It's Not What You Think: Why Christianity is About So Much More Than Going to Heaven When You Die by Jefferson Bethke

It's Not What You Think: Why Christianity is About So Much More Than Going to Heaven When You Die Reviews

• 
  Kris

  There's some good analogies in here, but once again I'm left wanting more from Bethke's writing. He needed to flesh things out.
  
  For instance, he does not do a good job of explaining the difference between the Jewish sabbath on Saturday, and the Christian Sabbath on Sunday. He doesn't show how Sabbath was an inherent part of ancient Judaism and how Jesus fulfills that, and functions as our prophet, priest, and king.
  
  In other places Bethke tries to be humorous. But the jokes are just bad and distracting. Three stars because there is some worthy material in here. But Bethke's writing is seriously lacking in richness and nuance.
• 
  B.J. Richardson

  I have to admit that I went into this book not thinking I would like it all that much. I had heard some good reviews, but I absolutely cannot stand the youtube video that made this guy famous.
  
  Stepping into the first chapter or two, my expectations only dropped. Once again, in his intro, he goes on this tirade against religion and the church. I almost dnf'd the book right then and there. He misquotes one of my favorite authors (the quote is accurate, but he used it to come to almost the opposite conclusion), there are multiple typos and grammatical errors, and there is a horrifically cringe-worthy moment in chapter eight where I cried out loud, "Where is your editor?!?"
  
  When you put all that aside, this book is probably an excellent one for its target audience. If you are a fringe Christian in the West, someone who is familiar with the faith, but not prone to dive deep, then this book would be right up your alley. It will motivate and encourage you to dig deeper and go further with your walk with God. If you are more serious about your faith, there probably won't be much new or revolutionary material here. If you are from an unchurched background, you will probably not understand a lot of the Christianese you see here. And if you are not from America or possibly Western Europe, a lot of the analogies and metaphors will mean nothing to you.
  
  In all, Bethke's heart is in the right place and his theology is solid, but this is a cookies on the bottom shelf type of book. At least, it is for me.
• 
  Lena Morrison

  I do my reviews in the form of a letter, which is why they are written like this.
  
  Dear Jefferson Bethke,
  
  I loved this book. I really liked the first one you wrote, but this one is even better. I liked the fact that this one was written in a more professional way.
  
  I can honestly say that you changed and challenged the way I viewed many things. I absolutely loved how you used Jewish history and taught us how to interpret a lot of what the Bible teaches.
  
  You wrote passionately and accurately about the Bible, and I could tell that you really care about people. Our culture has sucked a lot out of. Christianity, and few authors actually take a stand and state it.
  
  Anyways, thank you for writing such a fantastic book.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  Lena Morrison
• 
  J.E.

  I listened to this in audiobook. It was a great little read. I didn't fully agree with everything the author said. Particularly some of his points about the morality of specific Bible characters. I think I am a bit more reformed in my thinking than he is. Which is funny because I thought he was reformed.
  I did find it very encouraging at points. And it posed some interested thoughts. Though I found as a whole it got off course and into the weeds in a few areas. And a lot of the theology was a bit more "entry level". But that makes sense, seeing as Bethke was aiming for his audience and he is a Youtube creator, not a professor or something like that.
  A lot of the theological points were very relevant to current cultural things, so I'm not sure how it will hold up or even how it would translate outside of American culture. But it was a good choice for an audiobook and gave me some things to mull on. I do suggest you read this in conjuction with some deeper theology. I found that the Bible Project had some great concepts along the same lines as what he was talking about, particularly in re guards to the Sabbath, which took it a few layers deeper.
  Basically, this is a good starting point, but I'd highly suggest that you look into some of these passages yourself and do your own research (as I'd suggest with any theology) as he tends to cherry pick. And while I feel like he knows his stuff, sometimes it gets a bit iffy. Just a little.
• 
  David Eiffert

  I'm not a perfect man, but dang it, I try to always shoot straight when it comes to books.
  
  And I was expecting to not like this one. It was a gift and all I knew about Jefferson was that he's that one guy who made that annoying YouTube video.
  
  WELL HOLD THE GOSH DARN PHONE!!
  I actually really really liked this book. Granted, a lot of these ideas are not exactly original. But to Jefferson's credit, he gives credit where credit is due, mostly. Lots of credit in that sentence.
  
