Book Review: The Grace Effect

 

The Grace Effect by Larry Taunton

As Taunton tells the story of adopting his daughter, Sasha, from Ukraine, he gives a commentary on the benefit of the Christian Influence in a country. He calls this influence “The Grace Effect”, and by showing a country without that influence, illustrates how truly crucial it is to a society’s success.

Living in America, a country still largely influenced by Christianity, it’s easy to overlook the effect it has on our society. I thought this was an extremely respectful dialogue between Christianity and Atheism, highlighting points of each that affect society, regardless of whether or not you practice either. The book was presented in such a way that any Christian relates to the doctrines (God’s Grace, etc) and understands how they impact society. 

The story of Sasha is pretty heart-wrenching. She’s a forgotten orphan who has grown up in the corrupt Ukrainian political system (read: conveniently “forgets” about the huge amount of orphans in the country until it’s convenient for them to make money off of one during a desired adoption). 

At times it was kind of hard to see how the running commentary about the influence of Christianity in a society was illustrated by Sasha’s story, but by the end it tied up fairly well. I would definitely recommend this book. It opens your eyes to a world that you probably didn’t know existed, and makes you appreciate the one we know.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”