A New Kind of Christianity: Ten Questions That Are Transforming the Faith
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About this ebook
“Some books provide us with information about the world, but every once in a while a book appears that enables us to imagine new, more wonderful worlds. [A New Kind of Christianity] is one of these.” —Peter Rollins, Ikon
A New Kind of Christianity is Brian D. McLaren’s much anticipated follow-up to his breakthrough work of the emergent-church movement, A New Kind of Christian. Named by Time magazine as one of America’s top 25 evangelicals, McLaren, along with such contemporaries as N.T. Wright, Jim Wallis, and Rob Bell, is one of the acknowledged leaders of a new generation of Christians who want to update their faith for current times while remaining true to the core message of Jesus. In this controversial and thought-provoking book, McLaren explores the questions that will determine the shape of Christianity for the next 500 years.
Brian D. McLaren
Brian D. McLaren (MA, University of Maryland) is an author, speaker, activist and public theologian. After teaching college English, Brian pastored Cedar Ridge Community Church in the Baltimore-Washington, DC area. Brain has been active in networking and mentoring church planters and pastors for over 20 years. He is a popular conference speaker and a frequent guest lecturer for denominational and ecumenical leadership gatherings in the US and internationally.
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Reviews for A New Kind of Christianity
60 ratings5 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I've previously read a couple of different books by McLaren, including "A Generous Orthodoxy," which I found both helpful and, at times, a little forced in its methodology. However, this new contribution is a much needed voice in the Christian community. On a couple of rare occasions McLaren will over-simplify to allow a concept to fit a mold, but on a whole this book begins discussions which simply must happen in 21st century Christianity. I highly recommend this work, both as an individual read and a group discussion starter. I will grant it a rare 5 stars.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5McLaren tracks Biblical themes to contemporary life, and works hard to present religion as something that actually "works", if only more people would try it. For example, the "peaceable kingdom" is a powerful and persistent theme in scripture--promised by the God of the Tanak, ushered in by Jesus, and repeatedly evoked by St Paul. [63, 65, 150]. And yet the contemporary "Churches" -- now almost extinct as a result of "Mega" syndication by media entities -- have almost entirely ignored this powerful message. McLaren to his credit, tracks this theme into our lives from its Biblical roots.Another theme which McLaren beautifully lifts up from the Scripture is the importance of an inclusive, diverse and "beloved community". McLaren tracks this theme as a continuing process from the earliest Biblical roots, and manages to pull it through the martyrs of the Reformation to the fractious present. McLaren devotes one section to a study of Book of Job, which all who love the Word will favorite. He notes that the Book is the oldest of the Hebrew Canon and that it is meant to begin, not end, the great dialogue in which we are all engaged. [87-95].Christianity has been stained and discredited by so-called conservative Christians. [6-7] However, McLaren spends little time on the Ralph Reed political fund-raising and the Roger Ailes Luntz-Rovian focus-groups who were paid by Neo-feudalist billionaires to convert "Christians" into haters. McLaren does not go negative. He steps directly forward with the truth of the gospel teaching -- with our sacred lives expressed in wonderful processes of lived theology, and an evolving understanding of the divine.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I liked the ideas in this book, but I felt the ideas were a bit over explained at times. The writing could have been stronger, and a little less dense. But this is a good read for those truly interested in thoughtful conversation about faith.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5"A New Kind of Christianity" seems to be a bit different than McLaren's previous works. Aside from a few ethical issues he touches upon (i.e. sexuality, pluralism), this work seems to be primarily about a new hermeneutic rather than emergent theology. I was struck by McLaren's insightful analysis of Romans, along with a cursory review of Genesis, Exodus, and Jonah. It quickly became obvious that McLaren seems to interpret Scripture from a metaphorical perspective rather than a literal interpretation commonly held by many evangelicals today. I believe this is a good thing since literal interpretations of Scripture have led to many evils wrought upon world history (slavery, Crusades, witch hunts, Manifest Destiny, racism, etc.) and not to mention the damage it does to the context for which the Bible was written (i.e. 1st century Judaism). Instead, McLaren encourages his readers to begin reading the Bible through the lens of a continuous story narrative rather than from a deterministic, Greco-Roman, constitutional style. Thus, allowing the Bible to essentially read us rather than us trying to read it with our own biased views. In most part I agree with his principles, however, I believe McLaren took license with some of his interpretations (i.e. associating the eunuch of Acts as a homosexual). I don't think this is McLaren's best work, but it's certainly not his worst. He put a lot of thought and effort into this work, most of which had an impact on the way I now view the Bible along with its meaning and application to my life. I didn't agree with everything (I never do with any book), but in typical McLaren fashion, there was a lot of fresh new insight into how we should live amongst other believers, what the kingdom of God should look like, and how we should incarnate that kingdom on earth... now.
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- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Excellent read but will take some time to digest.
1 person found this helpful