The Grace Effect--A Must Read

For the last 2 weeks, there have been some rather disturbing stories coming from the Middle East.  There have been assassinations of Americans, protests in the name of religion, and violence.  Of course, this should not come as a shock to anyone--especially evangelical Christians. 

I'm surprised that in light of these events, we haven't heard more from our local atheists.  It's likely that atheists would use these events to demonstrate to us how organized religion is the problem with politics and societies.  After all, aren't all these protests supposedly about a movie insulting another religion?  If there wasn't conflict between religions, would this violence still be occurring?  Yes.  In fact, the violence is indicative of what happens to nations with little evangelical Christian influence.

A few weeks ago, I heard Larry Taunton on the radio discussing the concept of "common grace" and it's effect on a society.  In his recently written book, The Grace Effect, Taunton explains that common grace is "the idea that when there is a significant Christian presence in a given society, it brings tangible benefits not just to the Christian, but to society as a whole."  For example, in the United States, it's not uncommon to see people marching in protest.  But it's rare for these protests to turn violent, bloody, and literally explosive like they do elsewhere in the world.  Taunton points out that the moral sensibilities of our culture stem from a strong tradition of Judeo-Christian values that do not promote violence or chaos.  Instead, he says that our entire country and culture has benefited from the influence of Christianity.

This conversation was enough to peak my interest so that I bought his book.  But when I read it, I literally couldn't put it down.  Mr. Taunton used his family's experience trying to adopt a Ukranian child as the illustration for his contrast of a godless society versus a society that has been touched by "the grace effect."  This book made me laugh. It made me cry.  It gave me a whole other view of Communist Russia.  And it made me take a serious look at the international adoption process (which legally speaking is very fascinating).  But more importantly, it made me realize what an amazing impact that we, as Christ-following Christians can have on our communities and culture and why we should take a true interest in fighting the anti-religious left that seeks to turn our nation in to the next godless regime. 

The Grace Effect is a must read.  To learn more or to order your own copy, visit http://graceeffect.com/.  I promise that you won't be disappointed.