Urban Legends of Theology: 40 Common Misconceptions

Urban Legends

by Michael E. Wittmer

Urban Legends of Theology surveys 40 of the most common misunderstandings of Christian doctrine. Some of the urban legends are cultural truisms that turn out not to be true; others are misconceptions of what the Bible and Christian tradition actually teach.     Author and theologian Michael Wittmer writes in an engaging and incisive manner, probing beliefs nearly every churchgoer has heard at one time or another, such     Urban Legends of Theology corrects these misconceptions and offers a better alternative in each one’s place, guiding readers into the full riches and freedom of Christian theology rightly understood.  

Genres: Christian, Theology, Christianity

272 pages, Paperback

Published May 1, 2023

About the author

Michael Wittmer is currently Professor of Systematic Theology at GRTS in Grand Rapids, MI. He is the author of Heaven Is a Place on Earth, Don’t Stop Believing, The Last Enemy, and Despite Doubt. He and his wife, Julie, live in Grand Rapids, Michigan with their three children: Avery, Landon, and Alayna.

Reviews

[Kevin Halloran · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Wittmer is biblical, insightful, culturally-aware, and funny. Most readers will have a few things (or many things) corrected in reading this book.

I especially liked the chapters “I Am Enough”, “The World Is Not Our Home”, and “We Should Forgive Others for Our Own Good”. Here’s my two-cent summary of the chapter “The World Is Not Our Home”: God created humanity for this planet, and we will enjoy the new earth, a restored version of the current earth, for all of eternity. But God didn’t create us for this planet under the curse of sin. We are pilgrims and sojourners on this earth riddled with sin and problems. A helpful nuance!

I recommend this book for all believers. It could be useful for preachers as well as they correct their theology and think about including “debunking urban legend” asides in their preaching.

[Nick Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. This book is great. It can be helpful as an evangelistic tool or as discipleship with a believer.
Highly recommended.

[E · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wittmer answers most of these "urban legends" well. At times it felt like the tail was wagging the dog--that he wanted to write about certain things and in a certain order, so we out and "found" legends that would allow him to do so. But his theology is solid (even if his humor is groan-inducing). A large portion of doing theology entails weeding out poor or dangerous teaching, and Wittmer does that ably.

[Marissa Meltzer · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an excellent book. I’m guilty of repeating Christian phrases that are so common and some of the legends discussed. I learned so much from reading this and it helped me to know how to rethink some of the things we hear about God, Jesus, humanity and Heaven. Some good humor too. Highly recommend.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. He handles some often-used phrases and ideas that, at their root, have wrong assumptions. There were a few of the chapters that seemed a bit forced - like Whittmer was taking the phrases a bit too far in order to make his point. But overall, it is a solid correction to some bad ideas that permeate our culture. And some bring-a-smile-to-my-face humor throughout.

[Joshua McGrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

It really should include a bit of a warning: *According to a Reformed Baptist hermeneutic*

There were some great chapters. There were also some chapters that felt like the author addressing his own personal theological pet peeves.