Where Goodness Still Grows
Reclaiming Virtue in an Age of Hypocrisy
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4.0 • 1 Rating
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Declining church attendance. A growing feeling of betrayal. For Christians who have begun to feel set adrift and disillusioned by their churches, Where Goodness Still Grows grounds us in a new view of virtue deeply rooted in a return to Jesus Christ’s life and ministry.
The evangelical church in America has reached a crossroads. Social media and recent political events have exposed the fault lines that exist within our country and our spiritual communities. Millennials are leaving the church, citing hypocrisy, partisanship, and unkindness as reasons they can’t stay. In this book Amy Peterson explores the corruption and blind spots of the evangelical church and the departure of so many from the faith - but she refuses to give up hope, believing that rescue is on the way.
Where Goodness Still Grows:
Dissects the moral code of American evangelicalismReimagines virtue as a tool, not a weaponExplores the Biblical meaning of specific virtues like kindness, purity, and modestyProvides comfort, hope, and a path towards spiritual restoration
Amy writes as someone intimately familiar with, fond of, and deeply critical of the world of conservative evangelicalism. She writes as a woman and a mother, as someone invested in the future of humanity, and as someone who just needs to know how to teach her kids what it means to be good. Amy finds that if we listen harder and farther, we will find the places where goodness still grows.
Praise for Where Goodness Still Grows:
“In this poignant, honest book, Amy Peterson confronts her disappointment with the evangelical leaders who handed her The Book of Virtues then happily ignored them for the sake of political power. But instead of just walking away, Peterson rewrites the script, giving us an alternative book of virtues needed in this moment. And it’s no mistake that it ends with hope.”
— James K. A. Smith, author of You Are What You Love
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
With incredible insight into evangelicalism's blind spots, Peterson (Dangerous Territory) challenges Christians to embody classic virtues honestly and holistically. Unafraid to call out names (particularly Donald Trump and his leading evangelical supporters), political parties, and toxic social structures, the author, a lifelong conservative, invites her fellow believers to reclaim genuine virtue that serves others rather than themselves. Examining kindness and hospitality, she chides the church for settling for niceness rather than a sacrifice that, for example, exhibits kindness to refugees or pursues racial reconciliation. The virtue of authenticity, she claims, has been conflated with a "spontaneity" that usually lacks any substance within Christian norms. Offering no concrete measures, Peterson instead calls on the church to reject its current state of complacency and revert to its biblical roots. As an explicit rebuke of contemporary American evangelical Christianity, Peterson's stark criticisms run the risk of offending her audience. This pointed plea for evangelicals to rediscover the goodness they were meant to embody is sure to start conversations within Christian households and churches.
