This has got to be the worst book i have read…ever.
Wright attempts to ground the current Middle Eastern conflict between Israel and the surrounding Arab nations on to one man – Abraham. Through the use of the book of Genesis (and other prophetic passages) Wright makes the case that ever since Abraham slept with Hagar to produce Ishmael the MIddle Eastern conflict was inevitable.
At times Wright makes some good points about the character of God and his rule over the world. Other times he makes some outrageous conclusions about the people in that region and the reason for the current day conflict.
I must confess i am reticent to engage in such negative writing and disturbing generalisations. I think what stirred me the most was the way in which OT scripture was used as justification for Christian’s to blindly support the current state of affairs in the Middle East.
While Wright did stick to the text, which is at least a positive (i suppose), he neglected to remind his readers that the fulfilment of promises made to Abraham have now been fulfilled through Jesus Christ. Rather than recognise the covenants Wright proceeded to simply read Genesis in a manner that seemed to apply directly to today, there was no acknowledgement of Jesus now being the embodiment of these promises. Due to this reading of the text it seemed to me that we might as well go back and worship at the Temple, obey all laws in the Pentateuch literally, and look to reclaim all land in the name of the Lord. Yet, seeing that Jesus has come and rules today, the Messiah who has come and who has given us the Spirit, then we no longer need to worry about where we worship, but we worship our God in spirit and in truth.
There is much more to be said about this book but i don’t think it is worth my time. I don’t even think it is worth giving it a score out of 10.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
Related posts: