The church in the West is at a critical moment. While the gospel is exploding throughout the global south, Western civilization faces militant assaults from aggressive secularism and radical Islam. Will the church resist the seductive shaping power of advanced modernity? More than ever, Christians must resist the negative cultural forces of our day with fortitude and winsomeness. What is needed is followers of Christ who are willing to face reality without flinching and respond with a faithfulness that is unwavering. Os Guinness describes these Christians as "impossible people," those who have "hearts that can melt with compassion, but with faces like flint and backbones of steel who are unmanipulable, unbribable, undeterrable and unclubbable, without ever losing the gentleness, the mercy, the grace and the compassion of our Lord." Few accounts of the challenge of today are more realistic, and few calls to Christian courage are more timely, resolute-and hopeful. Guinness argues that we must engage secularism and atheism in new ways, confronting competing ideas with discernment and fresh articulation of the faith. Christians are called to be impossible people, full of courage and mercy in challenging times.
"His comprehensive grasp of history, philosophy, science, culture, and religion will give serious thinkers many hours of reflection. Guinness recommends solutions and he challenges believers to courageous action in defense of Christianity."
John Bernstein, Christian Market, August 2016
"Every time I sit down to read the prophetic words of Os Guinness, I feel my spine strengthen and my mind perk up. His clear writing and earned wisdom bring both courage and uncertainty; for while we can't predict where our culture will head, we can rely on the truth that guides and emboldens every generation to meet the moment for which we've been called."
Gabe Lyons, founder of Q, author of Good Faith
"The prolific Os Guinness, always with his finger on the pulse of our Western societies, considers the current state of our civilization, its fraying at the edges now more deeply tearing toward the center, and how Christians can and must be salt and light in this newly loosed menagerie. . . . Guinness lays out why we must enter this fray with the right tools, and also provides insight on how to use them."
