World on Fire: Walking in the Wisdom of Christ When Everyone’s Fighting About Everything by Hannah Anderson

World on Fire: Walking in the Wisdom of Christ When Everyone’s Fighting About Everything Reviews

• 
  Panda Incognito

  This timely book features chapters from different Christian women writers, beginning with Hannah Anderson. They all write about a different phrase from the Beatitudes in Matthew 5, exploring how Jesus's counterintuitive wisdom speaks to our heart motives and life situations in the midst of a fractured world. Each woman writes from her own unique perspective, and they each share personal stories and examples that contextualize their teaching. The writers all emphasize how even though we want to prove ourselves right, win arguments, and come out on top in our culture's endless battles, the wisdom of Christ requires us to take a different posture, search our hearts in humility, and reach out to others with grace and love.
  
  World on Fireengages with a variety of different heart issues and social problems, and I found the chapter about racial conversations particularly unique and helpful. Some of the content throughout the book is repetitive, since the women write similar things about how the Bible speaks to current cultural issues, but if someone read this book over a longer period of time than I did, the content overlap would be less noticeable.
  
  Overall, this is a great book for individuals to read together, and for mature discussion groups that can handle vulnerable heart-searching and discussion of difficult issues together. The authors include a few pages of application and discussion questions at the end of each chapter, encouraging readers to answer them for themselves and while considering dynamics in groups of Christians they might be leading. The questions appear in four categories and are very insightful and provocative, encouraging people to evaluate themselves and consider ways that they can live out Jesus's values in their relationships and in the public square.
  
  World on Fire is a resource that many people need right now, but the downside of its timeliness is that it will quickly become dated. The references to events from 2020 and early 2021 are very relevant to the book's current readers, but the focus on specific political, social, and pandemic-related issues give this book a shorter shelf life than it warrants. Because the biblical content is universal, this book has ongoing value, but I personally would have preferred it if the authors had taken a broader view, without focusing quite so much on current controversies. Still, the authors designed this to meet a current need for people who feel overwhelmed in their relationships post-2020, and the immediate focus will be valuable to many readers right now.
  
  I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
• 
  Courtney Gill

  I read this book with a small group of other ladies, older and younger than me. It provided plenty of discussion material; at times we struggled with how certain Beatitudes were presented, concerned that the main point was missed. But even those chapters helped us to look thoughtfully and carefully at our own hearts and lives, making sure that the theology and doctrine and beliefs we profess line up with how we actually live and speak. Some chapters were deeply humbling, others were encouraging, others were motivating - or a combination of all the things!
  
  I loved the book because it’s a bunch of authors in one volume, so you do get those varying views and voices all in one package. Combined, it’s a powerful and timely collection. It motivates and empowers me to go into the world better prepared to offer grace, mercy and love as Jesus did.
  
  I’d recommend reading with at least a couple friends who are perhaps more mature in their faith, to discuss and discern helpfully.
• 
  Katie

  This was a very quick read. It wasn't bad, but I think it'll be a book that will be dated a few years from now, and will not have lasting power.
  
  A couple of criticisms... the world being on fire wasn't really mentioned much after the first one or two chapters. And despite the book saying we can't always avoid conflict with the culture, I felt like the book itself was dancing around trying not to offend people because of the current culture. I think I was looking for something deeper. I've found with Christian books, I've been unsatisfied more lately, because I'm seeking something deeper.
• 
  Cherish Brown

  (5☆ Would recommend & would read again)
  So good! This book is well needed especially for the current American climate. I really enjoyed how different authors wrote different chapters. This was refreshing & helped to see things through different perspectives. This book really challenged me & had such good takeaways.
• 
  Frances Chan

  Such a timely and needed book for those of us who grew up in “culture wars” circles. This diverse group of authors provides wise and faithful instruction on cultural engagement in today’s social media and outrage-driven world, structured around the Beatitudes. Definitely a must-read!
• 
  Natalie Wenzel

  Small group book 📕
• 
  Shelby Lawless

  AMAZING!
  
  Amazing. Such a good read on how to be cautious in a world constantly on fire with hatred and judgement.