Reaching the Left from the Right: Talking About Social Issues with People Who Don’t Think Like You
Beacon Hill, 2006, 192 pp., $14.99,
www.beaconhillbooks.com
It’s no secret that our country has
become polarized in recent years. As a pastor I have seen the frustration in
my congregation over why “the other side” doesn’t see eye to eye with them.
Enter Barbara Curtis and this timely work. A former hippie, anti-war activist, and
pro-choice advocate, she now is a conservative. She explores the issues, the
thinking behind both sides, and how the two can be bridged. Through her own
testimony and transformation she brings new understanding to the issues. She
is not creating a compromise, rather, she is teaching understanding and
compassion—to see where the other side is coming from and, in so doing, create
new opportunities.
I would love for my church to read
it; too many Christians have become so distracted by the issues that they have
lost sight of the people behind them and God’s love and desire for them.
_______________________
Review by: Matthew
McNutt, youth pastor at Boothbay Baptist Church in
Boothbay, Maine.