So I just picked up this book simply because of the title Ten Dumb Things Smart Christians Believe. I went into the library to pay a massive fine, or “stupid tax”. Anyway I saw this book and decided to see what this author had to say. I had never heard of the author, Larry Osborne before so I had no preconceived ideas about his beliefs. 10 Dumb Things Smart Christians Believe was a book that intrigued me.

Synopsis
This book covers “Sunday School” myths that many Christians hold as truth from God’s Word. I know that I have been guilty of this in the past. Mr. Osborne writes to debunk these commonly held myths with the truth from God’s Word. He gets right to the point with the first chapter “Faith can fix anything.”

He covers a wide range of topics which many Smart Christians had dumb ideas about. At the end of the book he provides a discussion guide so you can discuss the myth along with the truth from God’s Word with a small group. It would also work as a personal study guide if you want to read this book on your own.

Strengths
This book does not sugar coat the truth. It just presents the truth from God’s Word. This to me makes a Christian growth book good. I like that he points out the difference between a proverb and a promise. He comes back to this point a few times. In his chapter “A Godly Home Guarantees Godly Kids” this point is incredibly relevant. He gives two examples of parents with rebellious children. One set of parents suffers from extreme guilt over what they think must be poor parenting. The other set of parents is filled with unfounded hope that their child will absolutely return to the Lord because of the verse Proverbs 22:6. He uses practical examples like this throughout the book to illustrate the myths we believe from the truth of what God’s Word actually says.

Each chapter provides the reader with several reasons why the widely held belief is false and what the truth actually is in the correlating situation. At the end of each chapter it asks the myth in the form of a question like “Can Christians Ever Judge?” and then answers with a Scripture passage. I love that feature of this book. After you read all his thoughts on the topic you are given a concrete answer from God’s Word to answer the question.

Weaknesses
The author uses lots of Scripture throughout the book, but they are not clearly listed. Often he makes a point or paraphrase and then there is a footnote number. However they are not actually footnotes. They are notes at the end of the book. So if you want to read through this book and read the corresponding passages it takes quite a bit of time. I would have preferred actual footnotes so I wouldn’t have to constantly flip back and forth.

Phrases like “Jesus made a mean Merlot” are unnecessary to me. I understand that Jesus turned water into wine, this type of phrasing doesn’t add anything to the message.

Conclusion
This is a well written book. When I read about the author at the end of the book I was not at all surprised that he has a congregation of 7000 people. He is an excellent communicator and he speaks the truth in love. These chapters speak clearly against widely held beliefs. I am sure he knew that some of his truth would be offensive to some but he confidently presents the facts and I admire that in a person.

I especially appreciated the truth of chapter 10, “Dead People Go to a Better Place”. This is not true unless the deceased person has believed on Christ. He uses the illustration of the rich young ruler who wanted his stuff instead of the Savior. This chapter encouraged me in evangelism. I do not evangelize like I should.

This book is a good read. I think this would be a good book not only for the believer to have good answers to these common questions. I also think it would be a good read for a new believer so they start out with the right answers to what they’ve always heard about Christianity.

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