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Return to Sender?

Tony Campolo's Letters to a Young Evangelical

Review by Douglas LeBlanc | posted 5/01/2007 08:52AM

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Letters to a Young Evangelical
Tony Campolo • Basic Books
280 pages • $23.00

Tony Campolo's latest book joins other titles in a noble series that invites prominent thinkers (writers Dinesh D'Souza and Christopher Hitchens, therapist Mary Bray Pipher) to offer their expertise.

Campolo is his often irenic self when he celebrates what evangelicals hold in common, and he navigates many of our disagreements (such as over the gifts of the Holy Spirit) with grace.

It's when Campolo distances himself from the widely derided Religious Right that Letters to a Young Evangelical grows combative and simply inaccurate. To correct some of his mistakes:

Tim LaHaye is not a TV evangelist.
James Watt did not claim that "there was no need to protect" national parks and forests because of the imminent return of Jesus.
Ronald Reagan believed people could be living in the End Times long before he met Jerry Falwell.
Many pro-life thinkers, including Christians, advance their case against abortion without appeals to ensoulment.

Campolo writes that evangelical has taken on too much baggage and ought to be replaced with red-letter Christian, especially for believers who call themselves progressives but reject the label of Religious Left. Have fun with that semantic game, brother, but don't expect the evangelicals you caricature to play it with you.

Related Elsewhere:

An excerpt, "Why The Church is Important" from the book is available on our site.

Letters to a Young Evangelical is available from ChristianBook.com other retailers.

It is one of the "Letters to a Young ___" book group, a part of the "The Art of Mentoring" series from Basic Books.

The book's website links to a video of an interview with Campolo on The Hour.

Campolo's website has an excerpt of chapter three of Letters to a Young Evangelical.

First Things posted "A Letter to Tony Campolo," a response to the book.

The January 2003 issue of Christianity Today featured a profile of Campolo (one of the top 25 most influential preachers, according to PreachingToday.com), "The Positive Prophet." Related articles include "Tony Talks Too Much," "Candidate Campolo," "Why Clinton Likes Campolo," "One Lord, One Faith, One Voice?," "Ethnic Cleansing, Genocide, and Plain Old Murder," and "Rift Opens Among Evangelicals on AIDS Funding."

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Displaying 1 - 3 of 31 comments.

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matt copeland

Posted: May 08, 2007 9:34 PM

I find the author's hatred and disdain for Campolo evident in his review. Campolo has done a lot of good, especially for Christian's opposed to the right-wing pseudo christianity of absurd evangelical fundamentalists like James Dobson and Falwel. I am dissapointed that Christainity Today would even publish this mean spirited tirade against someone who has given us Christians, who are tired of the same old right wing BS that the evangelicalism seems to have aligned itself with, some hope for holding onto our faith. I honestly think I've lost a little respect for CT after reading this review. There is a lot of bad mouthing of Campolo becasue he says things that are true and go against the grain fo the traditions that evangelicals have cemented themselves in. I welcome attacks on such assumptions, and I think that a faith that doesn't seek to progress in its biblical interpretation and its quest for truth is dead. God will not be confined to a box of theology or tradition.

Dr. Raymond Blacketer

Posted: May 07, 2007 2:21 PM

I think Dr. Campolo has sold his soul to the idol of left-wing politics, to the gospel of big government, to the kingdom of government-engineered salvation. The great irony is that, in this, he has become the mirror image of James Dobson, who does the same with his own narrow, right-wing perspective. Campolo's vilification of those who disagree with him is beneath the dignity of a pastor, and often violates the ninth commandment, against bearing false witness. No political agenda, left or right, is the gospel. Campolo has, deservedly, lost much respect among moderate evangelicals for his extremist views and his vicious attacks and gross caricatures. "Do not put your hope in princes, in mortal men who cannot save." Ps. 146:3.

Lilydawn

Posted: May 04, 2007 11:16 AM

Having actually READ the book in question I find the review poor at least, possibly intentionally misleading at worse. Tony Campolo challenged new/young believers to live the Bible they are reading, know the Lord they are following and love their enemies. A challenge to live your faith loud is certainly not a left wing liberal plot! Would highly recommend this book to all Christians that would like to see their faith grow in spiritual and practical ways.

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