Shane
Claiborne is an amazing example of how evangelical Christianity and social action must meet. For a long time
when people have thought of
evangelicals they have thought, "narrow minded", "self - righteouss", and even "must be a follower of George W Bush. Long gone are the days of radical evangelicals who lived the faith. William Wilberforce, who ended slavery in the British empire because of his faith, is long buried. As are all those amazing lights that once made the church not so much a place of morbid old farts, but a place full of young exciting evangelicals who lived and breathed the faith. Now in the 21st century a new generation, a revival, a reformation, a revolution of youth who love Jesus and live his teachings are emerging. Among them is the self professed "ordinary radical", Shane
Claiborne. His journal shouts out on every page about the love of God. He lives the faith. He begins his book with these inspiring words about his journey to Iraq amidst the bloody battles:
"I am going to Iraq because I believe in a god of scandalous grace. If I believed terrorists were beyond redemption, I would need to rip out half of my New Testament Scriptures, for they were written by a converted terrorist. I have pledged Allegiance to a King that loved evildoers so much He died for them (and of course the people of Iraq are no more evil or more holy than the people of the US) teaching us that there is something worth dying for but nothing worth killing for. While the terrorists were nailing Him to the cross, my Jesus pleaded that they be shown mercy for they knew not what they were doing. We are all wretched, and we are all beautiful. No one is beyond redemption and no one is beyond repute."
Shane claiborne is an inspiring young man who is a member of the Christian community, The Simple Way http://www.thesimpleway.org/ Along with other books he has written this stands out as a book that cares little for social norms or backward christianity. He shows a true example of love in action. His book is avaliable at: http://douloschristou.com/ and costs only $5.00. An online version can also be read at: http://www.thesimpleway.org/macro/shane_iraq.html