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Unconditional?

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Should we always forgive? Is forgiveness always even possible? Does forgiveness enable evil? Does it sacrifice justice? Are there ANY limits? In a world where the ugliness of rage and retaliation are driving the story line, Unconditional? offers the beauty, reconciliation, and total restoration of forgiveness the way Jesus taught us to live it. More than just another biblical exposition, this audio book begins with the horror of the Holocaust as it explores what forgiveness means—and how far it should go—in the real world of murder, rape, child abuse, genocide, and other atrocities. With unusual honesty, compassion, and depth, Zahnd incorporates some of the most compelling and difficult thoughts on the subject from history’s writers, philosophers, and theologians—always returning to the example Jesus gave us with his life and his death.

Paperback

First published December 7, 2010

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About the author

Brian Zahnd

47Ìýbooks373Ìýfollowers
Brian Zahnd is the founder and lead pastor of Word of Life Church in St. Joseph, Missouri. As the lead pastor, he is the primary preacher during our weekend services, and he oversees the direction of the church. Pastor Brian is a passionate reader of theology and philosophy, an avid hiker and mountain climber, and authority on all things Bob Dylan.

He and his wife, Peri, have three adult sons and five grandchildren. He is the author of several books, including Unconditional?, Beauty Will Save the World, A Farewell To Mars, and Water To Wine.

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5 stars
237 (48%)
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157 (32%)
3 stars
71 (14%)
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18 (3%)
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7 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews
326 reviews48 followers
January 5, 2011
Should we always forgive?

Is forgiveness always even possible?

Does forgiveness enable evil?

Does it sacrifice justice?

Are there ANY limits?

This has been one of the most extensive books on unconditional forgiveness I have ever read. I wondered when I started the book how anyone could write this much on forgiveness. Brian brings in different levels of forgiveness that can only be accomplished by God through His Son, Jesus, and what He accomplished on the cross. He brings to light the depth of the cross and God’s love and forgiveness.

Unconditional forgiveness even comes into play through the most horrific atrocities of man against man–the Holocaust victims, rape, murder, child abuse, infanticide, elder abuse, etc. Yet he continually brings us back to reconciliation and restoration of forgiveness through the cross.

He elaborates on many personal stories, making us wonder how or if we can forgive. Sometimes forgiveness is a daily battle, but it’s not about feelings. It’s a choice that we all must make. In fact, Jesus tells us to ‘love our enemies and pray for those who spitefully use us.� Is it easy? No. That’s where the power of the cross comes in.

Some of the highlights include:

* If Christianity isn’t about forgiveness, it’s about nothing at all.
* Jesus’s message of love and forgiveness is not rooted in a naive optimism but in the grace that takes the blame, covers the shame, and removes the stain and the endless cycle of revenge.
* Christ’s followers are called to radical, unreasonable, reckless, endless, and seemingly impossible forgiveness.
* Not only does forgiveness open new possibilities for the future, but forgiveness also gives us a new perspective on the past. In some mysterious (Godly) way that we may not be able to fully comprehend, forgiveness seems to have the capacity to redeem the past. (my emphasis)
* Forgiveness…gives the possibility of a future unchained from the past and free of bitterness.
* Allowing forgiveness to purge the unforgiveness in our hearts is what enables us to move beyond injustice and not be chained to it for life.
* Forgiveness frames your future–without it, there really is no future.
* The way of forgiveness does not forget the past, but through truth and reconciliation, it finds a way beyond toxic memory. It is the way of restorative justice.
* Radical forgiveness is what it means to take up your cross and follow Jesus.

Unconditional? The Call of Jesus to Radical Forgiveness deliberately meddles in your life in a good way, to help you grow up in Christ. No one is excluded. But Jesus gives us the power to forgive if we allow Him to. Yes, we may stumble along the way, but He is there to help you walk it out.

I highly recommend that you pick this book up and read it through several times. It will change your life if you follow through on it with the Lord. It doesn’t always happen in a day, but starting will bring you life.

Special thanks to Anna Silva | Publicity Coordinator, Book Group | Strang Communications for sending me a review copy.
Profile Image for Jenn Raley.
139 reviews
April 29, 2011
I hadn't even heard of this book until I discovered it in the Kindle store, and decided to give it a chance because the title was compelling and, well, they were offering it for free.

I am VERY glad I did.

This book is an excellent exploration on the topic of forgiveness. It starts out with the basics, and with the usual - though still moving - examples of forgiveness, such as Corrie Ten Boom, Nelson Mandela, and the Amish school shooting.

