This is what is written on the amazon write up about this book:
'What would Christianity look like if we weren't afraid to ask questions'
"Wherever the willingness to
rethink has been squelched, wherever that sense of quest has been buried
under convention and complacency, the Christian faith in all its forms
is in trouble. But even there, something is trying to be born. Even now,
right here, among us, inside you, inside me. You may feel it as a
curiosity, a desire for better answers than you inherited so far. You
may experience it as frustration, knowing that there must be more to
faith than you currently know. You may know it as hope, hope that God is
seeking humble people whose hearts and lives can be the womb of a
better future.... In you, your family, your faith community, and circles
of friends, among people of peace and faith everywhere, something is
trying to be born."
We are in the midst of a paradigm shift in the church. Not since the Reformation five centuries ago have so many Christians come together to ask whether the church is in sync with their deepest beliefs and commitments. These believers range from evangelicals to mainline Protestants to Catholics, and the person who best represents them is author and pastor Brian McLaren.
In this much anticipated book, McLaren examines 10 questions facing today's church - questions about how to articulate the faith itself, the nature of its authority, who God is, whether we have to understand Jesus through only an ancient Greco-Roman lens, what exactly the good news is that the gospel proclaims, how we understand the church and all its varieties, why we are so preoccupied with sex, how we should think of the future and people from other faiths, and the most intimidating question of all: what do we do next? Here you will find a provocative and enticing introduction to the Christian faith of tomorrow.
We are in the midst of a paradigm shift in the church. Not since the Reformation five centuries ago have so many Christians come together to ask whether the church is in sync with their deepest beliefs and commitments. These believers range from evangelicals to mainline Protestants to Catholics, and the person who best represents them is author and pastor Brian McLaren.
In this much anticipated book, McLaren examines 10 questions facing today's church - questions about how to articulate the faith itself, the nature of its authority, who God is, whether we have to understand Jesus through only an ancient Greco-Roman lens, what exactly the good news is that the gospel proclaims, how we understand the church and all its varieties, why we are so preoccupied with sex, how we should think of the future and people from other faiths, and the most intimidating question of all: what do we do next? Here you will find a provocative and enticing introduction to the Christian faith of tomorrow.
https://www.amazon.com/New-Kind-Christianity-Questions-Transforming/dp/B004XXVSNI
Here are my thought on this.
I like the title of this book 'a new Type of Christianity'. A honest critique of core beliefs has been lacking in Christianity, since its beginning. To 'question more' concerning what Christianity teaches as truth, has never been encouraged within the institutional church. Maybe this is why the 'spiritual but not religious camp' has been growing in recent years. When trapped in our certainties of belief, we become enslaved in our mental concepts of what reality is. When we believe we have the whole truth, all other perspectives will have to be discarded as false, or something coming from the perceived enemy in another. Perhaps greater truth can be realized when we look more closely, with critical thinking, at what it is, that we have been conditioned to believe.
I am no longer involved with the church and mainstream Christianity. I went through a process, over the years, of deep inquiry into what it is that I truly believe. This happened over a very long period of time, perhaps 7 years. I became more concerned about truth and reason rather then blind faith in what I was conditioned to believe over a 35 year period. I have always had a good relationship with all Christians that I knew. Half my family are Christians. I had a lot of questions that my local church pastor, or Christian apologetics could not answer. I searched long and hard concerning core beliefs in Christianity. I researched the history of Christianity and the church, I studied what other world religions have to say and was pleasantly surprised at what I found. I admire the Jesus character and his teaching. However, I can no longer fit my current view of what God is inside a narrow box of belief anymore. I became obsessed about God and spirituality, all through this process. I have read perhaps over 200 books and listened to hundreds of video's on the subject. I dared to crack open the door of perception and developed an open mind on other ideas. I dropped my certainties on perceived truth and embraced 'not knowing' as my position to most deep subjects. The search for truth did something unexpected ..it brought a tremendous sense of freedom in my spirit. The search for truth set me free. I no longer have fear and guilt brought on by not living up to some unrealistic divine ideal. I accept myself the way I am, a work in progress. I no longer feel any separation at all from an external God who is way out there somewhere. I feel the presence of the divine all around me, most of the time. There is a peace that passes all understanding. Jesus said the Kingdom of heaven is found inside us, not out there somewhere . I have sensed a glimpse of this state of being Jesus talked about. My method of prayer is more meditative/contemplative, with a lot of silence and being still before the great unknown. Life is a journey of many seasons and I love it .
Seems like there is an organic separation happening between Christians who are more rule based, for lack of a better term, and those who are drawn to the mystery of divine union, a return of sorts to the early roots of Christian mysticism. I appreciate your sharing of your own path and your current perspective. It sounds like you have moved from the former to the latter. Some folks, when they break loose from the rule orientation throw out the whole idea of Christianity, but another way is to just go back to the teachings of Jesus, at least as they are come down to us. I'm curious about some of the other gospels that didn't make it into the current Bible. I've read some, like the Gospel of Thomas, but I'd like to read further. With your extensive reading, you have probably read more than I have. Do you find that these shed light on the teachings of Jesus that has been obscured by the Pauline focus of the modern church?
ReplyDeleteElaine Pagels book 'The Gnostic Gospels' is one book, that is well known on this subject, I read it about a year ago and it gives a good understanding of these rejected gospels, by the the early Roman Catholic church. It may be a book that you would enjoy.Gnostic's seemed to focus on the divinity within all life. We all have access to the divine ...perhaps this is the biggest stumbling block for the traditional church, it promotes spirituality without the institutional structure. I got a lot from Adyashanti's book 'Resurrecting Jesus', although this book is not about the Gnostic's, it does focus on Jesus as a pointer to the way, the truth and the life and awareness of the divine in all humans. Jesus like Buddha would not have desired to be worshiped, yet followers naturally needed to set up idols in a recognized form to worship.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the suggestion. I will check out that book.
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