The Truth about Us: The Very Good News about How Very Bad We Are

by Brant Hansen

Publisher:

Baker

, 2020

Overview

What would happen if you admitted you weren’t a good person?

It’s a seemingly crazy question. From priests to prisoners, nearly everyone thinks they’re morally better than average. Why change our minds? Why admit the truth about ourselves?

In his conversational, fun-to-read, and delightfully self-effacing style, Brant Hansen shows us why we should fight our drive to be self-righteous: it’s breathtakingly freeing. What’s more, just admitting that we’re profoundly biased toward ourselves and want desperately to preserve our “rightness” at all costs even helps us think better, make better decisions, be better listeners, and improve our relationships with God and others.

Hansen draws from biblical insight and the work of everyone from esteemed social psychologists to comedians to make his point: the sooner we get over ourselves, give up the “I’m good” internal dialogue, and admit the truth, the sooner we can live a more lighthearted, fruitful, fun-loving life.

This book is about the freedom of childlike humility. After all, as Hansen writes, the humble life is truly your best one.

From the Back Cover

”I’m not a good person."

Seriously, who says that?

Practically everyone, from priests to prisoners, thinks of themselves as morally better than average. So why change our minds? What good could possibly come from admitting that most of us are far more self-righteous than righteous?

In this book, Brant Hansen makes an entertaining and insightful case that we can find great freedom in admitting we’re not so wonderful after all. It can help us improve relationships, be better thinkers and listeners, and even make us more fun to be around.

In his conversational, fun-to-read, and delightfully self-effacing style, Hansen draws from biblical insight and the work of everyone from esteemed social psychologists to comedians to show that the sooner we get over ourselves and admit the truth, the sooner we’re free to live a more lighthearted, fruitful, fun-loving life.

Because the humble life is truly your best one.


“Most of the time, the truth is hard for us to hear. But when it comes with the good-natured humor and crazy-life antics of Brant Hansen, it is God’s gift to our souls."--Kyle Idleman, senior pastor of Southeast Christian Church and author of Not a Fan and Don’t Give Up

"Brant has the rare ability to evoke simultaneous bouts of laughter and moans of conviction. Fresh, provocative, and highly entertaining."--Mike Donehey, lead singer of Tenth Avenue North and author of Finding God’s Life for My Will


Brant Hansen is a nationally syndicated radio host of The Brant Hansen Show and an advocate for healing children with correctible disabilities through CURE International. He’s also a host of the popular podcast The Brant and Sherri Oddcast and the author of Unoffendable and Blessed Are the Misfits.

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Contents

Top Highlights

“the impression I get from Jesus is that the battle against our own self-righteousness is our biggest battle of all.” (Page 12)

“Biblically, the word righteous means approved by God. It’s something God judges as good or right. To be self-righteous, then, simply means we’ve met that standard in our own eyes. As we’ll see, this is very, very important to us and, I believe, animates so much of what we actually do in life.” (Pages 13–14)

“We’re so beset with inherent biases, we need other people desperately. We simply can’t trust what we see, because we lie to ourselves so often and so easily.” (Page 27)

“Scientists call this attitude polarization. Simply put, if we openly, publicly commit to a position, we will entrench ourselves more deeply in that position, even in the face of mounting evidence against us.” (Page 29)

“I’ve learned that Jesus is both terribly dangerous and terribly safe. For the proud, he is the biggest threat imaginable. And for the humble, he is the securest refuge.” (Page 16)

Product Details

• Title : The Truth about Us: The Very Good News about How Very Bad We Are
• Author: Hansen, Brant
• Publisher: Baker
• Publication Date: 2020
• ISBN: 9781493421473

About Brant Hansen

Brant Hansen is an author, nationally syndicated radio host, and advocate for healing children with correctible disabilities through CURE International. His podcast with his friend and radio producer, The Brant and Sherri Oddcast, has been downloaded millions of times. The author of Unoffendable and Blessed Are the Misfits, Hansen has written for CNN.com, the Washington Post, U.S. News and World Report, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Relevant, and numerous other outlets on matters as varied as public policy, culture, sports, Asperger's syndrome, and faith. He and his wife, Carolyn, live in South Florida.