The best chapters are in the middle of the book. The chapter on justice is an excellent comparison between God's justice and human society's version of justice. The chapter after that explores the "us vs. them" tendencies in our human culture, and contrasts what Jesus had to say about the subject.

After that, the book loses its focus a bit. Not that the topics covered at the end aren't relevant to forgiveness, but the editing isn't as tight, and Zahnd doesn't make the connections to the main topic quite as clearly.

I highly recommend this to anyone who is a Christian who is honestly seeking to live out a more authentic faith, and also to anyone who is interested in knowing more about the true core of Christian belief.
Profile Image for Henry Haney.
164 reviews4 followers
February 3, 2023
A deep dive into the power of forgiveness and it’s role in the Christian life.
Profile Image for Lisa Gray.
AuthorÌý0 books14 followers
March 26, 2011
A surprise good read. Free on the Kindle store, so I thought I'd give it a try. A good book about forgiveness, whether forgiveness is always possible, and how we should feel about our enemies. I do think that he has simplified the gospel maybe a little too much -- yes, it's all about forgiveness, but it's about some other stuff too......still, you'll like it if you just take it for what it is and don't analyze too much.
Profile Image for Jeremy Randall.
372 reviews21 followers
September 24, 2019
i had heard about the man. but never read a book. so randomly bought one online.
i wish i had underlined or highlighted. because it was full of such deep insights that made me want to lie down in grass and think for a long time.
read slow and in discussion with others
Profile Image for William Robison.
131 reviews10 followers
March 9, 2025
One reviewer said that Zahnd was hypnotically repetitive in this book, and that the book is full of "buzz words". I don't really disagree with that review, though I think that it is a mite ungenerous. This book takes as its "central text" the Sermon on the Mount, and the antitheses... all in all these are contained in a very small section of the Bible, but provide light and context to the rest of the Scripture. So, part of this repetitiveness is, I think, highly necessary to the work of being a Christian.

During this Lent, I have felt the weight of unforgiveness very deeply, especially in my work as a teacher. I find myself holding unconscuous resentments against students who act or speak disrespectfully against me, and it isn't until I fully process those emotions that I can begin to reconcile myself to the student. Zahnd is correct in saying that evil needs two acts to be fully completed, an original evil act, and an act of revenge.

This book is also frustratingly relevant to the world we live in today, 14 years after this book was originally published. We still see so many nominal "Christians" defined by what they are not, or what they stand against instead of being positively defined by showing the love and forgiveness of Christ. Zahnd holds no prisoners when he writes that such Christians are engaged in a massive effort to so clearly miss the point of Jesus's life, death, and the doctrine of radical forgiveness.

It was also interesting to listen to this book on audio while I started reading the Iliad, which is all about retributive and vengeful justice - about "might makes right" and all of the pain, anger, and hurt that goes along with them. It will be interesting how that story appears different after having not read it since high school, and after having read this wonderful book.

I would, as always, recommend this book to any committed Christian interested in following Christ more deeply and lovingly. (Really, any Brian Zahnd book is a home-run hit, as far as I'm concerned).
Profile Image for Elizabeth.
937 reviews17 followers
September 2, 2017
One of the best books I’ve ever read.
This book really had two parts, the first is inspiring stories of forgiveness that we’ve heard before-Corrie ten Boom and the Holocaust guard, Amish school shooting, South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Council (wow how amazing would it be for the USA to have one of those)-and expresses the thought that the center of Christ’s teaching and life is one of forgiveness. The second part is more of a prophetic (and I don’t often use that word) call to Christians of today to truly follow Jesus and his words more than our more recent history of protest.
It is all so beautifully put. Zahnd is so well read and appreciates nature and art and beauty. He is one of my favorite writers and this is the first book of his I’ve read! He isn’t prolific with blog posts (how I originally found him) but what he writes is amazing. Bringing us back to see Jesus and salvation and how we should live with love and compassion for the Kingdom today. Even though he is a preacher, he is never preachy because he was walked the same road of expanding his heart to the hard road of forgiveness. One ‘new� thing I had never thought of was how the Golden Rule is directly followed by the Narrow Road in the Sermon on the Mount, and we have often separated them but they go hand in hand.
Like CS Lewis I feel a lot of what I was reading is also on the tip of my tongue but he knows how to gather the thoughts up and express them.
This book could easily be read again and again. And I look forward to reading all the books he has written.
This book should be read by every Christian. A lot of the terminology is helpful if you have a working knowledge of Bible stories and Christian culture, however, I think skeptics could get a lot out of it as well, especially skeptics who hate culture wars and are interested in seeing what the world could be like if we lived by the idea of forgiveness.
Profile Image for C.S. Areson.
AuthorÌý19 books4 followers
October 4, 2024
I agree, that Christians are to be practitioners of radical forgiveness. I wanted to love this book. I believe and teach its message but I struggled with the author's setting of Jesus against the law and Moses. Yes, at a later part in the book he doesn't say Jesus didn't come to do away with the Law but fulfill it, but he never explains. He loves talking about the wrongness of an "eye for an eye" mentality but doesn't explain that this Law was NEVER intended as a way of personal regress but of how Israel's legal procedures were to be fair and equal. Yes, people take it as personal but on reading this text you would think that the God of the Old Testament allowed revenge as long as it was equal. There are a few other areas he does the same thing and this is ashamed. The book teaches truth. Christians are to be practitioners of radical forgiveness.
Profile Image for Mar.
2,052 reviews
April 21, 2018
Zahnd is a Christian minister who covers the topic of forgiveness. There is nothing really new on the topic in this book. Each chapter opens with some famous person who forgave an egregious wrong--such as Corrie Ten Boom, Nelson Mandela, and Desmond Tutu--followed by his exegesis of Scripture(mostly of Jesus' teachings on forgiveness and His flipping of cultural norms). Initially, I was intrigued, but by the end I felt like he was saying "suck it up and get over it" which became tiresome for me.

