The wisdom of tenderness (by Brennan Manning)

(Amazon UK link)

I do like Brennan Manning's books. He seems to get criticism from various organisations, but then so does just about every Christian author - it's a sad fact of the divisiveness and judgementalism of many in today's church. Moreover, those who pass such negative judgement are perhaps those who would most benefit from reading and assimilating the messages of Manning's books.

Having said that, I didn't find 'The wisdom of tenderness' as moving or inspiring as either 'The Ragamuffin Gospel' or 'Abba's Child'. But it was still well worth reading, if a little long-winded in places.

The premise of this book is that we need to allow God's 'fierce mercy' to transform our lives. In doing so, the author claims, we will no longer have any desire to sin (or, indeed, to judge). The Brennan Manning suggests that many of us have a false image of God, and that we need to let go of it and allow ourselves to be changed by his indwelling Spirit.

Perhaps if I had read this before his other books, I would have found it more exciting. But what he says in this isn't really any different from what he said in the others, and it's not exactly new anyway.

Still, I enjoyed reading it and would recommend it to anyone struggling with judgementalism, or wanting to understand what Christianity is really about. It's a bit shorter than the other books by this author, so perhaps more accessible.