  Way to go Jefferson!
• 
  Jonathan

  Wow what a great read! Let me elaborate. This book is deep. I would describe it as a view of the Bible so far zoomed out that it gives you new perspective to common stories, messages, and themes. Sometimes we may have too close of a view of Scripture, but Jefferson shows some of the actual intents behind what God is saying. Honestly, it took me awhile to wrap my head around some of what was being said because I generally have a very analytical mindset, but once I grasped the overview and yet the depth of what he was saying, I was honestly blown away. I would highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to go deeper in their faith and learn more about how much God loves them and desires them.
• 
  Carmen

  I loved this book. I knew I would like it since I liked his first one but I didn't imagine I would like it even more. Jeff always finds a way to speak the truth straight to you. Also, his Back to the Future references don't hurt.
• 
  Joel Pinckney

  Though I appreciate the truth of much of what Bethke has to say, I have a few frustrations with this book and others like it. Extended review to come.
• 
  James Bunyan

  Bethke is clearly an excellent communicator; he has been around the Church a while, is an earnest evangelist and his content is attractively presented. However, there are a couple of large problems with this book:
  -overblown diagnosis of the problem- as you can tell from the book’s title, Bethke asserts that the Church in the West has been getting Christianity wrong. As he goes through each topic on his list, he spends time arguing that Christianity is not exactly how everyone thinks it is, lambasting the church for its understanding of theology and treatment of people, before presenting his own view. Whilst this might be more useful rhetorically, huge claims like this are rarely true; they are certainly not in this case, making his book a lot less persuasive.
  -shallow content- the solution Bethke supplies to the western Church’s wrong theology is often true and attractively presented, with good use of illustration but the problem is that much of his theology is really shallow. For instance, his chapter on Sabbath has nothing to say about church. His chapter on kingdom is heavy on “not-just-pie-in-the-sky-when-you-die” but offers very little except encouraging Christians to do nice things on earth. If you spend a long time asserting that everyone else has got everything wrong, you need to be able to offer a rich and persuasive solution
  -absence of sin- most worrying of all, Bethke has a deficient doctrine of sin and therefore of repentance. He spends time talking about our wounds, telling us they must be worn proudly as scars, which means one is left with a sense that our problem is that we are sufferers who need comfort, not that we are also sinners in need of forgiveness. Obviously, humanity does suffer and we do need comfort; there is nothing wrong with only offering some of the truth. But if you’re writing a book on the gospel, claiming to correct the Church by dealing with central ideas, then to never mention or personal sin, need for repentance or forgiveness offered in Jesus is bad. For someone practicing as a Christian evangelist, this is a huge problem; the cross becomes a comforting story, not an event that actually achieves anything for the Christian.
  
  As previously said, Bethke seems a passionate and caring Christian. Yet he admits himself that he is no theologian and one is left slightly concerned if this is the staple of a generation of young Christians.
• 
  Allen

  One of my favorite ideas came from this book. If you are a Christian musician, artist, writer,comedian, etc. You shouldn't strive to be the best Christian ________. You should be the best because you are a Christian.
• 
  Wesley Roth

  "Life isn't about going to heaven when you die, it's about making heaven true on earth in every facet and level of our relationship with God, others, and self. The Christian life is asking, how can I make what's true of Jesus and his gospel true in whatever aspect of my life?" That is the key part of Jefferson Bethke's newest book, "It's Not What You Think". This was a good book, a commentary about an overview of the Bible, with his life experiences weaved in and his call for Christians to make heaven true on Earth in our lives. He reminds the reader that "Jesus is the only one who lays his life down for you first, before he asks for yours. He pursues, he dies, he gives up everything and then calls us to himself. There's no force, only wooing. His love is so great that it COMPELS us to lay down our lives in return. That's the only appropriate response when we understand just how great his sacrifice was for us."
  
  A good book to read in your faith walk or for someone who doesn't have a relationship with Christ.
  
  I won this book in a Lifeways blog giveaway, but in no way was influenced in my review.
• 
  Rachel Lenell

  This one was better than the last book (and I recommend that one too). I love how he explains the overall narrative of the bible and the thematic elements that ought to change the way I personally approach my faith.
  For me, the biggest game changer was thinking about communion differently. I loved that it was originally intended as a part of a large meal surrounded by my community. I love that idea that coming together and sharing a meal is a restorative process and something Jesus did with great intentionality. This is a quick read and a good one for another with a few questions about the way we do church and faith today.
• 
  Keli

  I’ve been a fan of Bethke since coming across his viral YouTube videos a few years ago. I thoroughly enjoyed his first book and like most of his fans eagerly awaited the second book.
  
  Once the book finally arrived I was instantly convinced this would be a quick day read. But after only a few pages the truth nuggets were hard for me to swallow. I didn’t want to hear his words because to be honest I NEEDED to hear them.
  
  As some of the other reviewers noted it took me much longer to get through this book than I anticipated. But man was it worth it! I’ve only just finished and I know it’s a book I’ll come back to over and over again as I grow in my own faith.
• 
  Laurie

  Here is an excerpt from my review: "Once again, here is a book that all Christians should read but that those Christians who really need to read it probably won't. Maybe if enough buzz surrounds this book and its message, it will open the ears and, ultimately, the minds of Western Christianity."
  
