The Upside-Down Kingdom

by Donald B. Kraybill

Book Overview

The Upside-Down Kingdom calls readers to imagine and embody the reign of God on earth as it is in heaven. Since its publication in 1978, The Upside-Down Kingdom won the National Religious Book Award... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0836135229
• ISBN13: 9780836135220
• Release Date: January 1990
• Publisher: Herald Press (VA)
• Length: 312 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.6" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Upside Down? Yes... Upside Down!

I will never forget the confused look I received from the audience when I said, "The Kingdom of God is Upside-Down." This revealed to me that many Christians probably have not given a lot of thought to the Kingdom of God. If the Body of Christ fully understood this Kingdom... I don't think she would squinch her eyes at the words "Upside Down." And I certainly don't believe we would be giving in to the temptations Christ rejected! Kraybill focuses primarily on the temptations of Christ (Matt.4) to reveal the true character of the Kingdom of God. Jesus rejected the temptations in the bread (the economic), the temple leap(the religious), and the kingdoms of the world (the political)... thus accomplishing heaven's task in a way that is foolishness to the world(1 Cor.1:18). If you have had a hard time understanding the Kingdom of God and want to learn how this Kingdom makes no sense to human wisdom... but is the power of God to those being saved... get this book. Wonderful insights into the radical claims of the Kingdom! I would also like to recommend "The Gospel of the Kingdom" by George E. Ladd

Read Only If You're Serious About Change!

Kraybill has a knack for cutting straight to the heart! This book is not for someone looking for an easy read. I recently shared with my congregation that this is a very difficult book to read for the reason that it shakes all that you know to the very foundation of your faith.If you want to see fresh insight into the Kingdom Christ brought to this planet, then this book is for you. But beware...you may not be able to live the Christian life "business as usual" anymore.The very fact that Christ lived so opposite of the culture around him, challenges us to do the same. And why not? We're called Christians, taking his name as ours, why shouldn't we live as he lived? It's Scriptural, isn't it? Then why are so many of us not doing it?Reading this book will either turn you off, or turn you on. The choice is yours to make before reading. The world can only be a better place if it turns you on!

A Radical Look at the Gospels

This book is a much needed wake-up call for evangelicals to stop ignoring radical call of Christ to meet the social needs of people just because the "Social Gospel" has historically been associated with "liberals". Through an insightful and culturally/historically/scripturally contextualized look at the synoptic gospels (and especially Luke)Kraybill shows that Jesus' message of hope for the poor and oppressed is more than merely spiritual. Too often Christians try to spiritualize away the gospel passages where Christ seems to be calling us to a radical way of handling our resources and power when dealing with those with less money or lower social position. Kraybill goes beyond just calling us to help people however; he shows us that concern for the poor, the oppressed and the alien is essential to true spirituality and the gospel. Working towards the realization of the Kingdom of God requires that we try to liberate people from both spiritual and social oppression. In fact the two are quite often the same thing. If the error of the evangelical church is overly spiritualizing the gospel in favor of "saving souls", and the error of the mainline church is interpreting the gospel to only be about "self-improvement" and helping others with their physical needs, Kraybill offers a compelling middle-way (and yet also a radical way) that finds its ultimate support in an honest reading of the words of Jesus himself.

Upside Down Kingdom - Right way up spirituality!

Absolutely stunning book with great insights into the gospel of peace and the spirit of jubilee. A must for any serious disciple of Jesus Christ who is a little concerned that today's "supermarket church" has missed something of the life-changing message and claims of the gospel which calls us to put others first before we think about our own comfort zones. A challenging book. The challenge is to walk it!

Ahead of his time

Kraybill is nothing less than prophetic, calling Christians to look deeply and carefully into the message of Jesus, to see the radical life he was calling his followers to. Much of what Kraybill was saying twenty years ago is now being echoed in the words of prominent Christians leaders like Phillip Yancey and Tony Campolo. Kraybill makes clear Jesus' call to living out the principles of the forgotten Jubilee, wherein people of faith were called reject the self-seeking social pyramid of humankind, embracing instead of servant lifestlye that would bring about the equality that God intended. Kraybill reveals that much the revolutionary heart of Jesus has been explained away by North American Christians simply because it flies directly in the face of the human wisdom we are so comfortable to embrace. I am left with the great challenge of allowing the all-the-way teachings of Jesus to govern every practical detail of how I live my life.