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The Barbarian Way: Unleash the Untamed Faith Within |  | Author: Erwin Raphael McManus
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Category: eBooks
This item is no longer available
Rating:  84 reviews
Sales Rank: 21574
Format: Kindle Book
Media: Kindle Edition
Pages: 160
Number Of Items: 1
Dewey Decimal Number: 248.4
ASIN: B001E95N94
Publication Date: February 10, 2005
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Product Description
Using Jesus' words about John the Baptist in Matthew 11, Erwin McManus urges readers to flee "civilized" religion and return to the "barbarian way" of following Christ. Erwin McManus wasn't raised in a Christian home, so when he came to Christ as a college student, he didn't know the rules of the "religious club." He didn't do well in Shakespeare courses, so he didn't really understand the KJV Bible he was given either. But he did understand that prayer was a conversation, and he learned to talk to God and wait for answers. Erwin's way was passionate and rough around the edges-a sincere, barbaric journey to Christ. Barbaric Christians see Jesus differently than civilized Christians. They see disciples differently, and they see Christ's mission differently. The Barbarian Way is a call to escape "civilized"Christianity and become original, powerful, untamed Christians-just as Christ intended.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 84
 Weak writing June 17, 2010
R. Lawson
Just could not make it through the book it was so elementary. I read about one third and moved on to my next read. Philip Yancey spoke several years ago about the fragility of Christian writing. This book is a classic example of this.
 No Tame Christianity Here... June 4, 2010
Josh McCoy (Jackson, TN)
This book is all about embracing the Life Jesus died to give us!
A deeply powerful book that will move you from sluggish Christianity to embracing a God-empowered vision for your life! McManus isnt really one of my favorite authors but this book is on my "Top 10" list of Christian books (and I've read a LOT from being a pastors kid and working in a bookstore).
If you need something that will help you see beyond the boring, hum-drum Christian life that seems to surround us everywhere, pick up this book!
The Barbarian Way April 2, 2010
Todd VanDerHulst
A way to show you how and why you should expand beyond the comfort zone of "normal" Sunday Christian thinking and to challenge yourself into a positive role.
 Good concept February 18, 2010
Jonathan Teneyck (Sault Ste Marie, MI)
The book has a good concept of living one's faith out in a unrestrained and purposeful way. I certainly agree with this and it's a solid truth that most young believers need to learn. I would have like to have seen a deeper foundation of scripture and more development on what day to day "barbarian faith" looks like. However for a middle school or high school reader, this would hit the spot.
Beyond The Domestic Church February 12, 2010
Robert A. Deyes (Madison, WI)
The word `barbarian' is one that conjures up thoughts of a man who has a deep-rooted passion for a political or sociological cause and gives everything within himself to save people from injustice. With his face painted blue and white and crying "Freedom!" to the masses, Mel Gibson's portrayal of William Wallace is perhaps the best example of such a mental image. Yet mixed in with the deep-rooted passion, the image of a barbarian also brings to the fore thoughts of recklessness, savagery and brutality. For this reason alone, I was surprised to see the word `barbarian' used by Erwin Raphael McManus to describe the true Christian calling in his book The Barbarian Way. What, after all, could be further from savagery and brutality than the grace of the Christ figure who healed the sick and ate with tax collectors? Maybe we could cite the overturning of the tables in the temple or the challenge to the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem in favor of the barbarian image of Jesus. But outside of these few examples, the term `barbarian' seems to be a misplaced descriptive.
Nevertheless, reading on through McManus' text we soon discover that he used the term barbarian somewhat differently. In McManus' definition, the element of passion is still present- the barbarian of Christianity is truly on fire for Jesus and is on a mission to conquer the hearts of those that do not love or know God. The barbarian of Christianity is truly out to risk everything for humanity just as Jesus did. But gone is the brutality that we might associate with the barbarian of old, replaced as it is by the `insanity' of trying the conquer the hearts and minds of men for Christ. But McManus' book is as much a criticism of the modern church as it is a call to rally. In fact McManus talks about the dangers of religion and religiosity that confine faith in Christ to the pulpits of our churches. The `domestic church' as he calls it, is everything that Christ's calling is not. Christ message after all was that we should get out and declare our faith to the world. We read in the Gospel of Mathew, for example, how Jesus sent his disciples, "as sheep among wolves" (Mathew 10, vs 16) to spread the Gospel message. The Gospel of Luke likewise tells of the need to shoulder the cross daily for Jesus (Luke 9, vs 20-25).
Life for Christ is not necessarily going to be easy. Indeed the easy, comfortable life is, as McManus argues, the fallacy of the domesticated form of Christianity with all its focus on individual spiritual growth. The domesticated church lives for the self- "get rich, get comfortable, get secure, get well when you get God". But the life for Christ- McManus' barbarian way- is a continuous struggle whose followers live, "with reckless abandon" for their savior- the son of God- as they tell others about him. The prophet Ezekiel told of `the new spirit' and `the new heart' that will be the hallmark of God's transformation of His people (Ezekiel 36 vs 26).
McManus uses another term- the `mushroom eaters'- to illustrate the kinds of risks that barbarians for Christ will take to spread the message of Jesus. Those who risk everything for Christ do not worry about death even to the point that they might one day eat a poisonous mushroom. Indeed, Paul's letter to the Hebrews tells of the torture, the stoning, the oppression and the mistreatment that some have already endured consumed as they were, not by a fear of failure but by a fear of God (Hebrews 11). Perhaps best known amongst the mushroom eaters is John the Baptist whose foretelling of Jesus' arrival was directed against the religious elite- that "brood of vipers" who refused to accept Jesus as the Messiah. He would later declare to his own disciples that "soon a man is coming who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before I did" (John 1, vs 30). With his clothes woven from camel hair and a diet of locusts and wild honey (Mathew 3, vs 4), John the Baptist was not afraid to lead a life of purpose for Christ. He is perhaps McManus' favorite example of a barbarian- passionate and on fire for Jesus who was imprisoned and beheaded because of his faith (Mark 6, vs 14-28).
McManus calls us to be more like John- to give ourselves up to the task of declaring the love of Christ to those who do not yet know him. Those who settle for less have perhaps lost the power to be who God intended them to be. But those who embrace God's calling for their lives- active `declarers' of His love- will truly live for God. As McManus concludes, salvation is an "enlistment in the mission of God". We are all called to live the same mission- the barbarian way for Christ.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 84
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