman soldiers did the actual execution, it was not because they thought Jesus was guilty, it was only to keep the peace and prevent another Jewish rebellion. From this mistake, Claiborne makes the mistake of identifying the American government with all the ills and problems of the Roman government. It is not reaching too far to say that given the exponentially greater complexity in the world, the American federal government is far, far less corrupt and capable of doing things that would never have entered Caesar Augustus' wildest dreams. The Roman Empire was ruled by methods which were not too different from our parody of the Mafia. Almost everything ran on graft, bribes, influence buying and extortion. And, it really wasn't that big. Aside from the army, the civil service was very small. To handle today's problems, we need concentrated power and capital. It is simply not possible to solve big problems like Nazi aggression, racial discrimination, social injustice, safety nets for the elderly, economic crises, and climate shifts without powerful central governments. Mr. Claiborne's concept of Christianity demonstrates to me a sense that while mainstream Christianity has survived the Scientific Revolution, it has not yet adapted itself to the changes brought on by the Industrial Revolution. The great Catholic hospitals of the 18th and 19 centuries simply could no longer handle modern health problems. For that, we need the CDC, the National Institutes of Health, and the FDA. Claiborne's statements on `Christian Value' hide some serious absurdities. For example, he may say that there is greater value in a person with few possessions sharing an extra shirt with someone who has none is morally superior to Bill Gates' contributing billions (yes, that billions with a b) of dollars to feed, medicate, and educate hundreds of thousands of Africans. This is ludicrous. The tragedy is that even Gates great wealth is not enough to actually solve this major problem. I'm guessing, but I suspect he is able to attack no more than 20% of a growing problem. For that, you really need global cooperation of the major nations of the world. Another way of looking at it is that those hippie communes probably would have never even got off the ground if it were not for the huge infrastructure of commerce and technology which made their steel tools, bred their hybrid grain seeds, refined and delivered their oil, wove the fabrics for their tents, and developed their medicines. The heart of the matter is that he does not make the distinction which many have made, between one's virtue based on a good heart with one's overall impact on the realities of a BIG problem. This is not to say Mr. Claiborne and his associates don't get results. They do. The problem is that their tactics are terrific for small problems, but useless in thinking about big problems. This is largely borne out by their ideal, Mother Theresa, whose primary virtue was in providing a means for the ill to live and die in dignity (at least this is the way Mr. Claiborne depicts her mission). The `new monasticism' does have some rules, and there is a small overlap with The Rule of St. Benedict, but they would not fill the first page of St. Benedict's book. The `rules' are more like vision statements and strategies than a real model for life. [...]. Claiborne's `social activism' seems based a lot more on responding to the needs of the moment than in a plan which results in a school, a clinic, a thrift shop, or even a hospital. Do not forget, however, that my comments reflect the writings of one person, in one book, and not on the dozens of similar `new monastic' settlements. There is one very Christian `big thing' which Claiborne and his mates get right in the great scheme of the world. This is the emphasis on the superior efficacy of love over hate and the fact that even on the big stages of the world, this works. There is ample evidence even within our recent memory where creating, and even literally announcing `enemies' created far more problems than it ever solved. And we don't even have to go French with the people on the other side of the table. Simply recognizing that most of the time, we are NOT playing a zero sum game, and that cooperation and respect will yield greater benefits than fang and claw competition. The old hippie cliché of sticking daisies in the National Guardsman's assault rifle barrel conveys some sense of the evocative power of simply not putting up a guard, let alone letting one down after it's gone up. Claiborne's problem is that he sees governments on both sides as `evil empires', and may not be willing to see his brand of solutions in the context of governments which deal in reasonably good faith for the interest of both themselves and for their economic and political adversaries. As Claiborne so astutely points out, the world's big problems are not religious; they are matters of economy and self-esteem. Just as the Christians did 2000 years ago, people will be taken advantage of for just so long, when, as that great longshoreman social theorist, Eric Hoffer said, they will latch on to a fanatical following which promises to deliver a better, no, a GLORIOUS future! Claiborne needs to bring his thinking out of the 18th century village and into the 21st century world.

