Review: Brian McLaren’s “A New Kind of Christianity”, Pt. 1

Brian McLaren (part of the emergent “conversation”) has recently published a new book called “A New Kind of Christianity: Ten Questions That Are Transforming the Faith“.

McLaren published the book in 2010 with HarperCollins, and it’s been quite a hit. As of mid-April 2010, it’s currently #484 at Amazon.com for book sales, and #4 in the “Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Christian Living > Faith” category.

Brian describes himself inside the back jacket cover as “an author, speaker, pastor, and networker among innovative Christian leaders, thinkers, and activists.” He also says “here you will find a provocative and enticing introduction to the Christian faith of tomorrow.”

My disagreement starts there. What McLaren presents isn’t an introduction to the ‘Christian faith’ at all. While McLaren may be describing what he thinks faith will look like in the future, he has intentionally mischaracterized much of evangelical Christianity, presenting a straw-man view that modern Christians worship a faulty idea of God that’s derived from the “Greco-Roman” lens. Once McLaren sets up the straw man at the beginning of the book, he proceeds to prop it up and knock it over in each chapter.

Each of the 10 questions gets one chapter of discussion. Yet once McLaren asks the questions, he often dodges direct answers, or using Hegelian dialectic methods, he sets up “thesis/antithesis/synthesis” answers that often employ gross mischaracterizations of evangelicals. He seems to practice rather long-winded exercises in “missing the point.”

This isn’t orthodox Christianity. It’s doubt.

Brian slowly introduces his brand of liberal post-modernistic poison, until by the end of the book the views he expresses are at direct odds with what Christianity believes, all the while calling it “an introduction to the Christian faith of tomorrow.”

I plan over the course of several serialized blog posts to show how Brian’s opinion of the Christianity of the future isn’t a true picture of biblical Christianity, but is instead a picture of wolves running amok in the church.

Just to give you an example of the anger that seems to seethe just below the surface of his book, consider the following:

On page 191 of Chapter 18: “Can We Find a Better Way of Viewing the Future?”, Brian  mischaracterizes conservative Christians, especially those who hold to an eschatology that Jesus is coming back soon with the world being consumed by fire. He seems to reject both ideas as old-fashioned and in the way of the Kingdom work that needs to be done. (Yet both ideas of Jesus’ imminent return and the destruction of the earth are both Biblical: See Revelation 22:20, and 2 Peter 3:12)

Listen to what he says on page 192:

Those of us raised in dispensationalist circles can regale one another with stories about scary “left-behind” sermons, sometimes illustrated through huge and serious wall charts and dramatized in B-rated movies. These sermons often climaxed with warnings about the second coming, when Jesus will return like “a thief in the night” – initiating the “Rapture” when “born-again Christians” will (we were told) be miraculously evacuated to heaven and the rest (includign the children of “saved” parents) will be left behind for a nightmare apocalypse. As a boy of about eight, having come home from school and found the doors locked and nobody home, I once spent nearly an hour sitting on my back porch, deeply dejected and with rising panic, sure that the Rapture had occurred and I was a child left behind. Who knew a third-grader could feel such terror and despair?

To the uninitiated, this all might sound pitiful or laughable, like wild conspiracy theories shared on strange Web sites or middle-of-the-night AM radio. But surprising numbers of mainline Protestants and Roman Catholics have also been thoroughly catechized in this eschatology through televangelist broadcasts and books (and newer B-grade films) in the Left Behind Series, which have broken sales records around the world. If they only focused on speculation about who the antichrist is (I remember hearing it was Khrushchev, then Henry Kissinger, then Saddamm Hussein, and now apparently odds are being placed on Barack Obama!), their eschatological hobby might be harlmess enough – like a crazy uncle obsessed with UFOs. But in recent decades, dispensationalism and it’s eschatological cousins have become significant factors in the foreign policy of the richest, most consumptive, and most well-armed nation in the history of history, and that’s where things get even scarier than a B-grade movie.

Here’s where McLaren really begins to mischaracterize Christians:

If the world is about to end, why care for the environment? Why worry about global climate change or peak oil? Who gives a rip for endangered species or sustainable economics or global poverty if God is planning to incinerate the whole planet soon anyway? If the Bible predicts the rebuilding of the Jewish temple (or requires that rebuilding for it’s prophecies to work in a dispensationalist framework), why care about Muslim claims on the Temple Mount real estate? Why care about justice for non-Jews in Israel at all – after all, isn’t it their own fault for being on land God predicts will be returned in full to the Jews in the last days? If God has predetermined that the world will get worse and worse until it ends in a cosmic megaconflict between the forces of Light (epitomized most often in the United States) and the forces of Darkness (previously centered in communism, but now, that devil having been vanquished, in Islam), why waste energy on peacemaking, diplomacy, or interreligious dialogue? Aren’t those simply endeavors in rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic? And since even Jesus can’t set the world right without taking up the sword and shedding swimming pools of his enemies’ blood (recalling our discussion under the Jesus question), what’s so bad about another war, and maybe even a little torture and genocide now and then? If God sanctions it, why can’t we?

