Red Letters: Living a Faith That Bleeds by Tom Davis
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Book Reviews of Red Letters: Living a Faith That Bleeds
Book Review: Motivating
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a great book that everyone should read! It will motivate you to do what Jesus would do if he was living here today!!Book Review: A call to action Christians (and indeed, the world) must not ignore!
Summary: 4 Stars
In many versions of the Bible, Jesus' words are written in red ink to emphasize their importance. It brings attention to His words and underscores their urgency.
Red Letters is a call to action, an urgent book calling on Christians to get off their collective bums and return to their roots. In the first and second centuries, Christian groups had a reputation for kindness to the poor, widows, and the downtrodden. But today's Christians largely ignore a vast population of the suffering: those suffering from the AIDS crisis in Africa.
Although written for Christians, Tom Davis' message is universal to all faiths (and even the faithless): thousands of Africans are dying daily because of disease and starvation. He throws out statistics at a frenetic pace. Children are being orphaned at an alarming rate; they struggle to survive without parents at ages of five and six. For a loaf of bread, a ten-year-old sells her body and risks infection. Most African countries lack the infrastructure and the funding to care for these dying and parentless, even though medicine is more affordable than ever. Misinformation abounds; Davis recalls hearing from men who believe that if they have sex with a virgin, they'll be cured of HIV. (Uh...WHAT?) It's a self-propagating cycle of suffering and misery.
Davis wants to stir his audiences' emotion and sympathy, and he largely succeeds. Indeed, after a few chapters I wanted him to dive right into a "What You Can Do To Fix This Problem" solution manual, but there were many more chapters of depressing, grim facts to read first. Eventually he did share good news: if each of us in wealthier countries started giving just five dollars a month to help those in Africa, we could make a huge difference. His literature is targeted at Christians, with reminders of Jesus' call to his followers to be good Samaritans and care for the unloved. However, I think this is really a call to everyone to be the best they can be, and to recall what it means to be charitable. When so many are suffering, and so little sacrifice on our part can make such a big impact, what excuse do Americans have?
In spite of common protests that it's all futile, Davis (and Bono, who is frequently cited) believes that we really can change the world. He lays out a plan that he calls 5forFifty. It requests those of us who have been blessed with plenty to:
1. Give 5 minutes a day to pray for those infected by HIV/AIDS.
2. Give 5 hours a day to fast for those suffering from HIV/AIDS.
3. Give 5 dollars a month to the Five for 50 Fund and support worthy causes.
4. Give 5 days a year to travel overseas and help alleviate poverty and suffering.
5. Give 5 people an opportunity to join you on your journey.
-- http://www.fivefor50.com/
Tom Davis' blog can be found here: http://tomdavis.typepad.com/
In addition to talking about his book, he writes about his experiences in orphanages in Russia and in Swaziland, one of the areas hardest-hit by AIDS. He often posts video and photographs, and it's definitely worth checking out.
Book Review: Definitely Pick This One Up
Summary: 4 Stars
I've known Tom Davis for a while now, so I jumped at the chance to get an early copy of his new book Red Letters. Like anyone who works in Africa, he has the desperate passion of someone who has literally changed the lives of hundreds but only sees the millions that remain.
(A word of warning; I've already passed this book along to a friend in North Carolina, so my apologies for being a bit vague here.)
The best (and by best, I mean "the most tear-inducing) parts of the book come through the stories of the children that Tom has met. There's the girl that was so violently raped BY HER UNCLES that she is unable to control her bladder. Another girl who, after the death of her parents, has to provide and care for her younger siblings at the mature age of 10. These are stories that will make you cry, no matter who or where you are (it's a bit embarassing on the bus, might I add).
Red Letters does a good job illustrating the ways that our (the Western world) help is needed. Tom walks the somewhat delicate line between conviction and guilt well, leaving the readers wanting to help in whichever way that they can. It's not a high-art piece of literature; it's a gritty, desperate plea for us to start to read the red letters of our Bibles and live accordingly.
May we all get the message.
Book Review: A Convicting Read
Summary: 3 Stars
An interesting, very convicting book about the action that the Christian faith demands that often goes unfulfilled. It was a quick read but you will continue to think about the words long after you are finished