Dangerous Virtues: How to Follow Jesus When Evil Masquerades as Good

by John Koessler

Has the World Confused Evil with Righteousness?

When sin is disguised as virtue, the path to cultivating righteousness becomes impossible. Such is the challenge Christians face in the modern age. Not long ago, most people would agree that the seven deadly sins are in fact deadly. But ask them today, and you’ll hear a different answer. Today, “anger” is often considered an admirable emotion, “lust” the only expression of love, and “greed” the unassailable right to “get what’s yours.” The world can rebrand sin all it wants and declare the death of truth, but it has no power against the truth of the Scripture. What God calls sin is sin—no matter what the world says. And sin always has the same destination—death and destruction.

Dangerous Virtues examines how to recognize these seven deadly sins as they are subtly disguised in today’s culture. Dr. John Koessler provides a theology of sin and why the Christian must develop a prayerful heart and discerning eye to identify where sin exists in a world where good is called evil and evil called good.

Genres: Christian Living, Christian, Faith, Nonfiction

208 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 1, 2020

About the author

John Koessler serves as chair of the pastoral studies department at Moody Bible Institute, where he has served on the faculty since 1994. He is an award-winning author who has written thirteen books and numerous magazine articles. He writes the monthly “Theology Matters” column for Today in the Word and is a frequent workshop leader at the Moody Pastor’s Conference. Prior to joining the Moody faculty, John served as a pastor of Valley Chapel in Green Valley, Illinois, for nine years. He is married to Jane and they have two adult sons. John and Jane live in Munster, Indiana.

Reviews

[Debbie Hymer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let me start off by saying this book is not an easy read. Let me explain.
I am not a highly educated person but, I have a fair amount of education, some college and plenty of life experience. I can read a book with words not in my vocabulary and provocative thoughts however, it is a slow and cumbersome experience. Not a reading experience I typically enjoy. This book does have that type of content to be fair. The reasoning behind my explanation in the first sentence of this review has more to do with its convicting and deep, thought provoking content. The writer has written this book in such a way that it encourages the reader to look into self, the beliefs, the upbringing, and motives. It’s an eye opening, spiritual awakening type of book.
To be perfectly honest, I had to put this book down after only reading a few pages. It took me quite a while to pick this book up again. I had to have a changed mindset to even begin reading it. I personally could not read this book in one sitting. In fact, I could only read a few pages at a time and then had to let it digest for a few days before I could pick it up again.
With all of that said, I did enjoy the book. I learned quite a bit about God, myself and the world. The prime learning achievement is dissecting what I learned about what the Bible says. Not about the authenticity of the Bible, but what man has exploited. It’s no surprise that humans have misused what scripture says. Especially in the non-Christian world, but in the Christian world as well. The name of the book says it all, “Dangerous Virtues”. The book is actually about the Deadly sins and how our world has turned them into virtues. There’s quite a bit of controversial matter in this book and must be read with an open mind to Gods teaching and truth. It puts the ‘worlds argument’ of making sin a virtue into perspective. It helps the Christian see Gods truth and to be able to find a truthful and loving answer backed up by scripture. It reveals what the ‘world’ calls ‘inconsistencies’ not to be inconsistent at all.
John Koessler clearly states that being a Christian is not a magic pill. He also clarifies that it’s not gloom and doom. I will admit it is a hard reality to swallow that all of us are not immune to pride, greed, lust, gluttony, and so on. This is all very depressing when you fail to grasp the truth of the Hope of God.
In the midst of all of the sin and junk going on in this world today, it points out that God is in control. God gave everybody a way out, His Son Jesus. Everybody has the same opportunity to accept Christ as Savior. Because of this fact, not one person is better than another. If I had to come up with just one thing from this book, it would be that ALL of us are in this together and we ALL have a choice to make. Jesus or No Jesus. That choice makes the difference between eternal life or death. That choice makes the difference to spend eternity with God or without God.
To point out some highlights from this book I wanted to mention a few things.
In the first few pages we are told, as if we can’t already tell by listening to the news, that most sins have been turned upside down.
A great verse John pointed out is, Psalm 51:4 “Again you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.” Our generation does not see life and what we do with this point of view. John Koessler points out that Jesus tells us that no one is good but God. None of us want to hear this. And we hear over and over again that a loving God would not allow all this hurt and pain in this world.
We are reminded that when Adam and Eve sinned, it affected the whole world, not just humans. Genesis 3:17-18 “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat of plants of the field.”
When we focus our hope on God, our mindset and desire change. Our happiness is fulfilled.
Dangerous Virtues covers humility to an extent that covers Christians and non-Christians, past and present. Humility is clarified not as a humility that hates self, but how true humility is to our relationship to God and others. Humility is knowing that we all have the same choice to accept God’s gift of Grace.
I love the quote from the author, John, “Those who are in Christ do not need to compete with one another to win God’s approval or gain Christs affection.”
One last thing I wanted to mention is something that really stuck out to me. Phil 2:3-4 “In humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interest of others.”
My inner thoughts are stretched, stimulated, intrigued by the fact we humans are specks, insignificant specs in this universe, in the world. Yet, God knows each one of us by name. He knows how many hairs are on our heads. He gave us His Son and is patience in Love waiting for us to accept His gift of Grace in a world of turmoil.
Easy read? NO Good read? YES
Not a read for enjoyment, but a read for growth. I almost gave this 4 stars, less one star for the difficulty of readability. Then I thought, no, it’s a thought-provoking book that everyone needs to read. It speaks the hard truth and is very convicting. We need that! Five stars it is.
(I received this book from Moody Publishers in exchange for my review.)