Item was rated 'very good' and it was exactly as recommended. Thank you

This book challenges nearly every aspect of American "churchianity."While reading this, sometimes I wanted to yell "Amen" while other times I inwardly groaned.His personal journey and questioning were what I found most interesting.I hesitate to recommend Irresistible Revolution because of some things I didn't agree with.The most serious issue I have is not with what WAS written, but with what wasn't. There is barely any talk about our sinful state or our need for a Savior... this I found exceptionally sad. Shane never talks about his own neediness.I understand from personal experience it's easy to fall prey getting carried away following Jesus to the exclusion of knowing Jesus.Additionally, very little was written explaining how we're to integrate this "radical" stuff into the local church and our normal, everyday lives. All of us living homeless, mooching off others' hospitality (or squatting in gutted buildings in downtown Philadelphia) is not a practical extrapolation for all Christendom to follow, I don't think.PROS FOR THE BOOK IRRESISTIBLE REVOLUTION (my opinions)1) Shane stirs the pot, pointing out glaring inconsistencies in the American Church. He challenged my thinking on what it means to be a Follower of Jesus - Shane thinks far outside the box3) It's chock full of captivating stories, regardless if you agree with their point - Irresistible Revolution is perhaps worth reading for the anecdotes alone4) The reader gets to live vicariously through Shane's Christian journey......meet up with diverse personas including Rich Mullins and Mother Teresa...and get carried along to such varied locales as the Deep South, volatile Iraq, and inner cities in the U.S. and India6) Be entertained by Shane's quick wit as he pokes fun at everything (including the sacred)7) Jump into your imagination and dream big... `cus Shane dreams big!8) Get hit between the eyes, there are loads of quotable gems9) It's an easy readCONS FOR THE BOOK IRRESISTIBLE REVOLUTION (my opinions)Before I get to the cons, let me say I love Shane's zeal. Sure, I don't agree with everything he says, but I have to hand it to the guy: he's doing something, he's thinking, he's pushing the envelope. He's an example of the attitude we should all have of seeking God with our whole hearts, minds, and souls: of moving beyond mediocrity. Shane is genuine and lives what he preaches. Ok, now the cons...1) Making disciples was never brought up that I remember. How could that get left from a book like this, a manifesto on how Christians ought to live? I understand love is the main thing, but love tells others the gospel: the truth regarding their spiritually sick condition and need for a doctor. I was disappointed by this omission.2) Shane throws out the baby with the bathwater, in my opinion. Judgmental of American Christians to the point of scathing (at times)... He confuses "poverty" with spiritual.3) I felt exegesis of Scripture was on the sloppy side. Of course we need to wrestle through the Bible and Jesus' words for ourselves anyways, but I felt Shane, in the process of keeping the book readable, did so at the expense of not treating Scripture carefully.4) Homelessness and poverty are Shane's hot buttons. Important hot buttons sure, but God is into all people, not just subsets. I was frustrated that homeless people were made into saints.5) Many of the ideas, particularly in the second half of the book, were "half-baked." I wish Shane would have split Irresistible Revolution into two or three shorter, more polished books. He had the beginnings of many fine ideas and models, but most - in the second half particularly - were in the formative stages. I know it's easy to play arm-chair critic, but I do think he has good ideas and look forward to reading future books by him.6) Occasionally Shane's sarcasm borders irreverence7) Shane is pacifist to a fault, be prepared. He blasts the war in Iraq, President Bush, et al. Nonetheless, he does make thought provoking points regarding war. This might be a "Pro" for some people.8) At times, the book sounded like a Liberal left-wing political playbook. I know God cares about things like the environment, but it got frustrating as he kept throwing more and more issues into this one book.9) It can be difficult splitting the true Christian element from the Hippy element. Not to be too harsh, but is God calling me to live out of my van down by the river, grow plants in broken out computer screens, all while wearing homemade clothing that looks pretty silly? Nothing wrong with all that, but it's not Biblically prescriptive for sure. Neither is driving a diesel bus around that's been converted to run on used veggie oil.10) Some places it feels Shane is wading into waters over his head. I think it's good advice to, "not knock down fences before we know why they were put up." For instance, regarding Economics, Shane knocks down the fence of capitalism without - I felt - understanding why it was put up in the first place or providing a satisfactory replacement model.11) Over and over again Shane points out Jesus was a homeless man, implying we should be too. But Jesus only lived that way for a season. We're all called to die to ourselves (that's clear) but we're not all called to be homeless (that's silly).FINAL THOUGHTS:Overall a good read, challenging, witty, inspirational. His zeal is contagious. His stories are touching. Chew up the meat, spit out the bones. I gave it four stars because I liked it.The first half is better than the second. Therefore, my answer to the question, "Can I recommend Irresistible Revolution" is, "Yes, I can recommend the first half."

