I have only recently discovered the thoughts of N.T. (Tom) Wright. If you don’t know who he is, Wright is an Anglican bishop who has been very active in the ‘historical Jesus’ debate for some time. After listening to several lectures I found on christianaudio.com, I decided that I should check out some of his… Read More »
Book Review – The Jesus Manifesto
I really wanted to like Jesus Manifesto by Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola. I really did. Unfortunately, like the other works by these two authors I just could not get into the groove of their prose. Leonard Sweet in particular writes in a style that does not resonate with me. I’m not sure what it… Read More »
Book Review – Christians Are Hate-Filled Hypocrites…and Other Lies You've Been Told
I have to admit something up front. I don’t trust statistics. This isn’t a very popular opinion among pastors, but I think statistics are overrated. They can be too easily manipulated – both in collection and in interpretation. So when I started reading Bradley R.E. Wright’s book, Christians Are Hate-Filled Hypocrites…and Other Lies You’ve Been… Read More »
BOOK REVIEW – The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
Robert Heinlein is not the world’s worst character writer, but he’s certainly in the top 25. No matter how unique his characters are (whether Mike Smith in Stranger in a Strange Land or Manuel Davis in The Moon is a Harsh Mistress), they are almost always predictable. This particular book had an interesting premise, but… Read More »
A New Kind of Christianity – The Pluralism Question
Read previous posts in this series: Introduction The Narrative Question The Authority Question The God Question The Jesus Question The Gospel Question The Church Question The Sex Question The Future Question I have rarely read a book where I went back and forth chapter by chapter, but McLaren has made me do just that. I… Read More »
A New Kind of Christian – The Future Question
Read previous posts in this series: Introduction The Narrative Question The Authority Question The God Question The Jesus Question The Gospel Question The Church Question The Sex Question I have to be honest. I did not really know what to do with this chapter of A New Kind of Christianity. I agree with McLaren’s sentiment… Read More »
A New Kind of Christianity – The Sex Question
Read previous posts in this series: Introduction The Narrative Question The Authority Question The God Question The Jesus Question The Gospel Question The Church Question For some reason, every time I write about the issue of sexuality, I get myself into trouble. I’m not sure how I do it, but I do. McLaren seems to… Read More »
BOOK REVIEW – Radical
Some of you may remember my review of Primal by Mark Batterson a few months ago. I was not particularly impressed. It felt contrived and ambiguous while attempting to be motivational and revolutionary. I expected Radical by David Platt to be in the same vein – attempting to be revolutionary. I was genuinely surprised by how… Read More »
A New Kind of Christianity – The Church Question
Read previous posts in this series: Introduction The Narrative Question The Authority Question The God Question The Jesus Question The Gospel Question Up to this point in A New Kind of Christianity, McLaren has tackled what we might consider abstract questions. He has questioned the underlying belief structure of what he considers to be a… Read More »
A New Kind of Christianity – The Gospel Question
What is the gospel? This is a question that McLaren has been asking for as long as I have been reading his works. I will agree with McLaren that the gospel is not the bullet-pointed, systematic plan to get out of Hell that most evangelicals reduce it to. To McLaren, we need to figure out… Read More »