[Zach True · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got the pleasure of meeting Dr. Koessler a hand full of times during my studies at Moody Bible Institute and upon my wife bringing one of his books home, I knew I had to read it. More over, a professor that I have enormous respect for, Dr. De Rosset gave a tremendous presentation of what to expect going into the book.

Upon finishing, I am heart broken. Heart broken for our world and for the church. This book walks through the 9 deadly and I would beg to differ the 9 deadliest sins one could fall into with Satan. First off, I am heartbroken that the world praises these “virtues” when in reality they’re a vice in which the world is crunching their life on to find a glimpse of peace, joy, and happiness. Secondly, I’m heartbroken of how easy it is for the Church to fall into these “virtues” as well causing a bad witness for Christ.

On the other hand, Dr. Koessler leaves each deadly sin with a Christ seeking counter thesis. For example, if loving self is self seeking and sinful, Dr Koessler offers a way with biblical support on how to love Christ and in so doing we will find the love, joy, and peace that comes in full from Christ rather than the glimpses we get from serving the world.

[Alicia Schulz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative.

[Conrade Yap · Rating 5 out of 5]

What is virtuous? How can virtues ever be dangerous? After all, the way we counter vices is to incorporate virtues into our lives. Not exactly. The saying, "A wolf in sheep's clothing" is a warning for us to beware of what's on the inside, and not to be deceived by what we see on the outside. This is what this book is about: Beware of the dangerous vices disguised as virtues. In short, be careful of dangerous virtues. Using the classic seven deadly virtues as a framework for the book, author John Koessler attempts to warn us not to be too comfortable with sin, especially those vices that masquerade as respectable sounding virtues. Going back to the desert fathers, one of the key purposes of these ancient saints is not about becoming more holy but to be more aware of their sinfulness. By understanding the characteristics and behaviours of these sins, they would be better equipped to deal with these impediments on the path to holiness. This means we do not just rest at calling something as sin. We need to recognize and remove their roots. One of these roots is the insidious way in which sins have become too comfortable in our daily lives. Fornication has been replaced by a generic "making love" where the superficial use of love covers the multitudes of sensuality. Greed has been replaced by ambition. All these subtle degradation of the flesh needs to be dealt with firmly and if needed, forcefully. This means diligent and deliberate perseverance toward sanctification. The author notes that while Christian living implies the "being" before the "doing," it does not mean we remain passive. Instead, we make a conscious choice to eradicate sin as a way to establish our virtues. Focusing on eradicating sin is a step forward to a virtuous life.

Koessler begins with the big one: Love. He describes the shifts of attitude from the sexual revolution in the late 60s to the confusion over sexual desire and preferential lust. Are we captive to our lusts or are we able to align our values with biblical virtues? By recognizing the dangers of lusts, we begin the journey to its opposite: Love. On gluttony, the basic problem is the "sin of inordinate appetite." By setting limits and self-denial, we will be able to overcome such sin even in the light of worldly temptations. On greed, the author warns us that it has been replaced by "prosperity" which is unlimited wanting. Worse, it "will make atheists of us in the end."


