Book Review: "The Whole Thing" by Jason English

I wanted to enjoy this book... but I didn't.  I was left wondering what the point of writing the book was, as Rob Bell previously wrote what I would consider a better book on the narrative of the Bible earlier... and there was nothing new or noteworthy in "The Whole Thing" that I feel warranted a new book. As I was reading it, I kept thinking about how shallow American Christians' knowledge of the Bible/ movement of the kingdom is... and how this book just provided an explanation for how easily the evangelical church's understanding of what the gospel is can be reduced to personal salvation and telling people they are going to hell.  That is definitely not the message or point of this book... but to be honest, I wish this book had a clear point and purpose to describe.  Maybe it is how times have changed for me, and that a book about the Bible that doesn't speak to the importance of the gospel in racial justice post- Trayvon, in being GLOBAL citizens post- Muslim ban/ anti immigrant sentiment, in socioeconomic and environmental justice after the failure of capitalism/ GOP policies of the '80's and '00's in taking care of all people, and how the gospel speaks to gender equality, LGBT inclusion, etc... just leaves me shaking my head as to why it needed to be written. I am reminded of Karl Barth and how he spoke of the importance of reading the Bible in one hand, and the newspaper in the other... and just wish "The Whole Thing" had some interaction with the "newspaper" (as a metaphor for current events)... but in trying to be timeless, it only succeeded in being irrelevant.  I feel bad for being so negative, but this book could have been SO much better, I finished the book only feeling disappointment at what should have been.