What Is the Point of Being a Christian

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Wonderful - Rated
I cannot praise this book highly enough. It opens up the riches of traditions in the church, and allows the reader to come to their own conclusions about how to build on those traditions. There is none of the dogma that one finds with some contemporary Christian writers.

It doesn't sink to the level of answering the superficial questions that people ask, but looks at the person behind those questions, and how they relate to the world. Like any good writer, he compliments the reader by assuming an ability to engage with the text no matter what their education, and anyone reading this will find something to help them.
He is not patronising, but encouraging, and doesn't push the RC line down one's throat. I'm a Methodist, and found that the book spoke to me far more deeply than many other 'protestant' writers.

I would recommend this as a follow-on from someone like McLaren, or CS Lewis, as it continues the open-hearted and open-minded thinking of both authors.

Help when we need it - Rated
In this beautifully written book there is an inflinching look at the difficulties of being a Christian today. But this look is never less than passionate in its hope for all men and in its plea for us to look away from ourselves and our own narrow desires towards the incredible gift which is God's loving path for us.

So - what is the point? Read this and find out! - Rated
Anyone who thinks that Roman Catholicism is just about preaching a narrow morality would do well to consider the overall message of this book: "God coming to meet us in all the drama of our lives: birth and death, eating and drinking, sex and healing.” Radcliffe is concerned with an inner spiritual life – “breathing with the rhythm of the Eucharist” as he calls it. As is fitting to someone who has been Master of the Catholic Church’s Order of Preachers, he is a great wordsmith, and phrases such as “Grace means we can stretch, stand upright and unwind as we do to prayer the Our Father” rub shoulders with intriguing chapter titles such as “The Body Electric” and “Breeding Pandas.” He cites Rowan Williams with as much ease as he does thirteen-century theologians, and roots his thinking in traditional teaching, in the Gospels. Quirky, humorous, but with a serious set of messages about what really is the point of being a Christian, this is a great book to give focus to a lacklustre Lent or to give colour to the greyer days of the Christian life.