The classic seven deadly sins have also been countered by the seven holy virtues. According to author John Koessler, that is not so. In fact, the effects and deceitfulness of sin could derail and demonize any virtues that humans want to practice. Like the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve thought that it was alright to eat the forbidden fruit, under the guise that knowledge was good for them. Unfortunately, it was direct disobedience of God resulting in the entry of sin into the world. We could also justify any sinful act with the general statement: "We are imperfect people living in an imperfect world. Of course, we went off the rails." That was one of the reasons why the earliest monks went to the desert to grow in their spirituality is not just to be more holy, but to be more aware of their sinfulness. Indeed, spirituality has two parts. The masquerade for sloth is "leisure." Some subtle thoughts could include the popular "Work smart not hard." Beware of the "empty hours" that we carve out, where we fail to make good use of the time we saved. The vice of wrath is also disguised by an outrage cry out for justice. This is especially so when the outrage comes from a crowd. This could quickly lead to violence and riots. It is important to be careful about philosophical abstraction and personal experience. Grace and mercy are powerful counters to the wrongful expressions of justice. On envy, we are cautioned against "materialistic porn" and how it "collaborates with pride and anger." It is good to learn that envy only goes to build up a dangerous secondary image instead of our true primary character. The final warning is on pride, and how it is often a form of narcissism.

My Thoughts
My first thought is that vices are more dangerous than before. This is because of how it has shape shifted from ancient vices into modern renditions of acceptable virtues. What is worse is the human tendency to desire things that are sinful. This is perhaps the more dangerous of them all. Put it another way, when the heart is corrupt, anything can be corrupted. Thus, it is never too drastic to overestimate the problem and be diligent about eradicating sinful thoughts and actions. Avoid sin like a plague. Using the language of Covid-19 prevention, maintain a distance from sin. Wear masks of biblical values if distance cannot be avoided. Wash our hands regularly through confession and repentance.

Secondly, sins are most dangerous when dabbled with. There is a reason why the Bible calls us to flee the temptations of youth (2 Tim 2:2). That is why I appreciate Koessler's consistent calls to avoid the slippery slope, and if necessary, fight the sinful desires. In each chapter, he offers us ways to do just that. One interesting observation is how he sees social media being a platform "suited for pride." This forces the reader to take a step back to ask why do they post what they post. Is it for personal likes or is it truly to contribute to the wider Internet community? Even more dangerous is how each vice pairs or partners with other vices to become a bigger monster. This reminds me that the vices cannot be taken piecewise manner. They must be dealt with as a whole, because they come in different forms at different times. Even the use of the seven cardinal sins could be a misnomer too. Perhaps, recognizing the traits of each and to label them as sinfulness will help us avoid being caught up with semantics.

Finally, we all need this warning. For some, it might come too late. I think it is never too late to turn away from wicked ways and toward holy living. In fact, there is a good chance that the longer one is a believer, the bigger the blind spots that these sins occupy. Whether visible or invisible, we need to heed the warning that Peter has mentioned in 1 Peter 5:8 to "Be alert and of sober mind" for the enemy is like a prowling lion looking for someone to devour.

The seven deadly sins might be a classic framework developed many centuries ago. However, sin is not bound by time. They metamorphosed into new shapes and sizes in each new generation. We all need to wake up to this danger before it is too late.

John Koessler is Professor Emeritus of Applied Theology and Church Ministries at Moody Bible Institute. He is also a writer and contributing editor for the Moody Bible Institute publication Today in the Word, where he served for 25 years as a faculty member. Prior to joining the faculty of Moody, he served as a pastor in central Illinois for nine years. John posts regularly to his podcast and blog, JohnKoessler.com.

Rating: 4.5 stars of 5.

conrade
This book has been provided courtesy of Moody Publishers and NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title of this book, Dangerous Virtues: How to Follow Jesus When Evil Masquerades as Good by John Koessler, caught my attention when I was looking at Moody Publishers books offered to reviewers. I looked at the description and realized that this was a book that might be a pretty interesting read. I wasn't disappointed.

Koessler makes the case that the 'seven deadly sins' have become the seven dangerous virtues of our day. Rather than moral ambiguity being the main problem of our day; our age actually has a standard of "morals" that they hold to quite firmly (though their justification of them is probably ambiguous). The problem is that those 'morals' don't meet God's standard of morality and in some, or most cases, our age's morals are actually evils in disguise or, as the author puts it: "dangerous virtues". Things that used to be obvious sins are now praised and held up as high moral standards of our day.

