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World View: Seeking Grace and Truth in Our Common Life
What would our common life be like if Christians were known not only for speaking truth, but also for demonstrating mercy? Marvin Olasky, best-selling author and editor in chief of World Magazine describes this kind of salty Christianity in a far-ranging collection of columns from World. As Dr. Olasky comments on world events and also shares his personal interactions, readers will be encouraged to bring both grace and truth to every encounter. While deeply committed to standing for biblical truth in the public square, Olasky is just as interested in Christians living out the biblical virtues of humility, kindness, and mercy in all of life. His call for biblical values to include both truth and grace, makes his voice stand out in a world that often falsely divides those goals and settles for a poor imitation of the robust Christianity he calls readers to. Curated collection of World columns that offer the best of Marvin Olasky. Sets forth a much needed vision for how Christians can speak truth and demonstrate mercy at the same time. A wonderful collection that all readers of World Magazine will want to have for their own library and an extra copy to share with a friend.
208 pages, Paperback
Published November 6, 2017
About the author
Marvin Olasky
58 books50 followersMarvin Olasky is a senior fellow of the Discovery Institute and an affiliate scholar at the Acton Institute. He also chairs the Zenger House Foundation, serves as a Zenger Prize judge, and is the author of 29 books. From 1992 through 2021, he edited World.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 12, 2018
World View is a very unique book. It's a collection of columns that Marvin Olasky has written for World Magazine. I have never read World Magazine, so I went into this book blind and not sure what to expect.
I really enjoyed this thoughtful collection of essays. It's an easy book to pick up and read a chapter and then put it down and pick it up again at a later time. This is the type of book you want to chew on for awhile while reading it. I appreciated that the articles ranged from 1998-2016 because it was neat to see the range of views and what people were thinking and talking about in the 90s and early 2000's versus today. I liked Olasky's balance between Biblical truth and grace. The range of topics in these essays were thought provoking and helped me to round out my views. In a time when people are constantly pushing the idea that Christianity is irrelevant and all Christians are stupid, bigots, and/or not critical thinkers, books like these are very important. We as Christians need to "prove the critics wrong", so to speak, by showing intelligence and balance in our worldviews. I highly recommend this book to all Christians.
I received a copy of this book from Litfuse in order to provide an honest and unbiased review. All opinions are my own.
I really enjoyed this thoughtful collection of essays. It's an easy book to pick up and read a chapter and then put it down and pick it up again at a later time. This is the type of book you want to chew on for awhile while reading it. I appreciated that the articles ranged from 1998-2016 because it was neat to see the range of views and what people were thinking and talking about in the 90s and early 2000's versus today. I liked Olasky's balance between Biblical truth and grace. The range of topics in these essays were thought provoking and helped me to round out my views. In a time when people are constantly pushing the idea that Christianity is irrelevant and all Christians are stupid, bigots, and/or not critical thinkers, books like these are very important. We as Christians need to "prove the critics wrong", so to speak, by showing intelligence and balance in our worldviews. I highly recommend this book to all Christians.
I received a copy of this book from Litfuse in order to provide an honest and unbiased review. All opinions are my own.
November 22, 2017
Overall good, with exception of tone and structure in only a few places. Still, the book provides a prescription to view current events and culture in America and abroad through a biblical lens.
See full review at: https://entrustedbygod.org/2017/11/22...
See full review at: https://entrustedbygod.org/2017/11/22...
November 29, 2017
Why I Choose this Book:
I'm trying to expand my own worldview - learning more about what's happening around me in the world today, as well as studying the recent past and learning from it. (As opposed to just focusing on the distant past.) Plus, our family has subscribed to World for a long time, so to read a book composed of World articles sounded interesting.
What I Thought about this Book:
Folks, this book is not one to sit down and read quickly. Most of the time I read the books I get for review rather fast - partly because I like to read fast, and also because having a deadline forces me to do so. I was able to take ten days to read this book (and just spent the last hour finishing it), but if I could have read it at my own pace, I think I would have taken several weeks, or even several months.
There are over 50 articles in this book - ranging over a period of about twenty years. It was so interesting for me to read articles that he wrote in the 1990s, and realize that these were the things going around in our country/the world when I was a small girl running around barefoot without a care in the world.
I don't actually remember reading any of his articles in World, although that will be changing now that I've been introduced to his writing via this book. I was happily surprised at how unapologetic and yet grace-filled he was when sharing the truth. He didn't bash, stoop, or condemn, but he stood strong and eloquent. He wrote his articles with grace and truth - just as the tagline on the book states.
