Culture Shift: The Battle for the Moral Heart of America

This is the first book I've ever read by Al Mohler, and I immediately liked his style of writing. I'm sure Dr. Mohler is a very intelligent and educated man (no one gets to be the president of a large seminary like the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary by being dull), but his tone is very conversational and down-to-earth.

This book addresses several urgent contemporary issues - ranging from homosexual marriage, to reproductive technology, to natural disasters, to terrorist attacks, and many others. Each chapter is short and to the point. The book is intended to give thoughtful Christians some information to help frame their Christian worldview around some of the more difficult challenges of the world we live in.

Believers today are not short on convictions - but they ARE short on Biblical foundations for them. Mohler encourages us to understand that the Bible DOES speak to the issues of the day, and the Christian is not left defenseless against the increasingly hostile secular society.

There were several chapters that were simply outstanding, but all of them were good. My only criticism is a minor one: The book started and ended fairly abruptly, and there was very little cohesion between the chapters. Basically, it felt as though Dr. Mohler hand-picked a few dozen topics he wished to write about and typed out a few pages on each. Then, he put them together and made a book. Don't get me wrong - this doesn't diminish the power of his writing. Each statement in the book was thoughtfully and carefully articulated.

I'm glad that Dr. Mohler tackled these issues. Christians, let's not be afraid to speak our convictions - the world desperately needs to hear the unchanging truth of God's Word.

I received this book from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers in exchange for my honest review.

Al Mohler provides deft analysis of the Christian's necessary response to culture in Culture Shift: The Battle for the Moral Heart of America. While Christians and Christianity are not at war with American culture, there is a necessity to critique culture and to engage it on a number of levels. Mohler helps to facilitate this process, as he navigates the various issues surrounding culture. The strength of this book for the average reader is found in the exploration of many important topics in a clear/succinct manner. Simply, Mohler is a helpful guide for those navigating these difficult issues. Though Mohler provides a solid entry point into cultural issues, he never ceases to be thought provoking. This is the best of both worlds, since books on culture often oversimplify, or they fail to communicate the complexities of culture in a clear and understandable way. If one is looking for a primer on cultural engagement for the Christian life, readers would be well served by ingesting the contents of this book.

A special thanks to WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group, who graciously provided a complementary copy of this book for review.

Culture Shift (The Battle for the Moral Heart of America by R. Albert Mohler JR.

First off I want to say that this is a book that every Christian needs to read. This book talks about the subjects that a lot of us refuse to listen to or just ignore. Here are just a few of the many topics that the Mohler talks about: The truth about terrorism, Christian parents and public schools, The rise of an aggressive "new atheism", and the abortion debate. There are 25 chapters in all and they all are under 10 pages each.

The only problem that I had with the book is the length. Although the author does cover a multitude of topics and gives some vital information it leaves me wanting more. This is not a bad thing. For people who don't really know what threatens us in these times, this is where you need to start. It gives you a good idea of what is going on and hopefully will give you a desire to know more as it did with me.

In closing I would just like to say that this is a very important book to Christians in America. This is the kind of book that the "others" don't want you to read. This is the book that was needed to educate us and give us a better understanding of what is around us. Also this book is not full of big words like some of the others. This book is accessible for the average person.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review".

R. Albert Mohler Jr. wages war against the times in his updated edition, Culture Shift: The Battle for the Moral Heart of America. All 25 chapters are short but packed, each addressing the problem and providing a biblical response. The author touches on such ideas as Christian morality and public law, tolerance, terrorism, science, abortion, natural disasters, Islam, atheism, retirement, and more. Many Christians living in these times will appreciate these essays written with the good of the people in mind. It gives the reader hope to be ready in season and out and to have a defense when faced with such difficult and controversial questions. Written from a mostly conservative perspective but not legalistic, any Christian is sure to benefit from this book.

One of the strengths of this book is that it has short chapters and gets straight to the point on current issues. The author does not go into much detail for lack of space, but does a great job of providing the essentials and still challenges Christians to make a choice on how to act. The writing style is very readable though it dabbles in very intellectual ideas. The author communicates the basics of these ideas so that a lay person will have no trouble understanding.

"How are Christians to remain faithful as we live in this culture? How should we think about so many of the crucial moral questions of our day?"

These are a few questions that Al Mohler tackles in his book Culture Shift: The Battle for the Moral Heart of America. This is a timely book that covers a broad range of topics that are relevant to the culture we live in today. Mohler grapples with issues like the Christians role in law and politics, how we as a culture have softened. He goes after public schools, abortion, nuclear weapons and genetics.

As I said a broad range of topics. He takes the issues and presents how the society as a whole views them then counters with what God's Word says about them.

The chapter dealing with abortion is his best. Mohler shows how abortion in every way is immoral and ungodly. He shows the hypocrisy of the movement because they view pro-life centers as evil because they show moms-to-be an ultrasound in hopes that they see the fetus as a life, and they almost always do. The pro-choice movement thinks this is evil because they feel the pro-life centers are manipulating the women into not having an abortion. Yet they do the same because when these women visit Planned Parenthood they push these women to have an abortion.

Another issue Mohler handles well is the digital deluge the American family is facing. He points out that families are having a difficult time relating to each other because of our addiction to technology. He tells the story of one family who, even on family outings, are constantly using technology. They have forgotten what it is like to exist with each other without their devices and their family is deteriorating. God created us to be relational, meaning we need to have personal contact, conversation and time with other humans and not through technology but in person.

While he does a convincing apologetic on most topics he unfortunately doesn't do that for all. Amazing enough his chapter on the new atheism (chapter 21) is lacking any apologetic from Scripture. He directs us to Abraham Lincoln and the false notion of America as a Christian nation (a notion that I agree with), but not to Scripture.

With that said I learned much on how these cultural issues can and are against the moral principles found in Scripture. Mohler gives us ways to defend our beliefs in a world full of immorality and relativity. I recommend this book to anyone who lives in an immoral culture and not sure how to counter it.