Koessler talks about those things, but I appreciate that he really focuses on what the Bible says "good" really is, who can truly do good (Christians) and why good is done (not to be made righteous, but because God has made them righteous):

"Righteousness or virtue has the same expansive quality that sin does. When Jesus describes the true nature of sin in the Sermon on the Mount, He also exposes the true nature of righteousness. Righteousness is not an accumulation of actions that can be classified as good but the other way around. What Jesus says is true of our speech also applies to our actions ' good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil out of the evil stored up in him" (Matt 12:35, Righteousness in the Christian life is not a collection of good acts that balance out our bad deeds. Righteous actions spring from righteousness. Individual acts reflect the nature of those who do them. We have been made righteous to be righteous."

Here are some insights in other chapters that I found insightful:

In his chapter dealing with gluttony, I find interesting his point about how a sense of personal shame has been/is being removed from the commission of sin in our society (even in our churches) by moving sin from the realm of the 'spiritual' into the realm of the medical/physical. "According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, approximately thirty million people suffer from eating disorders in the United States. According to the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, approximately fifteen million adults over the age of eighteen and estimated 401,000 adolescents suffer from Alcohol Use Disorder. Calling these behaviors disorders rather than sins and consigning them to the realm of mental health seems to reduce the potential for shame for those who suffer from such problems. It also moves their treatment out of the spiritual dimension, which seems vague and imprecise (if not positively medieval) to moderns, into the more enlightened realm of medicine."

The church of course, is not making thing better by emphasizing certain sins and then making it seem as though other sins aren't so bad and do not need to be addressed at all. "A one-sided view of lust causes the church to send mixed messages regarding lust. Many biblical conservatives are deeply concerned about the normalization of homosexuality. They rightly consider this particular form of immorality to be a threat, not only to the individual's soul but to the future of society as a whole. They do not, however, seem nearly as troubled by heterosexual immorality, which many in their circles have practiced for some time. They emphasize the Bible's explicit condemnation of homosexuality while ignoring its equally explicit condemnation of divorce."

It seems that much of social media, blogs, books and the news, even (perhaps 'especially' is a more fitting word) the 'Christian ones', are promoting 'dangerous virtues' rather than Christ-like ones. On Facebook I keep seeing memes (posted by professing Christians) about how you need to stop doing things for others who wouldn't lift a finger to help you. Even recently, a post that said something along the lines of: Love people who make you think love is easy (not sacrificial and forgiving…like God's love of us). And of course, posts that cater to pride: You are the best person ever, don't hang around people who don't build up your pride! - especially if you're a woman. Women need to be as arrogant as we can possibly be…after all, we are "the storm" (and ironically, many women really bring chaos and destruction with that mindset).

It is such a relief to read a book like this. One that takes God's Word seriously, not as though it is merely a book full of suggestions with a 'get out of jail free' card of God's love and forgiveness included. I'll end with one more of the quotes that I liked from the book:

"When Jesus sent His disciples out into the world, He knew that He was sending them out like sheep among wolves and warned them of the need to live shrewdly (Matt. 10:16). Shrewd living requires vigilance. It demands that we become holy skeptics who do not automatically believe that everything that the world around us calls good is good. More than anything else, such a life requires that we take God at His word and allow Him to show us the true shape of virtue."

Many thanks for the folks at Moody Publishers Newsroom for sending me a free review copy of this book (My review did not have to be favorable).

[R. Alex Chapman · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Dangerous Virtues, Koessler teaches readers how to identify the seven deadly sins as they are subtly disguised in the culture today. Though many are already familiar with the seven deadly sins, for those who need to be reminded, they are lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride. Each of these sins poses a danger to believers in the world today because each can be deceitful. These sins masquerade as other things, catching Christians off guard and luring them in. Lust masquerades as love, seducing people to compromise on biblical values and causing people to settle than less than true love. Gluttony masquerades as satisfaction, promising to satisfy all who indulge and deceiving people into thinking that satisfaction is attainable through consumption. Greed masquerades as prosperity, promising to fulfill the longings of and to make happy all who acquire material possessions. Sloth masquerades as leisure, deceiving people into believing that leisure, or free time, is the ideal state. Wrath masquerades as justice, convincing people that outrage about a particular issue stems from a desire for justice and never stems from one’s own sentimentality. Envy masquerades as entitlement, causing you to believe that you deserve what others have, that the blessings they enjoy should be yours, that you are entitled to them. Pride masquerades as confidence, deceiving people into believing that a focus on self is actually virtuous. Each of these sins, and the virtues they masquerade as, permeate our culture. Koessler not only helps readers identify these sins, and exposes their deceptions, but he also confronts these sins with biblical truths and equips readers to be able to apply those truths to their lives to combat the seven deadly sins.

