Pagan Christianity: Exploring the Roots of Our Church Practices (Revised and Expanded) is a book co-authored by Frank Viola and George Barna that has recently been released. This book looks interesting. I'm thinking of ordering it. Has anyone read it? Any thoughts on it if you have read it?
There is a very interesting interview with the authors here. There are a lot of great quotes in the interview, and this is one reason I think the book ought to be a good read. I have heard of both authors, but I don't know much about either one of them. Barna is perhaps the most well-known of the two, due to all the church stats he collects via The Barna Group.
Some quotes from the interview:
Bill (the interviewer): In the chapter on church buildings, Martin Luther is cited as an example of a Reformer who taught "that the church was not a building or an institution. Yet it would have been impossible for him to overturn more than a millennium of confusion on the subject." What makes you think we're in a better position today, five hundred years later, to take on such an institutional mindset?
George: The fundamental question is not whether we’re in a “better position today” to address this matter, but whether it is still a matter that needs to be addressed. Obviously, it is!
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Frank: Our book doesn't offer solutions nor does it give any specific prescriptions. Other upcoming books will do that. We want people to first absorb the startling message of Pagan Christianity, which is quite simple: That which we've believed to be Biblical for so long is in fact unbiblical.
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George: There are many house church or simple church groups that are very much spirit-led, loving communities of faith – and which will always remain below the radar of the media because they are not institutional or market-driven.
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George: I am also impressed by some of the intentional communities I have encountered in recent years, in which people have abandoned their comfortable suburban lifestyle to move to areas, in the company of other like-minded believers, to be the Church in a location lacking the physical presence of Christ. The biggest challenge, of course, is to resist the temptation to become a new institution, but rather to remain structurally simple and sensitive to the leadership of the Holy Spirit.
I have the book and am looking forward to reading it...the next one on my list...I moved it to the top of my list when the book came in at the store. I have heard some real good things...was quite controversial when it first came out..... Can't wait to see what it is all about. I will certainly give my thoughts as you know and am always glad to hear yours.
ReplyDeleteIn Him,
Sounds like a great book to me. I know people who have read the earlier addition and thought it was good. Looks like I'll have to get a copy.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing that interview, Joel. It was fascinating as were some of the comments that were made.
In Christ alone, I'll be interested in knowing what you think of it after you've read it.
Aida
Of course, I meant "edition" instead of "addition." Sorry about that.
ReplyDeleteAida
I read the earlier edition of the book, the one Viola wrote by himself. It's pretty eye-opening. A lot of what we accept as part of "normal" Christianity was really adopted by earlier generations who were trying to incorporate parts of their culture into the church. (I'm glad we don't do that any more! ;))
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that Barna is warning about the dangers of house/simple church becoming the "next big trend" in Christianity. I've been in home fellowships for a while, and it seems like there's a move on to make that into an institution, just like the traditional, organized church is now. That would be a shame...
I think I'm going to go ahead and order it, just because it looks like it's packed full of a lot of good information about where so many of the practices, rituals, traditions, etc, came from, that many people in the church now think is biblical! Some of the stuff we do in the church isn't necessarily 'bad' in and of itself, but we've traded the life of Christ for these things, which is very sad.
ReplyDeleteICA... I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts when you read it, and the same with you Aida, if and when you read it. I'll share mine when I read it.
Richard... Your comment really hits the jackpot when it comes to those who have left the traditions and trends of the institutional church and have sought in their hearts to truly be the church that we are. It's wonderful that many have understood that the people are the church, but the temptation is that whatever new way we've found to "do" church will be turned into an institution itself.
I'm thankful for this online community of friends who are simply seeking to live each day as the church that we are, looking to Jesus and seeing what He is doing, leaving our own agendas behind and not seeking to build some establishment.
The interview really was interesting and you guys got me excited about reading it so I called some of the bookstores in town to see if any of them had it in stock. Barnes & Nobles had only 1 copy so I asked them to hold it for me. Charlie had to go out tonight so he's picking it up.
ReplyDeleteI'm only reading 1 book right now which is a rarity for me. I've sometimes had 4 or 5 going at one time. Anyway, that means I'll be able to start it tomorrow. I wanted to read it about the same time as you guys so we can discuss it if we'd like.
Aida