With this being such a wonderful book, why did I wish I could have read it over a longer period of time? Because the articles were quite thought-provoking and deep. I'm pretty good at skimming and still getting the meat of what I read, but this book required my whole attention, as well as reading every word on the page. I also wanted to be able to sit back and mull over his thoughts, to turn them about in my brain and let them marinate. He has a lot of good stuff to say, as well as talking about issues that I'm not very familiar with. In addition to all that, some of his examples and vocabulary were foreign to me, and therefore I want to have more time to study them out and gain a better knowledge of what he was talking about.
Conclusion:
This book, as you may have guessed, is deep. It's good. I didn't quite understand everything because as I said, I need more time to delve into it. Overall though, I'm greatly impressed, glad I read the book, and know I gained a lot of good information.
Rating:
I’m giving World View 4 out of 5 stars, and 8 out of 10
*I received this book from Litfuse in exchange for an honest review
I'm trying to expand my own worldview - learning more about what's happening around me in the world today, as well as studying the recent past and learning from it. (As opposed to just focusing on the distant past.) Plus, our family has subscribed to World for a long time, so to read a book composed of World articles sounded interesting.
What I Thought about this Book:
Folks, this book is not one to sit down and read quickly. Most of the time I read the books I get for review rather fast - partly because I like to read fast, and also because having a deadline forces me to do so. I was able to take ten days to read this book (and just spent the last hour finishing it), but if I could have read it at my own pace, I think I would have taken several weeks, or even several months.
There are over 50 articles in this book - ranging over a period of about twenty years. It was so interesting for me to read articles that he wrote in the 1990s, and realize that these were the things going around in our country/the world when I was a small girl running around barefoot without a care in the world.
I don't actually remember reading any of his articles in World, although that will be changing now that I've been introduced to his writing via this book. I was happily surprised at how unapologetic and yet grace-filled he was when sharing the truth. He didn't bash, stoop, or condemn, but he stood strong and eloquent. He wrote his articles with grace and truth - just as the tagline on the book states.
With this being such a wonderful book, why did I wish I could have read it over a longer period of time? Because the articles were quite thought-provoking and deep. I'm pretty good at skimming and still getting the meat of what I read, but this book required my whole attention, as well as reading every word on the page. I also wanted to be able to sit back and mull over his thoughts, to turn them about in my brain and let them marinate. He has a lot of good stuff to say, as well as talking about issues that I'm not very familiar with. In addition to all that, some of his examples and vocabulary were foreign to me, and therefore I want to have more time to study them out and gain a better knowledge of what he was talking about.
Conclusion:
This book, as you may have guessed, is deep. It's good. I didn't quite understand everything because as I said, I need more time to delve into it. Overall though, I'm greatly impressed, glad I read the book, and know I gained a lot of good information.
Rating:
I’m giving World View 4 out of 5 stars, and 8 out of 10
*I received this book from Litfuse in exchange for an honest review
November 30, 2017
World View: Seeking Grace and Truth in Our Common Life is a collection of columns which Marvin Olasky, as the Editor-in-Chief of World Magazine, wrote for the magazine. He presents Christian/ Biblical worldview on a wide variety of current world events and topics such as government role, abortion, racism, immigration, welfare, education, economics, environmentalism, tax, movies, marriage, and more. The book is divided into 5 main sections: Basics, Changes, Institutions, Causes, and Conclusions. There are 10-13 articles/columns under each section. These columns are short (only 2-3 pages long) but packed with Biblical wisdom and practical insights. The author exemplifies how to confidently speak Biblical truths in love with grace, respect, and humility and to passionately live out conviction with integrity, mercy, and compassion. Today's culture keeps challenging our faith. How do we effectively communicate about God, the Bible, and Biblical values without getting sucked into needless arguments and/or emotional outbursts? Learn from Marvin Olasky. He understands that truth without love is like poison that does more damage. We are called to be light and salt in the world. This book will help you examine your attitude, speech, and conduct and ask yourselves whether you are helping or hindering the cause of Christ. Stay faithful to God's Word and stay grace-filled in God's love. Check out this thought-provoking, Biblically sound, Christ-centered book on social issues and Christian living! Marvin Olasky did an excellent job of balancing truth with grace.
~I received a free copy of this book from Litfuse Publicity Group in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.