McLaren’s idea of writing a scholarly approach to “Christian Faith of tomorrow” seems to involve mischaracterizing Christians, setting up and knocking down a laughable straw-man argument that we view Scripture through a “Greco-Roman” lens, spewing forth vitriol at fellow Christians – all the while holding forth a smug attitude of false humility and piety.

Reader be warned! This book is not about the coming Christian faith. It’s McLaren’s attack against the faith that’s already been delivered to us.

In the next segment, I will be discussing Question 1, “What is the Overarching Story Lline of the Bible?”

Transcript of John Piper’s Video of Why He Invited Rick Warren to Speak at the 2010 DG conference

Words mean things.

Recently there’s been a big stir in evangelical circles because John Piper has invited Rick Warren (of Purpose Driven Life fame) to come and speak at the 2010 Desiring God conference. Posts have gone up everywhere. For the sake of helping bring some clarity to the situation, I decided to transcribe the video, so you can not only listen to what John Piper has said, but you can read it.

I’ve tried to separate what Rick was quoted as saying from what John says to minimize confusion. When I can tell the difference, Rick’s words will be italicized.

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Here’s the transcript:

So I made a list… Here’s my list.. talking to him on the telephone two hours ago about what he thinks about a whole group of… of things. So I’ll just give these to you quick ‘cause we could talk about this for half an hour easy.

The bible is totally inerrant, and valuable in every way.

Penal substitution is of the essence of the Gospel, and the Steve Chalk approach that says “God’s pouring out his punishment on His own Son to free us as divine child abuse” is just horrific to Rick Warren. It’s absolutely essential that we get substitution right in the Gospel.

God is sovereign and central over all of life. I.. I think Rick Warren meant it when he began the Purpose Driven life with “It’s not about you. Anybody wants to know why he’s on the planet must being with God.” That’s page one of day one on… in the Purpose Driven Life.

“People are lost. They’re going to Hell. I am not a universalist” he said. “I’m an evangelist.” What drives my life is Matthew 24:14: “This gospel must be preached throughout the whole world as a testimony to all the nations and then the end will come.”

Uh, He’s a baptist. That’s relatively insignificant to me, but a little… little icing on the cake, that it’s a Southern Baptist church out there though they don’t wave that banner.

What would you think he would believe about women elders? He’s just totally there as far as the… the office of elder is concerned.

“We don’t have ‘em”, he said. “Can’t find it in the Bible. Women have all the spiritual gifts and they have all the… the gifts of pasturing but as far as the office of pastor, the office of elder goes,” he says, “the bible says it shouldn’t happen. I’m committed to the bible. Therefore we’re not gonna go there.”

Uh, repentance: He’s been criticized for not highlighting repentance in the purpose Driven life and the way he would explain it is to say:

“I totally believe in the… the necessity of… of repentance and I totally am committed to the call for repentance though I may not use the word as often as some would want me to. So, check out the reality if not… if not the language.”

Emergent church: “Brian McLaren’s new book: Off the charts… uh, old fashioned liberalism. It’s as Raushenbush boil… boiled over, warmed over,” he.. he said. “I’m not emergent.”

I could even tell you other things he said he’s not but that… that might offend uh… too many people.

Uhm, memorize Scripture every week. Preaches for an hour. Doesn’t do any drama in worship. Plants a church a year. Uh, rejects the Prosperity Gospel. ZERO FAITH in politics, and he gave me a long and elaborate explanation for why he did the inaugural prayer, and I don’t… I don’t  think it would right for me to share how he made that decision but he hasn’t talked to Barak Obama since that and has no desire to be putting his faith in politics.

He said: “I… I…If… if… if politics were the way to change world I’d be a politician. The only thing that’s gonna change the world is changing peoples’ hearts through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

And on and on, so I… I’m uh… I’m uh… I need … I’m gonna need help to know why I should feel bad about this decision. (Laughs)

Uh, because let me put it out: One… One… one bigger, one bigger, uh  context: If you see a man do things that you wouldn’t do, if you see him express attitudes that you wouldn’t have. Uh, if he has strategies in ministry that you wouldn’t do, what’re you going to do with that? How do you rank up who you’re gonna hang out with and in what ways you’re gonna hang out? And who are you gonna criticize and who you’re not gonna criticize?

And uhm… I’m real eager that this glorious thing God is doing in the young, restless, reformed, whatever uh this this thing is called that God’s doing – awakening people’s love for the supremacy of God in all things – I’m real eager that that not become a… a brittle, narrow, ugly, excessively separatist movement and so I am not devoting my life to finding a lot of enemies to attack. I’ve got some and I like to do it by simply hammering on truth. I… I’m gonna hammer on truth.

