I really wanted to like this book. It speaks to a subject that is severely lacking in our Church and society today - the dearth of Christians who are both theologically sound and intellectually minded.

But that is not what I found here. While there are *some* good points made (e.g. "if Christians want to practice a thoughtful faith we must rise above petty ideology, choosing instead to engage the world informed - whenever possible - by what is true," p. 26), most of the book is filled with half-hearted reasoning and a whole lot of narrow-minded bias (one word dominated my notes in the margins - OVERSIMPLIFY; he LOVES his straw men). His writing in almost every chapter reveals that his central premise is not a call for Christians to be more intellectual or logical in their thinking, but that a "thoughtful Christian" is only someone that adheres to HIS hermeneutics, HIS point of view, HIS theology.

Overall, I can best describe this book as the progressive Christian's equivalent to Richard Dawkins' THE GOD DELUSION (for atheists) and Lee Strobel's THE CASE FOR CHRIST (for evangelical Christians): red meat for those who already agree with the author, which will persuade very few who do not. (And I hesitate to assign this to progressive Christians, as I feel this does the group an injustice - but it is a designation he proudly proclaims for himself...over and over again.)

Definitely not recommended. If you are looking for something that touches on integrating Christianity and Scripture into a grounded, modern hermeneutic - I would instead recommend N.T. Wright's SCRIPTURE AND THE AUTHORITY OF GOD.

*NOTE: I received an advanced copy of this book as a Goodreads Giveaway. I began it before it published, but became so disappointed with it that I wasn't able to drag myself over the finish line until now.* ( )