Benjamin L. Corey

Memoirs about the movement from fundamentalism to a richer, more vibrant faith has become something of a cottage industry. Everybody and their mother used to have a narrow faith and then through life and experience their matured and they were transformed. Think Rachel Held Evans, Matthew Paul Turner, Jonathan Merritt, Kathy Escobar, Marcus Borg and whoever else comes to mind.

But the specifics are different. Benjamin Corey's journey to the 'undiluted, radical message of Jesus' began when he attended seminary. In his case Gordon-Conwell (not exactly a bastion of liberalism in our age). He confronts different theological commitments and convictions, wrestles with the real faith of those who were different from him and is driven to a fresh reading of the gospels. This moves him, eventually towards Anabaptism, mission justice and compassion.

There is also ways in which pain has marked his journey. Probably the most poignant and difficult season that Corey describes is his family's adoption of two sisters from Latin America.

I got this book inexpensively on my Kindle and it was a worthwhile read for me. Corey's seminary story is not my own, but I saw other people make that journey from childhood faith to a thoughtful wrestling with Jesus. Corey's blog is excellent.… (mere)

In Undiluted: Rediscovering the Radical Message of Jesus Benjamin Corey states that Jesus's message is diluted when we force it to fit our cultural framework and practice religion based on doctrine and political platforms. Corey compares this to the lesson Jesus taught in Matthew 6:24, that no one can serve two masters. To me the most important message in the book is that following Jesus isn’t about what we stop doing – such as drinking, smoking, swearing, etc. – but rather what we start doing – such as responding to hatred with love, sharing with those who are hungry and standing up for the oppressed.

I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads program
… (mere)