  
  
  
  You can read my full review here:
  http://cookscrapcraft.blogspot.com/20...
• 
  Heather

  Bethke doesn't claim to have all the answers, nor does he claim his thoughts are the right ones, but he is honest and seemingly genuine. Like many blogger authors, the book is written in that style, so sure, the thoughts are going to jump around a bit-feeling more like a conversation, than a text. Overall he brings up some really great points, organizes around some unique themes, and his passion and love for Jesus are a great inspiration and motivation for 2016.
• 
  Laura

  This was a great book. I give it 4.5 stars! I love the research into Jewish history!! Learned so much from that! The cultural context truly affects what we take from Jesus' message. This book was challenging without being over my head, which I appreciate. Favorite chapter was Sabbath. Highly recommend!
• 
  Zann

  Fantastic! This author is so real. He tells it like it is, doesn't pull any punches, yet uses humor to keep you smiling while being informed. Loved this book. Will read it again and have already thought of someone to recommend it to! A mind opening book.
• 
  Sarah

  Incredible book! Bethke takes common Christian themes and puts them in a whole new light. I am trying to do Sabbath differently now from what I learned in his chapter on the Sabbath. I would highly recommend his book.
• 
  Henry Hobbs

  I'm not a Christian, but I'm a fan of Jefferson Bethke. And If I were ever to be a Christian again, I would like for it to be this way.
• 
  Kyle McKee

  Jeff does a great job unpacking the topics and tells some really cool and illustrative stories. Great book!
• 
  Sarah

  Loved this book so much!!! Really moved me and made think about some things that I really wouldn't take the time to question. Thank you, Jeff!
• 
  Al'vina

  Highlighted Quotes:
  
  “In order for Christianity to start fresh, we have to start with the gospel.”
  
  “There’s a reason Jesus didn’t come in Genesis 4, but instead in Matthew 1. Jesus is the climax of the story, not the introduction.”
  
  “Where you start a story drastically changes how you perceive that story.”
  
  “Beauty is more primal than the curse; and we were children before we were runaways.”
  
  “We are more inclined to read someone’s words when we believe those words are there because they care for us.”
  
  “…The Bible is descriptive not prescriptive. It’s mainly about how God relates to a broken and rebellious human race, and in the midst of that narrative he gives some precepts and ways to live.”
  
  “It’s hard to know where you’re going if you don’t know where you’ve been.”
  
  “We should never put God in our preconceived box. We are made in his image, and it’s dangerous when we reverse that and make God in our image.”
  
  “Sin is less defined as smoking weed and stealing money from your boss and more defined simply as, I know. And whenever we say we know what’s right and wrong, we become our own judge and God, and that can play in all sorts of behavior that isn’t the best for ourselves or human flourishing.”
  
  “It’s only when we stop hiding that we can start healing.”
  
  “He makes it clear from Genesis to Revelation that he wants to dwell with his people. He desires intimacy not hiding, transparency not masks.”
  
  “Identity, or the idea of defining who we are, is primarily about living as if the future restoration has happened right now.”
  
  “Satan tells Jesus to prove it. Jesus tells him he doesn’t need to because he already knows who he is. You don’t need to grab and claw for something you already have.”
  
  “We all have time. It comes down to how we spend it.”
  
  “Jesus made it pretty clear, though, when he said the Sabbath was made for man, not the man for the Sabbath. We have a day that God made for us; don’t turn it into a day of slavery.”
  
  “Whatever you behold, you become like. Whatever you worship, you turn into. Whatever you turn your gaze to, it rubs off on you. Everything becomes colored by the idol.”
  
  “It’s a lot easier to know what might be a sinful or poor decision in my life when I can’t give thanks for it.”
  
  “Death isn’t true in heaven, so we should be people of life here.”
  
  “Only when a wound is a scar will we let it tell a story.”
  
  “Scars don’t hide our history; they show it. And when we show our scars, we get to point to the healer who wove his grace right into the depths of every crack and fragmented part in our soul.”
  
  “A person isn’t valuable because she is someone’s daughter or sister; she is valuable and has dignity and worth because she is an image-bearer. A human.”
  
  “Part of the job of being a Jesus follower is making other people’s pain our pain. To feel it. To absorb it. To step in that gap as much as possible, because that’s exactly what Jesus did for us.”
  
  Overall: 3.8/5
• 
  Christine

  After starting this book nearly a year ago, I have finally finished it! Starting right before moving into college was probably a very bad idea, and as a result I ended up having to start over at the beginning of the next summer.
  