In fact I said it to Rick, I said “OK, if you come, how about you and I do a uhh… ohh what do you call it… interview for an hour or so, and we’ll do this kind of thing right here, and I will put…”

He said: “In a heartbeat! No holds barred. Ask me anything you want theologically about anything.”

So I hope we can fit that in and fold that in, we’ll see if that’ll work in the conference.

Separatism or uh, who you do things with is… is an important, Biblical question. And so I… I don’t put Rick Warren in the group that I am gonna hold at arm’s distance.

On… On the Calvinism thing, on Reformed Theology he said, “I got… I got, I need to tweak. I need to tweak some traditional ways of talking about total depravity.” Well, every time I hear any reformed person talk about total depravity they… they tweak it, saying like… things like “Uh, We could do more bad things than we do. So it doesn’t mean total in that way.”

And he said “I’m stumbling over limited atonement because of some texts.”

Well, I got some really close Reformed friends who stumble there. I told David here on the way over, I said “Rick if you’ll give me a half an hour I could persuade you on limited atonement. I know I could.” So I’ll try to get that… that half an hour.

But as far as election, as far as the irresistibility of God’s grace, as far as His keeping power in the substitutionary atonement, the necessity of justification by faith, these central things – We’re there, and I’m not gonna push somebody like that away when they’ve got so much to offer.

Practically, and here I just think he could put me to shame with his aggressively, in-your-life, transformative discipling of his church. Uh, they have a membership covenant that you have to sign, and it is really rigorous and there are no inactive members and he said, “We discipline people in this church. They don’t fulfill their covenant? They’re gonna be disciplined.” And on and on.

So uh, I am not gonna draw the circle there and suppose you disagree with me on that. Now you’re face with the question: “OK, I’m with John Piper theologically. I’m not with Rick Warren on a bunch of things. John Piper has just chosen to hang out with Rick Warren. What do I do with John Piper?” That’s called secondary separation issues. And there you are. I hope… I hope we can disagree about WHO we hang out with. OK? Because a lot of traditional fundamentalists have said “No, if you hang out with somebody that I believe I should separate from, then I’m gonna separate from you.”

And I wanna say: Look. Let’s… Can we disagree about whether he would come to your conference and you still be willing to eat with me, talk with me? So I would encourage you to think through that issue of secondary separation.

The way I have chosen to live my life for the sake of reformed theology and the supremacy of God, and the inerrancy of Bible, and the importance of solid Reformation Gospel truths, the five Solas and so on, is to give all my energy to putting them in a positive, aggressively, uh, spreadable form, NOT to spend my time shooting at the people who don’t like them. And uh, at age 64 looking back over the years I think I have uh, got some work to do with my marriage, and my kids, and my soul, but I do not regret that approach to.. to Reformation advance.

The Big “Dust-Up”: John Piper taps Rick Warren for Desiring God 2010 Conference

So the raging news around the blogosphere for the last 24-48 hours has been the invitation of Rick Warren (of P”urpose Driven Life” fame) to speak at John Piper’s 2010 Desiring God Conference. This debate apparently caused enough consternation in the Piper camp to compel John Piper to release a video on his site where he defends why he asked Rick Warren to come. Here’s the vid:

I’ll see if I can transcribe it soon.

Way of the Master Transcript – Todd Friel and Doug Pagitt

Brian McLaren’s New Book is Stirring Waves

At the SBTS blog “Towers”  there’s an interesting article called:

McLaren’s new book is merely a fresh take on an old lie, SBTS panelists say

“Brian McLaren, author and leading voice of the emergent church movement, has written a new book that seeks to reformulate Christianity, but it is nothing more than a wholesale rejection of historic Christianity, concluded members of a panel discussion Thursday at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.”

Brian McLaren’s success with young evangelicals has been picking up speed recently, and with his new book he seems to have completely shucked off his sheep outfit and is basically professing to be a wolf.

The problem? he still professes to be Christian.

What does Scripture have to say about such things?

Jud 1:14-23  It was also about these men that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones,  (15)  to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”  (16)  These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage.  (17)  But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ,  (18)  that they were saying to you, “In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts.”  (19)  These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit.  (20)  But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,  (21)  keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life.  (22)  And have mercy on some, who are doubting;  (23)  save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh.

So the scriptures teach us that as we come closer and closer to the return of our Lord Jesus Christ, we would see such things. Even though we can expect such people to profess Christianity yet deny the basics of our beliefs as we have known them for 1,900 years, expecting them does not mean that we sit idly by while they drag unsuspecting people off into their own error and sin. Instead, we are told to “save others, snatching them out of the fire.”

The only way I know to do that is a two-fold method: 1) Proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Romans 1:16), and 2) Point out the error of following after someone like Brian McLaren.