Koessler offers insight and conviction in each chapter. Speaking about the dangers of twisted love, Koessler writes, “Sexual desire is pleasurable by nature, but it is also dangerous because it is pleasurable and therefore easily misdirected.” Confronting the sin of gluttony, Koessler informs that “gluttony isn’t really about one’s weight. Gluttony is essentially a sin of inordinate appetite.” In his convicting chapter on greed, Koessler insightfully reveals that “the adjective that best expresses the impulse of greed is not ‘most’ but ‘more.’” On sloth, Keossler cites from Os Guinness, saying that sloth is “the underlying condition of a secular era.” Koessler adds to Guinness’s quote, identifying sloth as leisure: “These days, we have abandoned the archaic language of sloth. We call it leisure. Leisure is the ideal state for most of us.” Koessler notes that though calls for justice are fairly common in today’s world, “if we are truly honest with ourselves, we are forced to admit that there is often more indignation than righteousness in our anger.” Though greed and envy seem synonymous, Koessler makes the following distinction: “Envy is a kind of greed, but it is a particular mode of greed. Greed wants. Envy wants, too. But envy wants what belongs to someone else. Envy desires what it wants because it belongs to someone else.” One of the most insightful and helpful chapters is the chapter on pride. In it, Kosssler writes, “It is not pride’s self-exaltation but its self-consciousness that makes this sin so deadly. Pride is more than a person whose gaze is turned in on himself. Pride is a person who has become absorbed with himself.”

Dangerous Virtues is sure to help readers begin to be able to identify masquerading sins. Such a skill is useful and needed in the world today. Koessler exposes the prominence of masquerading sins in our culture and world today and equips readers to begin to combat the seven deadly sins in their own lives. I gladly recommend this book for all Christians.

Moody Publishers provided me with a free review copy of this book as part of their blog review program.

[Phillip Kang · Rating 4 out of 5]

“We are living in an age when the seven deadly sins have become the seven deadly virtues. By focusing on these sins, we can see how our culture’s ideas about what is right have done dangerously wrong.”

What are these seven deadly sins and how do we recognise them in their dangerously disguised form in today’s culture? And how have we come to this situation?

This is the premise that Pastor and Bible teacher John Koessler pursues and expounds on in his new book “Dangerous Virtues - How to Follow Jesus When Evil Masquerades as Good” (Moody Publishers; Pub Date: 1 September 2020).

Koessler devotes a chapter each to discuss the seven deadly sins: Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy and Pride. He examines their meanings and manifestations in detail with constant reference to what the Bible says about each sin. He then explains how modern culture has downplayed the severity of each sin by viewing it instead as a virtue, a word that, in its traditional sense, seems outdated nowadays. Thus Lust becomes Love, Gluttony becomes Satisfaction from food, Greed becomes Prosperity, Sloth becomes Leisure, Wrath (Anger) becomes Expression of Justice, Envy becomes Fairness, Pride becomes Confidence.

Does the Bible have a remedy to overcome these sins and realign modern culture’s thinking back to God’s? Most assuredly it does, says Koessler. And he goes on to prescribe God’s remedy for each sin.

But these prescriptions presuppose that one must deal with the root of the whole problem: the ongoing struggle with sin in one’s own life. Koessler provides the answer with these words:

“The answer to the believer's ongoing struggle with sin is new life that comes to us through Christ. But the solution is also Christ's death. Sin's ongoing presence in the believer's life can be countered only by the cross. When sin attempts to reassert its dominance in our lives we must ‘put to death’ whatever belongs to our fallen nature (Col. 3:5). The cross is more than a historical event. Our union with Christ in His suffering means that it is also a power that we apply to the law of sin that dwells within us. This is not magic or even mysticism. It is the exercise of faith.”

Koessler has provided the Christian community with a readable, well-researched, doctrinally sound but also a timely book. It deserves to be read widely although I suspect it will not be an easy read for some as it deals with a subject that a lot of people are not comfortable with.