~I received a free copy of this book from Litfuse Publicity Group in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.
November 21, 2017
In all my years of reading, granted that is only been the last three decades, there have only been a few works which are produced contrary to the modern writing style. By this I mean a writing style in which each chapter builds upon the previous one, even in cases which a work is broken into various sections, and in the case that each of the sections, even ones dealing with radically different topics, still for the most part of cohesive overarching theme of the book. There must be some unity or a work will not flow naturally.
Marvin Olasky’s new work, Worldview: When Seeking Grace and Truth in Our Common Life, is one of these ever mentioned anomalies. This and the previous statements are not meant dispel the helpfulness of this work nor to prop it up as a new innovative way to write, rather the uniqueness must be noted for it changes how one reads this work. By this I mean you can read any chapter you want in any order without concern of confusion.
Speaking about the content of this book, the author has a fascinating take on culture and how it Christian must act and react to it. Due to the long-form nature of the formulation of this book, spanning almost 20 years, View is very nuanced and has a wonderful almost pastoral tone to it. His views on current events and culture have been on display in his World magazine. And his personal thoughts are on display in this book. Despite how this book is laid out, the content is invaluable and should be consulted by Christians confused about areas of culture that they do not see how to act bibilcally in it.
This book was provided to me free of charge from New Growth Press in exchange for an unbiased, honest review.
Marvin Olasky’s new work, Worldview: When Seeking Grace and Truth in Our Common Life, is one of these ever mentioned anomalies. This and the previous statements are not meant dispel the helpfulness of this work nor to prop it up as a new innovative way to write, rather the uniqueness must be noted for it changes how one reads this work. By this I mean you can read any chapter you want in any order without concern of confusion.
Speaking about the content of this book, the author has a fascinating take on culture and how it Christian must act and react to it. Due to the long-form nature of the formulation of this book, spanning almost 20 years, View is very nuanced and has a wonderful almost pastoral tone to it. His views on current events and culture have been on display in his World magazine. And his personal thoughts are on display in this book. Despite how this book is laid out, the content is invaluable and should be consulted by Christians confused about areas of culture that they do not see how to act bibilcally in it.
This book was provided to me free of charge from New Growth Press in exchange for an unbiased, honest review.
November 29, 2017
As an avid reader of World, I instantly recognized Marvin Olasky's name. I have long enjoyed his balanced and thoughtful columns and articles in World. This book brings together a collection of Mr. Olasky's columns from the past few decades, and it just goes to show that nothing is new under the sun in the midst of huge changes. It's amazing that an article written in 1995 is just as relevant as one written a few months ago, or even last year.
Each article is crafted to make the reader to think and ponder their convictions in light of a Biblical worldview. Some of the articles were nostalgic, in a way that it made me think that we were debating one thing 2 years ago, and now it have progressed to 5 steps down the line.
Overall, a wonderful collection of Marvin Olasky's most memorable columns over the years covering a variety of topics. Great read for fans of World. Concise chapters make for easy navigation and reading. Well worth the read!
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and testimonials in Advertising."
Each article is crafted to make the reader to think and ponder their convictions in light of a Biblical worldview. Some of the articles were nostalgic, in a way that it made me think that we were debating one thing 2 years ago, and now it have progressed to 5 steps down the line.
Overall, a wonderful collection of Marvin Olasky's most memorable columns over the years covering a variety of topics. Great read for fans of World. Concise chapters make for easy navigation and reading. Well worth the read!
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and testimonials in Advertising."
November 14, 2017
The columns, dating from 1997-2016, are loosely arranged into broad subjects. They originally appeared in World Magazine. Olasky contemplates what an ideal Christian protest should look like. He suggests how we might present our case, following the example of Paul reasoning in Greece. Other topics include abortion, the constitution, transgender, immigration, movie reviews, how to think through issues, and many more. Some of these essays go back twenty years and seemed dated to me. Some of the columns reflect Olasky's personal opinion and may not reflect the opinions of other Christians.
The value of these columns, I think, is in the reasoning Olasky does in them. He thinks through issues before he reveals his conclusions. They are good examples for Christians who want to know how to do that process.
There is an index to the columns and that is important. Reading through the essays from beginning to end was not very satisfying for me. One could use the index and read Olasky's thoughts on a particular issue. In that way this book would be a resource for thinking Christians.
I received a complimentary egalley of this book through Litfuse. My comments are an independent and honest review.