I pretty much gave up on reading Christian books a decade or two back, so I missed this when it first came out. It's one of the best modern Christian books I've ever read, getting to the heart of the teaching and practice of Jesus. It's disturbing, challenging and inspirational.It's also, as with even the best American Christian books, a bit insular and parochial. I was lost in admiration for his visits to Calcutta, Iran etc. It's primarily the churches there though that he engages with. There's little sense of the other billions of people in the world who believe differently, who have done for tens, perhaps hundreds of thousands of years, across timescales in which Christianity is barely a blip. There's little "theology".Which is perhaps asking too much. And I think he's great on "taking up your cross", on the sacrifices that Jesus calls for. And he realizes that this probably means being "small", rather than "big". Surely by his own reckoning now though, given that the large majority of American Christians voted for Trump in both the last elections, that with white evangelicals who voted that number goes up to four out of five, that Christians are in the forefront of conspiracy theories and climate-change denial, he must be wondering whether the Church is part of the problem rather than the solution.It's a touch ironic that the book is published by Zondervan, part of the Murdoch media empire, the individual who perhaps has done more than any other in the last half-century plus to create a culture in which his vision will struggle to take root.

Someone lent me this book and upon returning it to him I bought four copies and am handing them out to friends with the words 'when you've read this, don't give it back to me but pass it on to someone else and be blessed'. I think that says it all really. I don't know where to begin. This book is so amazing. Absolutely incredible. Again I would recommend it to anyone and everyone. This man phoned Mother Theresa (or Momma T as he affectionately refers to her as) and asked to spend a summer with her, which she agreed to. He saw people dying in various hospitals and hospices over there. He went to Iraq during the most recent war there and simply loved the Iraqi people who were being blown up by American (and British and other) soldiers. He also has done a lot of work with the homeless in Philadelphia (where he lives). He is so inspiring (and he has dreadlocks). I found the book so inspiring that I was even quoting from it when I went into work in the mornings! One quote I shared with my team was, 'In 1965 the average American worker made $7.52 per hour, while the person running the company made $330.38 per hour; today, the average worker makes $7.39 per hour, the average CEO $1,566.68 per hour - that's 212 more!. He talks about Fair Trade and trade justice which I love. He doesn't have health insurance (which is a big deal in America), instead he is part of a health co-operative with other people who can't afford health insurance and they cover each others medical bills (with God's help). He invites people in from the street to eat and/or live with them. He occupied a church that homeless people were living in whilst the authorities threatened to kick them out. He is just generally amazing.

In a world where Christianity has in the grand scheme of things brought much discredit to its founder, Shane brings a message to the church and to the world pointing us back in the right direction. I thoroughly recommend this book to Christians who are aware that there's a higher calling than simply pew warming and attending meetings and I also recommend it highly to people who have become disillusioned with church. Shane I believe points us back to the basic essentials of the faith, the living out of the Sermon on the Mount and the challenge to truly be light and salt. Full of exciting stories and the adventures that spontaneously happen when one makes oneself available to be a holding-nothing-back follower of Christ. It challenged me in the sort of bright way that made me want to re-examine any compromise that may have entered my thinking and made me eager in my own small way to make more of a difference. A great book! Thoroughly recommended!

This little book does exactly what it says on the cover! What an Irresistible Revolution Shane describes and explores with the reader. Lots of cross references to follow up and hundreds of ideas to elicit for Living Simply. It has encouraged me to re read passages such as Matthew 5-7 in a new light. Well done Shane our homegroup is now wiser and delivers more actions because of your influence. If only the rest of the world would read this book it would be a far far better place. Chris Stewart

A brilliantly thought provoking book in which Shane Claiborne expressed some fundamental ways of seeing things in a more Christian way, with his personal account of journeying as an itinerant, facing the prejudices of the time of the illegal war that followed from September Eleventh.Really profound!