Abstract: The first generation of Christians were not popular. They were ridiculed, persecuted, yet according to Acts 17:6-7, they “turned the world upside down.” As a result, their message was communicated louder and clearer than any message before or since. Even with today’s social medias, big-name celebrities, and shiny evangelism techniques that add glitz and glamour to the gospel, today’s Christians fail to communicate as effectively as the first followers of Christ. Simply put, the early church turned the world upside down, but today’s church has been turned upside down by the world.-from Kregel Publications

Dan Phillips is a man with a mission. In his book, The World-Tilting Gospel: Embracing a Biblical Worldview he strives to explain to Christians who we really are in Christ and how our identity begins in Genesis.
Starting in Genesis 1:1,Phillips lays out the biblical basis for
Who We Are: What happened in the Garden and how did it shape our relationship with God?
What God Has Done for Us: How will God’s rescue operation be executed?
How We Get In: How does God deal with our bad record and our bad nature?
How We Get Going: How do we upend the status quo and turn the world upside-down
again? (from Kregel Publications’s Press Release)

World-Tilting Gospel, The: Embracing a Biblical Worldview and Hanging on Tight by Dan Phillips
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Like many believers, my focus has mostly been on the New Testament. I don’t study the Old Testament nearly as much. But this book encourages the reader to look at the whole Bible to see the true picture of who he/she is as well as who God is. The author is well-qualified to explain his premise, but I found I was not so well-qualified to understand it. His qualifications as a theologian were obvious as he quoted scripture and even gave the original Greek words in many cases. A biblical scholar would appreciate his interpretations. The author tried to make the book accessible to the average reader and overall he succeeded. I got the general premise, but I would’ve preferred a simpler explanation of the details. There were many places where the theology bogged me down and I had to skip ahead. Nevertheless, I found many gems of thought and scripture to grab on to. This is not a light read, but it had light moments. I give the author a lot of credit for trying to impart complicated scriptural truths to the average reader. When he summarized, I felt I understood. When he went into lengthy theological explanations he sometimes lost me. To embrace the entire Bible as the Gospel is kind of revolutionary, but it makes sense. As the author points out, the story of humankind and God starts at Genesis, not at John 3:16.

In compliance with FTC guidelines, please note that I received this book for free from Kregel Publications.