20 reviews
February 13, 2017
I don't agree with everything in this book, and honestly I don't think it is his best book (certainly not my favorite), but I do think it's the most important book that he's written. The ideas in that book were my gateway drug to a different way of being Christian.
1 review
April 5, 2020
This book will change your life! But it’s not for rightwing conservatives unless the are open to what Jesus taught. Understanding love from God’s perspective is a challenge. Living with that perspective is nearly impossible.
Profile Image for Ben Edwards.
70 reviews
June 16, 2022
While not every piece of this book resonates with me, the overall message of unconditional forgiveness and love for enemy is a compelling and challenging narrative for a church that does not resemble this in action or deed.
Profile Image for Whitney Durrwachter.
173 reviews1 follower
June 19, 2018
The first part of the book was a little redundant or else I would've given it a 5-star rating. The last few hours (I listened to it as an audiobook through Hoopla ) were excellent.
Profile Image for Connie.
239 reviews2 followers
June 21, 2021
This book gives very good reasons why forgiveness is so important. I plan to use it in a Bible Study on forgiveness as an extra source.
Profile Image for Alexis.
265 reviews5 followers
November 19, 2022
Really a phenomenal read

I’m not certain this title is available but given how moving this book was, I would surmise all of the author’s books on forgiveness would be moving.
Profile Image for Logan Streondj.
AuthorÌý2 books14 followers
April 26, 2021
Excellent in depth look at the core of Jesus's teaching: forgiveness. With many example from the Bible, and Christians in trying circumstances.
It's definitely worth archiving, I often go back to it to reference for quotes.
207 reviews12 followers
June 3, 2011
Again, another ok read. It did make me think a lot about the concept of forgiveness but nothing epic. I guess just thinking about the topic in-depth helped bring to light some ongoing problems I have in my life. The last Christian book I read was really life-changing and epic and this one didn't really bring anything new to light. It put a lot of emphasis on the Sermon on the Mount, enough to make me re-read the scripture but it really just seemed to barely expand upon the actual scripture. It didn't really bring up any new issues nor do a good job of modernizing a lot of the older situations. While most scripture is timeless, I still find it helpful for a lot of those older ideas to be put in a more modern context. Also, Zahnd starts his rant about forgiveness with the Holocaust. That and Jesus are some pretty epic proportions normal people can't really hope to attain. I like reading these books to find ways I can improve upon my life, things I can do to help improve myself and the lives of others around me. I had a hard time finding that kind of guidance in this book. I guess overall it was just an okay read and there are probably better texts on the subject that would have been more helpful for what I was looking for. Maybe if read in a group setting, it would have had more impact or been able to spark more discussion.
Profile Image for Sue.
AuthorÌý1 book39 followers
June 27, 2011
I read this on my Kindle; it was available free on special offer a few weeks ago, although the Kindle price is now higher than the paperback.

The theme is that as Christians we need to forgive. Nothing new - and, indeed, I found the book a bit slow-going at first. It starts with a prologue and then a prelude pointing out how some evangelicals and pentecostals are far from forgiving. Early chapters cite Scripture references about forgiveness, pointing out how crucial it is to the Christian faith, but this was not new to me.

However, it becomes quite thought-provoking later on, pointing out in particular that God's idea of justice is about reconciliation, not vengeance or even 'fairness' in the sense we tend to think of it.

