Too Christian, Too Pagan: How to Love the World Without Falling for It

by Dick Staub and Dina Nayeri

Dios envi? a la iglesia al mundo para predicarle el evangelio y que fueran salvos, no para llenar edificios y templos cristianos. En este novedoso enfoque de la vida testimonial para el d?a de hoy, el... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0310233151
• ISBN13: 9780310233152
• Release Date: January 2000
• Publisher: Zondervan Publishing Company
• Length: 205 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.7" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

challenging book

Dick Staub's insights go against the grain of what Christians are usually taught about evangelism. Often it appears that we are encouraged to shout out the Gospel message from our safe Christian subculture across the great divide to the rest of the world. We talk to people in our language, from a perspective that has little to do with the way most people think and act and then we wonder why their hearts are "hardened" to our message. Staub poses an interesting theory. Maybe it's we who need to change. Maybe we need to start seeing God in places we didn't think he would appear, such as popular movies and music. Instead of separating ourselves from the rest of the world, maybe it's time to find commonalitites and go from there. He uses numerous antecdotes and stories, many from his own life, which help prove his point. I highly recommend this book. You may not like everything you hear and you may feel that a lot of Staub's suggestions are downright dangerous, but perhaps it's time for a little danger! Staub encourages the Church to come out of hiding and participate in our world and present culture without compromising who we are as believers. This is a delicate balance but the author navigates through this tough task deftly and wisely. Check it out!

Mr. Staub has found a new calling ...

Dick Staub as a talk show host made the ultimate mistake in trying to reach an Evangelical audience - he refused to "dumb down" his show. He is greatly missed by those who used to enjoy his intelligent and "outside the choir" viewpoints on life, love and family on a national basis. In Too Christian, Too Pagan - Staub has walked the line again - stepping on casual Christian toes while inspiring and jumpstarting those of us looking for balance in a world that is impossible to turn off with a remote control. With warm, witty anecdotes about his own personal travels and insight, interspersed within biblical wisdom - this book should be required reading for any Christian ready to escape the bunker of the Christian subculture. At the very least, it makes us wish we had the time to share a cup of Starbucks with him on a cold, rainy Seattle morning. Hopefully Zondervan will have the foresight to latch onto this man for many more books to come.

consistently penetrating insight

"Taking Jesus into our world requires fully engaging both our faith and the world, yet few of us have learned to live a fully integrated life of faith in the world. Paradoxically, in my experience those who wholeheartedly embark on this path will end up seeming both too Christian for their pagan friends and too pagan for their Christian friends."This quote is from chapter one of Dick Staub's wonderful book: "Too Christian, Too Pagan." The rest of the book explains this argument and gives "how to" suggestions for living this exciting and fulfilling kind of life.Previous to December, I had never heard of this book or its author...Then a friend of mine received a copy of the book for Christmas. I didn't really think to much of it at the time (the friend has yet to read the book as far as I know) But then, through a series of events, This book kept entering my daily life through offhand comments, emails etc. I am glad it did! "Too Christian, Too Pagan" has spoken to me right where I live. The chapter entitled "Think" is the first time I have ever read a contemporary Christian author address directly the lack of thinking that goes on in too many churches (Bob Briner and Mark Noll came close, but their topics demanded they spend more time on other things). I can testify to the truth of Mr. Staub's comment when he says:"I am warning you, in what is generally an anti-intellectual culture and Christian subculture, your commitment to thinking will make you countercultural."I have felt this in my journey. So few really ever do think...many in fact, live in self-imposed prisons of the mind as a result. We must remember that Jesus told us to love the Lord with our minds to set us free...not to give us one more assignment in an already busy life...As Mr. Staub continues to unpack his argument he gives wonderful "how to" advice. In other words, he does not make a case for doing things like thinking and then leave the reader stranded to figure out how to do so...he gives suggestions on what steps to take. In his chapter "Read the Books" he suggests reading not only the latest "Christian" bestsellers, but suggests we should read the fiction popular in the culture in order to understand the culture that so many of the people God wants to reach live in. In a wonderful passage about the power of fiction to shape lives and culture, Mr. Staub writes:"In my experience good fiction often functions like the canary in the coal mine. It sees life as it is, gasps out observations to those who will hear, and gives us a chance to puzzle through our questions, layering and thickening them with the life experience of another. Without saying so directly, through the characters and the situations they face, fiction can urge us to take action or face certain doom."Mr. Staub suggests engaging culture by living the gospel: seeing, feeling, thinking, telling stories (like Jesus did), and being humble (among other things). In the closing chapters of the book, Mr. Staub addresses the

Hits the nail on the head!

This is a book about the essence of the Christian faith and what it means to be a 21st century follower of Jesus Christ. In a day and age when the church is either conspicuously silent or obnoxiously loud and misrepresentative of Christ, we need to rediscover and live the call that Christ placed on the lives of his first followers. In "Too Christian - Too Pagan", Dick Staub offers a clear, engaging, balanced and practical exposition of what it means to be in the world but not of it. This book is theologically sound and full of life - Staub has lived the call he passes on to his readers. His anecdotes and experiences are riveting. Those struggling to understand how to relate faith to real life will find the book to be thought-provoking and even life-changing. I'm recommending this book everywhere I go. Thanks Dick, for reminding us who were called to be!

Best of the Year!

Let me get to the bottom-line first: This volume gets my vote for Christian book of the year! In twenty-five brief chapters, talk radio host Dick Staub adresses the issue of cultural engangement, which has plagued believers of every era. In other words, how does one effectively live as "salt" and "light" in the world without either becoming compromised or resorting to isolationism?Virtually no stone is left unturned. Staub discusses how to practice cultural discernment when watching films, listening to the Top 40, or reading the latest hit from Oprah's Book Club. He offers wise counsel on what it means to really love your neighbor. This book offers a wealth of insight and practical application.As a pastor for more than thirty years (who "moonlights" as a jazz musician), Staub's book resonates deep within my soul. I am recommending it to all my friends, and will soon use it as the basis for a class in my church.