A Review Of My Book That Made Me Weep

“This is such a powerful book.

In my own faith journey, I have often been turned off by the actions of Christians. In my experience, there is a pattern of turning the scripture, God and Jesus into an excuse or justification of actions that are cruel and ignorant. Sometimes, I would even say the actions are downright evil. It has always been deeply upsetting to me.

Because of that, I never really took the time to sit down with the Bible or seriously examine my own religious beliefs. I assumed that in order to believe in God, I would have to become the kind of person I never wanted to be: someone bigoted, hateful, and self-righteous. I never want to be a freak outside a Planned Parenthood bullying women just to turn around and say, "Oh well it's actually not bullying, harassment or bigotry because the Bible is in my hand."

YUCK.

For a long time, everything I loved felt like it somehow went against Christianity. Justice, liberation, feminism, compassion for LGBTQ+ people, concern for immigrants, care for the homeless and dignity of Black and Indigenous people all seemed, at least from what I had witnessed, to exist outside of what many Christians considered "faithful." When I was around certain Christian spaces, I often felt like my worst. I did not like how people spoke about Black people, immigrants, LGBTQ+ people, women, or the poor. Some of those categories included me. I'm a tattooed, opinionated woman who came from a background where there were points of life that I didn't know where my next meal was coming from.

When Christians spoke of "poor people" who depended on the government to feed themselves with disgust, they were speaking about me.

It's truly shitty.

It's nothing compared to the way they speak of truly marginalized community but just getting a small taste of that disdain for fellow human beings disgusted me enough to not want to be part of it.

This book was the first time I felt like faith breathed life into me rather than taking it out of me.

Joash P. Thomas writes in such a way that you can feel the Holy Spirit moving through his words. You can feel his faithfulness, but it is not the kind of faithfulness that turns into ignorance, defensiveness, or political ranting. Instead, it becomes something deeply, empathetic, thoughtful, and compassionate. Almost angelic. He models the kind of Christian (and frankly, human being) I think many of us should hope to be.

This book felt less like a book of instruction and more like a book of consideration. Thomas is clearly knowledgeable about the Bible, but he is not dismissive of the world around him. He does not reject sociology, psychology, history or the ways groups and systems come to be. Most importantly, he doesn't dismiss cultures outside his own. Instead, he embraces it and encourages all of us to do the same. He is not defensive nor is he above calling himself out.

He speaks with eloquence, conviction and passion. You can tell that the purpose of his writing is not simply to prove a point, but to get people to ask themselves: How can I make this world a better place? How have I contributed to not making it a better place? Where can I heal? What do I need to heal within myself?

He does not shy away from calling out Christians or confronting the state of Christianity in the world. He's not afraid of confronting the colonization of religion and how it has played a massive role in oppression while claiming the support of God. He holds Western Christians specifically accountable for the harm that has been done by the church, while also emphasizing that accountability is not about shame for shame's sake. It is about telling the truth so that we can move forward into a better world. One where justice, empathy, and compassion are at the forefront of faithfulness rather than a pursuit of power and greed.

To quote the incredibly brilliant man that is James Baldwin: "Not everything that is faced can be changed; but nothing can be changed until it is faced."

This is one of those books that I feel should be read by the very Christians whose faith has been most deeply co-opted by extremist politics. Unfortunately, I do not have much hope that many of those readers would be open-minded enough to do so.

I cried quite a few times while reading this, or rather, while listening to the audiobook. For the first time in a long time, I felt like there was a light at the end of a very dark tunnel in my journey toward believing in God and Jesus. I realized that I do not have to hate gay people, dismiss the liberation of Black and Indigenous people, ignore the suffering of women, or excuse injustice in order to have a relationship with God. I realized that questioning the church is not the same thing as rejecting God. Calling out harm done in the name of Christianity is not a violation of faith. In many ways, it is an act of faith.

Similar to how sometimes being patriotic is pointing out how America can kind of be a piece of shit country to many. It is about knowing that something can be better and having the courage to ask it to do so.

This book made me feel seen, heard, and called to something deeper.

For me, having a relationship with God means leaning on Him to become a better person. But in order to become better, I have to actually be better. I have to live differently. I have to care differently. That is part of why I pursue social work. As Thomas reminds us, our job as people who believe in Christ and God, and frankly, as human beings, is to stand with people in the margins. I believe that in order to do that, we must pursue justice.

Beyond its religious messaging, I believe Thomas speaks to all people, regardless of religious affiliation. The message is simple: be kind.

And yet, so many humans do not understand what kindness truly requires. His reminder that kindness, faithfulness and a pursuit of justice often demand sacrifice of comfort and convenience is incredibly important. To quote James Baldwin again: "love is not a popular movement.

And he's correct.

This book reiterates that same truth. Love is not a popular movement. Neither is justice. Justice challenges empire. It challenges power. It challenges the elites and systems of this world that benefit from keeping people exhausted, divided and oppressed. Justice demands that we see our neighbors not as threats or inconveniences but as human beings made equal to us.

For me, this book is another reminder that leading with love, even when it requires sacrifice, is always the better way. Love for our neighbors of all kinds. Love that is not conditional. Love that is not only reserved for people who look, think, believe or live like us.

Love and kindness should not come with terms and conditions.

Absolutely beautiful book. I feel blessed to have read it.”