Thursday, February 9, 2012

Blog Tour: Four Letter Words

Four Letter Words: Conversations on Faith's Beauty and LogicFour Letter Words: Conversations on Faith's Beauty and Logic by Bill Giovannetti

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book was filled with four letter words about faith. I think the idea was a great one but could have been better executed. The author wanted to show how that to many outside Christianity words like "pain", "wait", "true" are offensive. As I read it, there often felt like there was a stretch to make the topics fit into a "four letter word" title.

Also, while a unique idea, I'm not sure the QR code idea was a great one. There were lots of codes you could scan on your smartphone to send you to a website. I tried one, and it felt awkward trying to hold a book and scan a code and then explore the website. I realize that the book is to appeal to a generation younger than I am, but unless they are already reading it on a mobile device, I think a list of recommended websites to visit would have been a better idea.

For those two reasons, I'm not sure this book has "staying power" as a Christian classic, which is rather disappointing to me. This is a book I feel is needed in the church, especially for newer Christians and teenagers. The author gave good reasoning behind each of the topics he chose to present. This would work well as a book for a teen Bible study group, but I'm left thinking in five years time what will happen to this volume when it's sprinkled with QR codes? I'm not sure the technology has the sticking power this book would have if that was eliminated all together.

This is also a great resource book. I admit, it took me a while to read it because it wasn't what I consider a fun read. However, this is a great book to pick up when you are looking for information contained within one chapter, and for this reason I am giving this book four out of five stars. I doubt many people will pick it up to read straight through. It will likely be used as a study guide, or reference book. I think this book has the potential to be a "go-to" book for Christian teens, but I'm afraid the QR codes may limit the length of the effectiveness of this book unless it updated in a few years.

My final recommendation? It's a great book for young people of today who have questions about the basics of faith. For them this book would be a great choice.


About Four Letter Words:

Thou shalt tolerate every opinion... except the Christian's. Today's postmodern "prime directive" leaves many followers of Jesus tongue-tied. In the global village, isn't it unreasonable, and even dangerous, to suggest that the Bible has a monopoly on truth?

The church needs a new breed of Christ-follower. We need Christ-followers who are alert to today's touchy ideas, the truths that fire up more heat than light. We need Christ-followers who can make a clear case for the Bible's worldview; who are ready to help our friends think through their beliefs; who can recognize inconsistencies and challenge them; and who can do all of this with humility, confidence, humor, and love. For more information visit http://fourletterwords.org.
About Bill Giovannetti:

Dr. Bill Giovannetti is a professor at A.W. Tozer Theological Seminary and the senior pastor of Neighborhood Church of Redding. An experienced speaker and author, Bill informs the mind in ways that touch the heart. He enjoys life with his wife and two kids in northern California. For more information about Bill and his other books, visit  http://maxgrace.wordpress.com  and http://fourletterwords.org

Bill is celebrating the new Kindle edition of Four Letter Words (for only $4.99)! He’ll be traveling coast to coast over the next few weeks on this virtual book tour and he's celebrating by hosting a great giveaway!

Click here (http://fourletterwords.org/2012/01/contest-giveaway) to find out how you can win two gift certificates to Amazon (in the amount of $50 and $25) and free downloads of his yet-to-be-released title, Recession-Proof: Living a God-Blessed Life in a Messed Up World.

The whole scoop here: http://fourletterwords.org/2012/01/contest-giveaway

Please check out the entire blog tour here: http://litfusegroup.com/blogtours/text/13453469

FTC disclosure:  I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

Link to buy:


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