The value of these columns, I think, is in the reasoning Olasky does in them. He thinks through issues before he reveals his conclusions. They are good examples for Christians who want to know how to do that process.
There is an index to the columns and that is important. Reading through the essays from beginning to end was not very satisfying for me. One could use the index and read Olasky's thoughts on a particular issue. In that way this book would be a resource for thinking Christians.
I received a complimentary egalley of this book through Litfuse. My comments are an independent and honest review.
November 30, 2017
When I read the email offering this book for review, I just skimmed it. I didn't realize until I started reading it that is comprised of columns the author wrote for World Magazine. That is not a complaint. I actually enjoy books that have short sections/chapters, as they are great to pick up and read a page or two and set the book aside to do other things. And these columns cover a lot of different topics, all written in an interesting fashion that one wants to ponder on and not just skim.
To be honest, I have never read World Magazine nor have I heard of Marvin Olasky....... but this book makes me want to read the magazine. Olasky has a unique style of writing that merges religion, current events, and politics in a great way that makes sense and shows the need of Christian values and morals in our world.
In one way, the book is a quick read being split up into so many columns. Yet, these are columns that need to be read carefully and thought about, so in that way it is not a quick read if you want to get the most out of the book. Regardless, there is a lot of great thoughts in this book that make it worth the time to read.
To be honest, I have never read World Magazine nor have I heard of Marvin Olasky....... but this book makes me want to read the magazine. Olasky has a unique style of writing that merges religion, current events, and politics in a great way that makes sense and shows the need of Christian values and morals in our world.
In one way, the book is a quick read being split up into so many columns. Yet, these are columns that need to be read carefully and thought about, so in that way it is not a quick read if you want to get the most out of the book. Regardless, there is a lot of great thoughts in this book that make it worth the time to read.
November 26, 2017
A compilation of columns from Marvin Olasky’s World magazine, World View is a slightly bumpy ride, but overall a great source from a Christian perspective on much of today’s culture.
Readers accustomed to novels may find the numerous stops and starts of the collection slightly unorthodox, but the topics discussed within its pages make the book worth pushing through any discomfort.
Olasky tackles topics from racism to immigration to politics and the environment. Each column discusses sensitive issues from the perspective of love and inclusion rather than hate and segregation.
He sheds light on some of the Christian misinformation in which believers operate. His eye-opening perspective is both unique and thought-provoking.
For believers who desire to understand the world they live in as well as relate to those unbelievers in their midst, World View may prove an invaluable tool.
***In exchange for this review, a complimentary copy of the book was provided by the publisher.
Readers accustomed to novels may find the numerous stops and starts of the collection slightly unorthodox, but the topics discussed within its pages make the book worth pushing through any discomfort.
Olasky tackles topics from racism to immigration to politics and the environment. Each column discusses sensitive issues from the perspective of love and inclusion rather than hate and segregation.
He sheds light on some of the Christian misinformation in which believers operate. His eye-opening perspective is both unique and thought-provoking.
For believers who desire to understand the world they live in as well as relate to those unbelievers in their midst, World View may prove an invaluable tool.
***In exchange for this review, a complimentary copy of the book was provided by the publisher.
November 15, 2017
This was refreshing writing book and compelling to read with that also had an engage and offering shape of the story with the new event and compare with the situation and the culture in our community as a same as we all have to living on in today’s world. This book had a well researching with all the passion to all the Christian had to facing to that will finding a resolved of how to understand and be a part of living each day. I highly recommend to everyone must to read this book. “ I received complimentary a copy of this book from Litfuse Publicity for this review”.
Marvin Olasky is editor-in-chief of World, a distinguished chair in journalism and public policy at Patrick Henry College, and the author of more than twenty books, including Compassionate Conservatism and The Tragedy of American Compassion. He and his wife, Susan have four sons and five grandchildren.
Marvin Olasky is editor-in-chief of World, a distinguished chair in journalism and public policy at Patrick Henry College, and the author of more than twenty books, including Compassionate Conservatism and The Tragedy of American Compassion. He and his wife, Susan have four sons and five grandchildren.
November 15, 2017
I've followed Olasky off and on over the years, as my parents subscribe to WORLD magazine. So I jumped at the chance to review his new book. I appreciated having his works collated into one location; it was fascinating reading several from ~20 years ago through the lens of today. The read lent new insight into hindsight being 20/20, and I found Olasky's work to be eerily prescient.