  If someone asked me my favorite "celebrity," I would probably say Jefferson Bethke. Pretty much everything this guy turns out, even if it is just an Instagram Story, is full of so much truth and wisdom. He and his family are goals, and the reason I say that is not because they are literally goals, but because they reflect Jesus so well, who is our goal. My life has definitely been transformed in a lot of ways through his writings, podcasts, YouTube videos, and social media. If you desire to know the Bible for what it is, and live a faith without ornamentation but instead authenticity, then this guy is incredible at sticking TO the truth.
  
  I waited so long for this book to come out, to finally get it, and then actually get through it. But all of the time, annotations, and thought I put into reading this book I value for the ways it has shaped how I live my life and the paradigm shifts it has brought. Once again, God brought a book into my life that has really helped me understand these past few months of my life and that gives me wisdom for the future. I am thankful I didn't read it all a year ago and reread it now when I really needed it.
  
  I would recommend this book to anyone, whether "seasoned Christian", nonbeliever, new believer, "i don't know what," just anyone who is open to what it has to say. The way that the Bible, God, and the Gospel is presented in this book does not compromise truth, but rather reveals it as it was meant to be understood, not the way that the modern church has so often made it today. If you're looking for "Christianity" then this may not be it. If you're looking for Jesus, the climax of all of history and the single most influential person to ever walk the earth, then this it.
• 
  Rachel Marie

  I loved this one. I loved his first book, so I was pretty stoked about this one. And it definitely lived up. I thought this was such an eye-opening and important book, more so than any other I've read in this category. Bethke delivers in such a way that is easy to understand but impactful.
  
  So many things stood out to be in this book that I had to take notes, and I ended up with pages. Bethke breaks down Christianity in a way that shows us what God wants from us, which is to bring heaven to earth, not wait until we die. The chapters were broken up concisely in a way that really helped you absorb information. He reminds of us stories we may have heard all our life, but shows them in a new light. He goes through many subjects, including some we may not think about, such as the table being just as important as our worship. I also love this super important and powerful quote:
  
  A person isn't valuable because she's someone's daughter or sister; she is valuable and has dignity and worth because she is an image-bearer. A human. (pg 170)
  You can tell when a lot of heart and work when into a book, and this is definitely that. I think my favorite chapters was probably the one on Sabbath. I will definitely be implementing some of the suggestions in this book, and think that is the highest compliment. I think this is a very important book, and will definitely be recommending it to pretty much everyone I know.
  
  I received a copy from the publisher, this did not affect my honest opinion.
  This review first appears in
  The NerdHerd Reads
• 
  Stephen Drew

  I can appreciate what Bethke is trying to do here, which is to write biblical theology on a popular level. Essentially, he just takes a lot of NT Wright’s work and restates the main points. Bethke is a good and witty communicator and so will do better then most as addressing the important topics he selected on a popular level.
  
  However, this book is incredibly sloppy. Even in the end of the book I was unsure of how the book as a whole held together. Each chapter is pretty much independent without a restates argument of thesis throughout. Also, there’s so much sloppy and disorganized writing and arguments, like of citations, and imprecise theology, which is quite dangerous at times. Most chapters come across mostly just as “here’s what Bethke thinks.” Additionally, overwhelmingly the illustrations are about his young family, which makes sense because that’s where he’s at in life. But, more often then not the book seems it’s more about him then about the topic at hand, namely the redemptive work of God through Christ.
  
  I don’t know that many authors are doing what he’s attempted in this book, but also I’m not sure I could recommend this either.
• 
  Nancy

  Eh. It was ok. I didn't love that he kept referencing Ann Voskamp (plus, she wrote the foreword) since I am not a fan. (Not since I read One Thousand Gifts, and especially when she writes that something is like "making love to God". What?!? NOT OK!) Maybe next time, more C.S. Lewis and Tolkien references, less (or no) Voskamp?
  He makes some good points, but he's also all over the place and it seems to lack form and a plan. And, the brief mention of race issues (i.e., Ferguson) felt gratuitous and completely obligatory. This book just wasn't the place. Not to mention that it's really not appropriate to briefly mention it without knowing/acknowledging all the facts on the issue as a whole while trying to tie it into your own story. It felt like pandering.
  I can't say I recommend this. I was disappointed and expected more from it.
• 
  Breanna Juliette

  This one took me a while to get through. Faith-based novels typically do because there is so much to absorb, process, and sift through.
  
  Jefferson did a great job organizing this book and pointing out some of the greatest misunderstandings about Christianity and how it’s about so much more than just going to heaven when we die.
  
  It’s about how we live our lives here on Earth, how we treat others, and how we treat ourselves. There is a lot to unpack here, but just pick it up and read it. If you are a Christian, it’s got great thoughts for going deeper and if you’re just starting out on your faith journey, it has great starting points.
  
  From my favorite chapter: “Scars don’t hide our history; they show it. And when we show our scars, we get to point to the healer who wove his grace right into the depths of every crack and fragmented part in our soul.”