We Preach Christ Crucified: The Proclamation of the Cross in a Dark Age

Rating:
Summary: Classic Leach -- Excellent!
Review: I was astonished by the negative reviews of this book, which I have come to think of as "classic" Leech and one of the best things available for Lenten study. This is highly accessible and deeply moving writing on pain, suffering, and the cross. I recommend it highly.

Rating:
Summary: Leech is terrific!
Review: I was astonished by the negative reviews of this book, which I have come to think of as "classic" Leech and one of the best things available for Lenten study. This is highly accessible and deeply moving writing on pain, suffering, and the cross. I recommend it highly.

Rating:
Summary: Classic Leach -- Excellent!
Review: I was astonished by the negative reviews of this book, which I have come to think of as "classic" Leech and one of the best things available for Lenten study. This is highly accessible and deeply moving writing on pain, suffering, and the cross. I recommend it highly.

Rating:
Summary: Leech preaches
Review: In this book by Kenneth Leech we get a somewhat facile equation of Christianity with political progressivism. In Leech's world-view, all sin is social, & we need not fret about individual holiness as long as there is one poor person in the world. Leech expresses disdain for figures like Billy Graham, for no good reason that this reader can see (Graham has mellowed over the years); and we learn further that to be a member of the Conservative Party is, in Leech's view, to be a sinner that is beyond the pale of forgiveness. While we should hesitate to mock Leech's solicitude for the downtrodden (if it be more than merely rhetorical), we lament the theological shallowness of a work that will only be of profit to those readers who share the author's politics.

Rating:
Summary: A thought provoking look at the cross
Review: The underlying theses of seeking to integrate the gospel message with social justice, and to see Christ in those suffering, are so important and intriguing in themselves that it is unfortunate that Kenneth Leech presents points without developing them. The entire book is rather flat and puzzling. For example, he mentions the classic Greek saints who were "fools for Christ", without adding the essential parts of their stories that show their holiness - one wonders if insanity guaranteed the heavenly crown in itself. As both a devout Christian and a political liberal, I had expected to be enriched by this work. That goal was not fulfilled. Trying to figure out what Leech meant was tiresome.