Blah, Blah, Blah

By Bayard Taylor

Book Overview

Not everyone has a religion, but everyone has a worldview - that core set of beliefs through which you interpret your world. Discussing worldviews doesn't have to be intimidating. This book compares and contrasts Christianity with other worldviews to better equip young people for the questions they will face in college and beyond.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0764201875
• ISBN13: 9780764201875
• Release Date: June 2006
• Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
• Length: 251 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.3" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Not another Blah book

As a seminary student, I've plowed my way through numerous theological books. In "Blah," Taylor provides a refreshing break by offering important information in an easy-to-read style.

Worth the read

This book isn't just for students. I work and do research at a university and, while this is obviously is not a full academic treatment of the subject, I found it to be very relevant to my own life and my understanding of others, particularly in the university setting. I think the book did a good job of organizing and categorizing world-view information, but I will probably need to read it once or twice again to more fully absorb the information within.

How to build, not burn, relational bridges.

Bayard Taylor's Blah, Blah, Blah: Making Sense of the World's Spiritual Chatter is one of the most important books that's come out in a long time. It's great for youth and college age people and it's even simple enough for recovering dumb jocks like me -- so it has to be a winner. As a public school teacher, Blah has been very useful to me in better understanding the world views of my colleagues and students. With some friends of long-standing, Blah has helped some really meaningful conversations blossom. The website is great, too!

When friends write books...

Whenever a friend says something to the effect of "I wrote a new book, would you like to read it?" I shiver with fear. Talk about caught between a rock and a hard place! So it is with pleasure that I can tell you that Blah, Blah, Blah, by my good friend Bayard Taylor, is truly a great book! (Yes, I did actually read all of it.) For the past 6 years I have worked with the parents of teens group in our church and have seen the sorrow of parents who's teens have grown up, moved away, and... fallen away. Like the seed among the thorns, the non-biblical worldviews seduce and then strangle our young people. Bayard's book exposes these worldviews and shows their weaknesses in easy to understand language. Then it provides the ammunition needed to both combat these worldviews and defend your Christian faith. Every Christian teen should read this book before heading off into the "real world".

Practical, Applicable, and Completely Relevant

Having come from a Christian family, my parents strictly enforced Christian values. While my upbringing is mostly responsible for my faith-formation, it did leave me inadequately prepared for what awaited me beyond the protection of my family. And so, off I went to liberal Brown University innocent and care-free thinking that the world was no different there than it was at my home. I quickly found out I was wrong. When I first went to college, I went through culture shock. I was completely blown away by all the things I saw. It was like Dorothy wasn't in Kansas anymore (me being Dorothy). Rather, Dorothy had dropped into the middle of a highway, in front of oncoming traffic. At every turn, I was run over. After reading this book, I became really mad. In fact, I am still angry. What took Bayard Taylor so long to write this thing? Blah, Blah, Blah takes on the difficult topics of Christian apologetics, Absolute Truths (in an environment that rejects that their existence), hostile professors, and fraternity parties, and boils down the entire college experience into simple Star Wars metaphors. It is the kind of book I wish I had been given before going to college--and the cover is awesome. So consider this: on my graduation, I received no less than six copies of A Purpose Driven Life and two of the off-to college editions--that's eight copies. Now, I think that A Purpose Driven Life is a great book, but that is a lot of dead trees. A person only needs one copy--two will not make anyone's life more purpose driven, just more annoyed. Trust me, if you do not get that special graduate a copy of A Purpose Driven Life, someone else will. And, if you do get him a copy of it, well...someone else also will. And I hate to break it to all you A Purpose Drive Life gifters, none of my friends (at least not of the group I asked) ever even cracked open one page of that burgundy, adult-fashioned old-person novel. This book, however, is new, fresh, and in my opinion, much more helpful to a high school graduate going into college. So arm that soon-to-be freshman with this pocket guide to college for Christians. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised to see the book actually get used.