Friday, November 9, 2012

Book Review: Accidental Pharisees by Larry Osborne


Is there such a thing as being too passionate for your faith that is can develop a dark side? According to Larry Osborne in his latest book, Accidental Pharisees, the answer to that question is yes. Osborne said that the Pharisees in Jesus' day were not only the examples of overzealous faith, but also the time of the Crusaders and the Inquisition. There is nothing wrong with having a passion for God, but Osborne warns his readers that the "problem is unaligned spiritual passion, a zeal for the Lord that fails to line up with the totality of Scripture" (pg 17).

Being an accidental pharisee comes with having a lot of devotion to Christ as one thinks he is "advancing the cause of the kingdom when in reality they were simply embarrassing the King" (pg 18). Through the book Osborne talks about the six most common dangers that are in overzealous faith. He takes three chapters on each characteristic, which are:

Pride
Exclusivity
Legalism
Idolizing the past
The quest for uniformity
Gift Projection

What is great about this book is its simplicity. Osborne does not go over anyone's head and the chapters are to the point. I know a lot of times, books like this you can get about a 30 page chapter in pride, but Osborne nails it. This book was very convicting to me because I know I have been an "accidental pharisee" myself.

This book has also got the praise of many pastors and writers from various theological backgrounds such as Mark Driscoll, Wayne Cordeiro, Rick Warren, Matt Chandler, J.D. Greear, and Perry Noble. This book was a delight to read that any Christian whether a new believer or a one who has been in the faith for a long time can pick up and heed Osborne's words about being an "accidental pharisee."

Thanks Zondervan for letting me review this book.


2 comments:

  1. Chris,

    Thanks for being a part of the Accidental Pharisees book review blog tour.

    Shaun Tabatt
    Cross Focused Reviews

    ReplyDelete
  2. Glad you liked the book, Chris! Thanks for the review.
    -AR

    ReplyDelete

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