Radical is a new book by David Platt that came out earlier this year. This book struck a nerve and I have personally talked to dozens of people who are using this book with their small group, listening to it on cd, or are giving away copies to their friends. This is a book that American Christians need to read!
I’ve briefly reviewed Radical here, but I wanted to share a few shocking stats from the book. Of course, many of these stats are common knowledge, but if they haven’t shocked us into action, then they need to be shared again and again.
So, without further commentary, here are some of the most shocking stats from Radical: Taking back your faith from the American Dream (emphasis is mine…as if any of these needed emphasis):
Shocking Stats
♦ 6,783,421,727 – current population of the world (at time of writing) [76]
♦ 4,500,000,000 – population of the world that is separated from God (very conservative estimate) [76]
♦ ”Today more than a billion people in the world live and die in desperate poverty. They attempt to survive on less than a dollar per day. Close to two billion others live on less than two dollars per day. That’s nearly half the world struggling today to find food, water, and shelter with the same amount of money I spend on french fries for lunch.” [108]
♦ ”More than twenty-six thousand children today will breathe their last breath due to starvation or a preventable disease.” [108]
♦ ”If you and I have running water, shelter over our heads, clothes to wear, food to eat, and some means of transportation (even if it’s public transportation), then we are in the top 15 percent of the world’s people for wealth.” [114-5]
♦ 41% of the world’s poor live in India. [134]
♦ ”More than five thousand people groups, totaling approximately 1.5 billion people, are currently classified as ‘unreached’ and ‘unengaged’”. [158]
What are your thoughts after scanning through these numbers? What other stats do you want to share that need to shock us into action (please cite your source)? How will these numbers change the way you act TODAY?
I just got done reading Radical and it just wrecked me! I have never had a book do a complete workover of my beliefs ever! I think Radical should be mandatory reading by every seminary student and every christian should read it.
One of the best books that I have ever read in my entire life. I wasn’t sure what I was going to think of it when I bought it, but started watching David’s Radical sermon series and then became interested in the book and then before I read through chapter one I was wrecked.
If a person really looks at the numbers it should shock their system and cause great conviction and make them think about what their lives are like.
Great blog.
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