Much benefit will be gained by giving this book a more focussed second reading as there’s so much in this book that needs to be unpacked and understood.

It’s not my place to point out errors in this book but I can’t help noticing an apparent inconsistency in the titling of the chapters, which is this: Chapters 2 to 5 are titled according to their respective dangerous virtues whilst Chapters 6 and 7 according to their deadly sins. I don’t know if this is deliberately done but perhaps the publisher would take note.

I’m happy to recommend this book by giving it a 4-star rating. Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me the ARC eBook to read in exchange for a fair review.

[Barry Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

The subtitle of this book, “How to Follow Jesus When Evil Masquerades as Good,” emphasizes the powerful message of the author as he addresses what terms as the seven dangerous virtues, the opposite of what has been called the seven deadly sins. He begins by noting a 1987 ad in Harper’s Magazine that stated that “Any sin that ‘s enabled us to survive war, death, pestilence, and famine can’t be called deadly,” closing with the tagline “Lust, where would we be without it?” (p.7).

Seven chapters provide solid biblical guidance on these virtues, rich with references from such noteworthy individuals Os Guinness, C.S. Lewis, Cornelius Plantinga Jr., and Tertullian, among others. These resources are provided for each chapter at the end of the book. The seven Dangerous Virtues are presented as follows:

Love - The Seduction of Desire
Satisfaction - Coping with the Hunger that Cannot Be Satisfied
Prosperity - Why Wanting More Means We Will Never Have Enough
Leisure - Living Beyond the Weekend
Justice - Life in an Age of Outrage
Envy - Getting What’s Coming to Them
Pride - Why God Needs to Put Us in Our Place

The final chapter, Yet Not I, provides solid Scriptural guidance on how the believer can separate from sin. In speaking of the Cross, Koessler provides the following powerful words:

“The cross is not a magic wand that makes temptation disappear. Grace is not God’s fairy dust that makes all our problems and struggle disappear, The cross is an instrument of death, and when we apply its power to our sinful nature, we experience a kind of death. We feel the compelling draw of sinful desire, but we refuse to gratify it. We do not get want we want. ... When sin comes in, Jesus provides a way out. The way out is always the way of the cross” (p. 187).

This book is a rich and rewarding resource for following Jesus when the world seeks to disguise evil as good.

[Faith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can evil and sin ever be called good?

Welcome to the post-Modern era.

In this concise read John Koessler takes readers through the 7 deadly sins, once objectively viewed dangerous and deadly, but in our present day the definitions have been twisted and changed to be almost admirable. The author shows how these sins have been rebranded as virtues in our Western culture, as we say, "Oh a little pride, lust, greed, etc. won't hurt."

Koessler takes us back to the Biblical definitions of these sins, defining what God clearly calls good and what is sin. As Christians who have accepted Christ as Lord, we are called to live upright and holy lives, though we will never be completely cleansed from our sinful natures until we are made like Him.

This book is accessible and easy to read, conversational in tone, yet digging deep using cultural examples as well as Biblical ones, backing it up with text. Each chapter ends with a few brief questions to ponder and self examine.

Overall, this book is a timely reminder of what makes each of these sins so deadly, as we mere humans try to twist the meanings to suit our sin. Koessler encourages Christians and churches to stand firm, using discernment, and God's Word to wage our war against sin knowing that the battle is already won in Christ.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

What do the seven deadly sins look like now in our culture? Are they important? Koessler argues that not only do they still exist, they are masquerading as virtues. The unmasking of how these different sins live in our midst is deeply convicting, yet compassionate and refreshing at the same time. I quite enjoyed this book.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are many books written that will not stand the test of time. They are nice books, helpful for a moment, but not enduring.

This book, Dangerous Virtues, is not one of those. I believe it is a book that will stand the test of time. It is helpful for this moment, and for the future. It is one every faithful follower of Jesus should read, especially a Christian in the West.

We live in a tolerant time that doesn't like to call things what they are. Koessler writes, "Indeed, most of the sins in this list have been turned upside down, so that what the ancients once regarded as sin modern people have relabeled to be less than sin. In an age that has learned to call evil good and good evil, the seven deadly sins are now the seven dangerous virtues." What an insight, and what a challenge.

God's Word has not changed; our perception of it and sin has. May we get back to actually believing the Word and living it out! This book is an excellent start in that direction.

(Moody Publishers sent me a copy of the book in exchange for this review.)