I don't think I'd have paid the full price for it, but overall I thought it a good read. I would recommend it particularly to anyone who thinks that God is judgemental in the negative sense, or that the purpose of Christianity is to stand against 'sinners'.
Profile Image for Jennifer.
676 reviews103 followers
May 5, 2011
First of all, I must say that I agree completely with the author that forgiveness is one of the most beautiful things one can encounter in this life, and it is only because of forgiveness that we can have hope for the future. I am very glad that Brian Zahnd decided to write a book about such a great topic.

However, I had to stop this book due to its almost hypnotic repetitiousness. At first I could overlook it, but it seemed to get worse as I got further into the book. He uses the same exact phrases and buzz words over and over and over and over (can you tell that it was getting irritating to me?). Also, it feels like the author didn't do a lot of original thinking, just repackaged the work of others.

I think if this book had been severely edited it probably could have held my attention better.
Profile Image for Patty.
130 reviews
September 8, 2011
To be honest, I thought reading a whole book on forgiveness would be boring. However, this author not only has a great skill in writing, but he balances out scriptural teaching with loads of examples. The book begins by asking a serious question as to whether forgiveness is always possible. Using a true stories of Simon Wiesenthal (concentration camp survivor), Corrie Ten Boom, Nelson Mandella, the Amish of Nichol Mines, and many others, Zahnd shows how "radical love" really can't exit without "radical forgiveness." I would have probably given this a 5 out of 5 but for about 3 chapters near the end of the book that seem to get off track a bit. However, the last chapter gets back to point and sums everything up nicely. I would definitely recommend this book for anyone struggling with unforgiveness. Good book.
Profile Image for Greg D.
831 reviews21 followers
September 23, 2015
If I could sum up the theme of this book in just two words it would be "radical forgiveness". That's the nature of a Christian who is truly living in the way of Jesus. The Christian life is not about revenge, protest, and power. Instead, it is about the counter-cultural discipline of forgiving those who have wronged us. And, simply loving and blessing those who may be against us.

With wonderful snippets from real life events coupled with passages from Scripture, Zahnd weaves together brilliant stories about radical forgiveness. Stories from a young woman at a Nazi concentration camp, a young man in a Communist-era labor camp, and many more real life examples of what true forgiveness looks like.

This is my second Zahnd book and as usual he does not disappoint. As with "Beauty That Saves the World" I highly recommend this book too.
Profile Image for Lisa.
866 reviews
January 24, 2015
This is the kind of book that I SHOULD NOT LISTEN TO but read with a highlighter in hand. The author also has an interesting blog. He shows what Christianity truly is...it's all about forgiveness.

With so much murder,hatred, eveil going on in the world (okay, I am thinking of the world view of a certain religious terrorists now), I wish people could realize that Christ living in us is NOT THAT. It about forgiveness and love because Christ is risen and lives in the believer.

Sigh. It's a very sad world. People say "don't watch the news." Well, that is somewhat of a "head in the sand" approach.

I need to read it again. I like how he refers so much to modern history and people who have forgiven.
Profile Image for Laurie.
186 reviews
August 18, 2012


The message of this book is 5 star for sure. I gave it 4 because the author often got a bit repetitive to prove his point. That being said, it's one of the few books of this type that held my attention to the end. I found it very thought provoking, and often found myself wondering what the world would be like if everyone was willing to forgive like Jesus did just 10% of the time. It's something great to aspire to. I highly recommend this book for both Christians and non-Christians alike. The concept of forgiving and moving forward is a good one and really could change the world if all of us thought to practice it just once every day.
Profile Image for Erica.
213 reviews
February 8, 2013
This was a wonderful thought provoking book. I most enjoyed the historical examples of radical forgiveness. I found the beginning of the book easier to read then that latter portion. I believe this is due to the heaviness of topic and the smart language. At times I got lost or felt the book jumped around. This was a great supplement to my current Beth Moore Daniel bible study as it mentions our modern day Babylon. I even was able to read some of the text when it was my turn to lead bible study. The book also encouraged me to reconcile with people in my own life.
71 reviews
September 9, 2011
This book has a lot of really profound and excellent stuff in it. Unfortunately, it is mired in painful and mind numbing repetition. In some places there would be pages of the same thing over and over. It got to be maddening and I would find myself skimming through pages to get past the repeating phrases. I would like to give it a higher rating because of the quality of ideas but can't because of the presentation.
11 reviews
July 22, 2013
This book changed me forever. I cannot say enough positive things about it. If you have ever been hurt by someone's actions and/or words then please read this book. A very wise man recommended it so I read it. What God showed me through this book and what He called me to do when I finished the book were completely unexpected and I'm so glad I was obedient! The experience was transformation. READ IT!
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