A friend is reading the book Truefaced, and his initial thoughts on it make we want to stay rather far away from it. I read the authors’ blog, and it didn’t help much. Be honest. Live in grace. That’s great. I’m totally in favor of it.
I went to the website for this book, and it’s a pain. A major pain. There isn’t a single sentence that sounds like it’s written by an actual person who’s interested in convincing another person that his book will be informative, helpful, and perhaps even wise. Instead, it says things like:
VISION: We restore the Original Good News to marriages, families, leaders, and cultures who are looking for a cure from the deceptive snare of sin-management.
Is it possible to present a more content-less “vision” for a book than that one. I don’t care. I want to know what your book is about.
TrueFaced: Experience Edition Book
Healthy relationships can exist when you feel free to peel away the masks and become who God created you to be. In TrueFaced you’ll discover God’s love and grace in a new way, giving you freedom to live out your identity in Christ and extend that same love and grace to those around you.
There’s… just nothing I can say to that. I think that’s the sleaziest description for a mainstream Christian book I’ve ever encountered. Oh, wait. It’s not a book, it’s an experience. I’m actually a little shocked and horrified by this website, even if the book is decent (and my friend says it probably isn’t), because it’s one thing to say that your idea will cure all our interpersonal ills, and then tell us what your idea is. Or to tell us what kind of book you’re writing, and the basic premise behind it. Or even to craftily hide your premise in clever marketing, while writing a book about marketing. But to write a book about being honest, grace-filled, and truthful, while using every sleazy marketing tactic available (it will change your life! The true meaning of the Gospel has finally been discovered! We wrote an accompanying “experience guide,” retreat manuel, CDs, DVDs… indeed, a sizable brand around this) is… just so transparently bizarre. How is this not transparently bizarre?
Aside: They have a different meaning of grace than I do. That’s to be expected, but still not super great. Grace is a super important word to Christians, and Orthodox mean by it, very specifically, “the uncreated energy of God.” Protestants mean something more like “unmerited favor.” You see the difference.
I’m a young Orthodox woman living and teaching in the Republic of Georgia. I write about places I’ve been, books I’ve read, and thoughts on whatever seems interesting at the time. 
