When I was first chosen as one of one hundred bloggers to get a preview of the book “You Will Be Made To Care” by Erick Erickson and Bill Blankshaen, I’m afraid my first thought was, “What have I gotten myself into?” I mean let’s face it, who has the time these days. And besides, I have a stack of books I’ve been meaning to read already piled on my nightstand. But, I’d made a commitment and I was going to see it through. I’m immensely glad I did.
I hesitate to use phrases like, “an important book” or “an essential part of your library”, because they may come across as reviewer hyperbole. They shouldn’t. “You Will Be Made To Care” is both important and essential. Buy this book. And as soon as you do, start reading it. This book is both a wake-up call and a call to action for everyone that believes in our first amendment freedom of religion.
As an author myself, I have written often about the war on faith that is taking place in our country. Despite my familiarity with the topic, I found myself stunned to see so many stark examples of that war chronicled in one book. I shook my head as I read of one innocent person of faith after another that simply wanted to live out that faith but that were denied this fundamental right. Readers will find it breathtaking just how often this is occurring in our nation.
The authors do an outstanding job of introducing you to victims of religious persecution and their stories, yet what they’ve created is much more than a laundry list of grievances. They present each instance in a way that bonds the reader with the principal players involved and gives the essential facts of their cases while never overwhelming with needless detail.
More importantly, the real world situations they cite are not chronicled so as to depress or discourage, far from it. Instead they provide a backdrop for a book that at its core is a clarion call. The authors make excellent use of powerful scriptures throughout. The book is effectively populated by quotes from great Christian thinkers of history as well as some of our most prolific modern day scholars.
Ultimately, “You Will Be Made To Care” lays out real world strategies and tactics for the person of faith who is tired of just shaking their head in disgust and disbelief at the darkness of the culture and who instead has determined that the time has come for us all to do something. I have no doubt that if the tactics presented in this book are followed by believers across this nation, the tide of anti-Christian cultural bias will turn.
I couldn’t help but be struck by the fact that I finished the book over this past weekend after having heard about the passing of Justice Scalia, that conservative giant. He is deeply mourned and will be sorely missed. Yet I can’t help but wonder if perhaps we as believers have leaned too often and too heavily on leaders like Scalia. With him on the court, writing his brilliant opinions, I think we assumed that sooner or later that brilliance would prevail. I think we felt that sooner or later a Scalia, or a Zachrias, or a Mohler would finally win the argument. Scalia’s passing reinforced what Scripture has already taught us. Namely, that the call to defend the faith is a call upon each of us who are members of the faith community. This book is a valuable and worthwhile tool for any who would answer that call.