As a collection of articles, the reader can certainly -- not cherrypick, but read an article or two or five at a go, set the book aside, and come back later without worrying about a "plot". Olasky does group the columns into topical sections, which I found helpful.
I received a free copy of the book from Litfuse. All opinions are my own.
As a collection of articles, the reader can certainly -- not cherrypick, but read an article or two or five at a go, set the book aside, and come back later without worrying about a "plot". Olasky does group the columns into topical sections, which I found helpful.
I received a free copy of the book from Litfuse. All opinions are my own.
November 30, 2017
I have always enjoyed Mr. Olasky's articles in World Magazine. He has insightful ideas and looks at everything through a Biblical lens.
This book is actually a compilation of articles he wrote between the years 1997 - 2016. I found it very interesting to see what he was writing about in these years. Some things are very different and yet some things never change.
Because this book is short "chapters" of articles, it's very easy to read a couple or read a lot. I enjoyed his writing style and the fact that he stands on the Word of God in his beliefs and his world view. Each article is thought provoking and quite interesting.
I enjoyed this book a lot and I give it 5 out of 5 stars.
*This book was provided to me for my honest review by LitFuse Publicity Group
This book is actually a compilation of articles he wrote between the years 1997 - 2016. I found it very interesting to see what he was writing about in these years. Some things are very different and yet some things never change.
Because this book is short "chapters" of articles, it's very easy to read a couple or read a lot. I enjoyed his writing style and the fact that he stands on the Word of God in his beliefs and his world view. Each article is thought provoking and quite interesting.
I enjoyed this book a lot and I give it 5 out of 5 stars.
*This book was provided to me for my honest review by LitFuse Publicity Group
November 29, 2017
I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this book when I agreed to read an ARC from Litfuse Publicity Group, especially since I don’t really read a lot of non-fiction. But I’m really glad I read it. Over the past couple years, I have become pretty discouraged reading what Christians have to say about politics online as everything seems so one-sided and completely ignores the concerns and perspective of any other side. This book was a breath of fresh air in that respect. While I didn’t agree with everything he said, I didn’t feel like I had to! I felt like he was interested in hearing other perspectives and willing to consider them logically and even adjust his own viewpoint after hearing them, and I really appreciated that.
There were two small things I didn’t enjoy about the book. The first was probably my own fault because of my expectations, but when I heard about a book entitled World View, I expected it to be about the world, but this book is very, very American. That’s not a bad thing, and I get now that it was intended to be about the worldview American Christians should have. If I had known who Marvin Olasky was before reading the book, I probably could have figured that out on my own.
The second thing is a formatting issue. These are editorials from World Magazine from 1998-2016. Each editorial begins with its title, and it’s not until the end of the article that the year it was published is given. So I found myself flipping to the end of every single article once I was a sentence or two into it to find out the year it was written because I needed to understand the American context he was speaking to. There have been a number of different contexts since 1998, and it seemed like a no-brainer to me to put the year at the beginning of each editorial rather than making me flip to the end every single time.
Other than those minor details, I really enjoyed this book! I found myself thinking about the articles even days after I read them, and I really loved how he brought Scripture into so many of them. Some of them even felt devotional in nature while being very applicable to everyday life. I am already planning to gift this book to several people in my life that I know will appreciate it because of their interest in politics and in living life as a true follower of Jesus.
There were two small things I didn’t enjoy about the book. The first was probably my own fault because of my expectations, but when I heard about a book entitled World View, I expected it to be about the world, but this book is very, very American. That’s not a bad thing, and I get now that it was intended to be about the worldview American Christians should have. If I had known who Marvin Olasky was before reading the book, I probably could have figured that out on my own.
The second thing is a formatting issue. These are editorials from World Magazine from 1998-2016. Each editorial begins with its title, and it’s not until the end of the article that the year it was published is given. So I found myself flipping to the end of every single article once I was a sentence or two into it to find out the year it was written because I needed to understand the American context he was speaking to. There have been a number of different contexts since 1998, and it seemed like a no-brainer to me to put the year at the beginning of each editorial rather than making me flip to the end every single time.
Other than those minor details, I really enjoyed this book! I found myself thinking about the articles even days after I read them, and I really loved how he brought Scripture into so many of them. Some of them even felt devotional in nature while being very applicable to everyday life. I am already planning to gift this book to several people in my life that I know will appreciate it because of their interest in politics and in living life as a true follower of Jesus.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews