PS: <\/strong>That\u2019s a great question! Yes, there are many books on grace, but mine is different for a variety of reasons. For one, I focus primarily on the Old Testament to show that grace is not just a New Testament thing. Grace is not just a characteristic of God that pops up here and there; it\u2019s the very backbone of the Old Testament story.<\/p>\nAnother unique feature of the book is its candid tone. Even though I\u2019m a theologian, I wrote this book for real people. You know, 22 year olds who are jaded by Christianity, 45 year single moms trying to hold it together, 16 year olds wondering \u201cwhy do we go to church again?,\u201d and seasoned believers who are tired of trying to maintain God\u2019s love by checking off religious boxes.<\/p>\n
KW<\/strong>: Speaking of language, I notice that you use some edgy phrases. Some of your chapter titles are \u201cWhore,\u201d \u201cTattoo,\u201d and \u201cThug.\u201d And in the book you call Judah a porn star, Gomer a whore, and regarding Ruth, you say: \u201cshe\u2019s not exactly a perfect model for girls to follow. I would never tell my daughter to soak herself in oil and snuggle up with her half-drunk relative in a barn (Ruth 3:3\u20135).\u201d What\u2019s with the tone?<\/p>\nPS: <\/strong>Well, Gomer was a whore. Ruth did soak herself in oil when Boaz had a few too many glasses of wine. And Judah? I mean, the guy had sex with his daughter in law because he thought she was a prostitute!<\/p>\nMy language is very intentional. As I read and teach the Bible, I\u2019m continually struck by how uncut its language is. Ezekiel 16, for instance (which I talk about extensively in chapter 6: \u201cWhore\u201d), is so sexually explicit that there\u2019s not a single English Bible that dares to translate it literally. Even the Masorites (Jewish scribes, ca. AD 1000), when they gave us the Hebrew text that we now use for the Old Testament, erased the original Hebrew verb in Zech Deut 28:30, Zech 14:2, and other passages, because the original word shagel<\/em>\u2014the one God breathed out\u2014was considered too obscene. (For those racing to these passages in your English Bibles, you won\u2019t find anything; it\u2019s been edited to read more pleasantly.)<\/p>\nThe fact is, God gave us his word in all its grit and grime, because His grace invaded us and conquered us while we were living in such grime. You can\u2019t spackle over the edges of the Bible with religiosity and nice language and then expect to be gripped by its grace. We need to stop trying to neuter the Bible and chain it up inside our gated communities. We need to cut the leash and let it run wild and free.<\/p>\n
So my book is an unleashed look at what the Bible actually says about grace.<\/p>\n
KW<\/strong>: I notice that you highlight the flaws of the Old Testament \u201cheroes\u201d more than their strengths. Tell us why you did this and how it fits into your theme of grace?<\/p>\nPS: <\/strong>I think many of us have been trained to read the Old Testament morally instead of theologically. That is, we comb its pages for moral examples to follow. We need to be like Abraham, live like Jacob, and be a leader like Moses, Joshua, or David. We should fight like Samson, flee like Joseph, and stand up for God like Esther.<\/p>\nBut most of the characters of the Old Testament are not good examples to follow. Abraham was a liar, Jacob was a cheater, Moses was a tongue-tied murderer, Esther broke more commandments than she kept and never even mentioned God, and Samson was a self-centered, vengeful porn star enslaved to lust and bloodshed. Even David, who\u2019s among the most moral, lusted, coveted, stole, fornicated, lied, and then killed one of his most loyal comrades so that he can marry his wife\u2014all in a single episode! I\u2019ve never actually met anyone as sinful as David. Murder his close friend so he can marry his wife whom he\u2019s already had sex with? Wow. If we follow our Old Testament \u201cheroes\u201d as Scripture presents them, we could end up in prison.<\/p>\n
The Old Testament is not a moral handbook on how to be a good person. It\u2019s all about grace: God delighting in undelightful people and using them to change the world.<\/p>\n
By highlighting the flaws of people, then, I\u2019m highlighting the goodness and power of God who uses such people.<\/p>\n
KW:\u00a0<\/strong>About your title, why did you choose Charis<\/em>?<\/p>\nPS: <\/strong>Charis<\/em> (with a hard \u201cch\u201d like karis<\/em>)is the Greek word for grace. It was widely used in the Greco-Roman society; it simply meant \u201cgift.\u201d When people gave gifts to others, they called this charis<\/em>. But the ancients didn\u2019t give gifts indiscriminately. They gave gifts to those worthy to receive it, those who could give something back. They would never give gifts to those who were unworthy of such gifts.<\/p>\nBut Jesus did. Jesus and His followers gutted the word charis<\/em> and infused it with fresh meaning, with life-giving power. Jesus did more than give charis<\/em> to the unworthy dregs of society. He made it His mission to seek them out.<\/p>\nOur word grace has been overused and abused. It has lost its luster, its richness, its \u2026 charis<\/em>. Perhaps through overuse, grace has become another nice term dumped into our worn-out bag of Christian lingo. We say grace before meals, include grace in gospel presentations, and slap the word grace on the names of churches. But if we never hug a harlot, befriend a beggar, or forgive our enemy seventy-times seven, then we confess grace with our lips but mock it with our lives. First Church of Grace or Grace Fellowship or Grace Community\u2014or whatever\u2014should be an otherworldly safe haven where enemies are loved, porn stars are forgiven, and worn out religious marathoners are refreshed by Jesus\u2019s declaration: \u201cIt is finished!\u201d<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
That\u2019s charis<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u00a0 Preston Sprinkle is a guy I respect. As we\u2019ve interacted over the past couple of years, he\u2019s always been graceful (even where we\u2019ve disagreed). Hence, I think he\u2019s chosen a topic he models: grace. Not only so, but he\u2019s a thoughtful scholar and embraces the nonviolence of Jesus (see my review of Fight: a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,25,92],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7510","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-books","category-church-ministry","category-theology"],"yoast_head":"\n
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