If God Is Love, Don't Be a Jerk

If God Is Love, Don't Be a Jerk Finding a Faith That Makes Us Better Humans

First edition

Paperback (28 Sep 2021)

Save $0.54

  • RRP $22.28
  • $21.74
Add to basket

Includes delivery to the United States

10+ copies available online - Usually dispatched within 72 hours

Publisher's Synopsis

Thou Shalt Not Be Horrible.

Imagine for a moment what the world might look like if we as people of faith, morality, and conscience actually aspired to this mantra.

What if we were fully burdened to create a world that was more loving and equitable than when we arrived?

What if we invited one another to share in wide-open, fearless, spiritual communities truly marked by compassion and interdependence?

What if we daily challenged ourselves to live a faith that simply made us better humans?

John Pavlovitz explores how we can embody this kinder kind of spirituality where we humbly examine our belief system to understand how it might compel us to act in less-than-loving ways toward others.

This simple phrase, "Thou Shalt Not Be Horrible," could help us practice what we preach by creating a world where:

  • spiritual community provides a sense of belonging where all people are received as we are;
  • the most important question we ask of a religious belief is not Is it true? but rather, is it helpful?
  • it is morally impossible to pledge complete allegiance to both Jesus and America simultaneously;
  • the way we treat others is the most tangible and meaningful expression of our belief system.

In If God Is Love, Don't Be a Jerk, John Pavlovitz examines the bedrock ideas of our religion: the existence of hell, the utility of prayer, the way we treat LGBTQ people, the value of anger, and other doctrines to help all of us take a good, honest look at how the beliefs we hold can shape our relationships with God and our fellow humans-and to make sure that love has the last, loudest word.

Book information

ISBN: 9780664266844
Publisher: Presbyterian Publishing Corporation
Imprint: Westminster John Knox Press
Pub date:
Edition: First edition
DEWEY: 234.23
DEWEY edition: 23
Language: English
Number of pages: viii, 233
Weight: 510g
Height: 216mm
Width: 140mm
Spine width: 10mm