I've no idea when any of you last visited a Christian (?) bookstore but, Terry's response (not necessarily concerning this book) in general is more correct than incorrect.
----- Original Message ----- From: "Terry Clifton" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <TruthTalk@mail.innglory.org> Sent: April 10, 2005 13:52 Subject: Re: [TruthTalk] Fw: McLaren Reviews > Lance Muir wrote: > > >----- Original Message ----- > >From: "Hughes Jonathan" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >To: "Lance Muir" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >Sent: April 10, 2005 13:17 > >Subject: McLaren Reviews > > > > > >In "The Last Word and the Word After That," Brian McLaren completes his > >"New Kind of Christian" trilogy. Since McLaren describes his writing as > >"creative non-fiction" readers of this review should be warned--if you > >don't want to know how his narrative ends, stop reading now. I'd hate to > >spoil the plot for you. . . > > > >"The Last Word" arrived today after lunch. I fully intended to return to > >my sabbatical Church history research, but couldn't resist reading the > >back jacket, then skimming the book, then reading the introduction. The > >next thing I knew, the afternoon was over and so was the book. In other > >words, agree with him or not, McLaren can write! His narrative is > >riveting, compelling, and gripping. > > > >I found myself hunting for tissues when reading about Pastor Dan, his > >wife Carol, and the spiritual abuse that they suffered at the hands of > >their church board. I also found myself hunting for scissors at the > >biased portrayal of those who believe in a literal hell (more on this to > >come). And I found myself opening the window to scream at another > >failure to bring any closure to the discussion (I know, that's his point > >and his style, but still . . .). > > > >If you want permission to think deeply about God, life, judgment, grace, > >and doctrine, then "The Last Word" will be a breath of fresh air. If you > >want to be given the research and resources necessary to intelligently > >ponder the doctrine of hell, then "The Last Word" may leave you wanting. > > > > > >McLaren clarifies that his book is not truly about hell, but about what > >kind of God we believe in and what kind of purposes this God has for His > >creation. Still, for the first half of the book, his characters explore > >the doctrine of final judgment. Through their journey, McLaren provides > >a fair introduction to the more commonly held views about the final > >judgment, as well as introducing his own provocative perspective. > > > >McLaren offers the caveat at the beginning of the book that "The Last > >Word" will purposefully under-represents the "traditional" view of hell > >as literal and eternal. Unfortunately, it not only under-represents it, > >it tends to misrepresent it. Three main characters hold to the > >traditional view. Carol represents the, "I don't want to think too > >deeply about it; I just want to love God" characterization. Gil > >epitomizes the, "I'm a cruel fundamentalist, ignorant Bible-thumper" > >depiction. Chip portrays the, "I'm a recovering fundamentalist; please > >be gentle with me while I find my brain and soul" caricature. The reader > >is left to assume that for the past 2000 years of Church history no > >thinking, loving Christian has ever held the "traditional" view of hell. > > > > > >Other characters, presented with much more color--with mind and soul, > >life and personality--offer a composite view of what the final judgment > >might really be about. In the eyes of these favored characters, "hell" > >is not a literal place of eternal torment, but a motivational warning > >about a coming final judgment in which every human being stands stark > >naked before God to give an account of how well or how poorly she or he > >loved God and others and thus contributed or not to fulfilling God's > >shalom kingdom purpose of reconciliation. > > > >The second half of "The Last Word" offers "The Word After That" which > >reads and feels like a separate book altogether. McLaren somewhat > >abruptly shifts from eschatology (the "doctrine" of the last times, > >especially of the final judgment) to ecclesiology (the "doctrine" of the > >Church). His characters speak of and participate in "deep ecclesiology." > > > > > >One of the greatest gifts in the entire book is found here as McLaren > >shares the "five queries" that his "spiritual formation" group ponders > >together. They are well worth repeating: "How is your soul? How have you > >seen God at work in and through your life since we last met? What are > >you struggling with? What are you grateful for? What God-given dream are > >you nurturing?" As one of his characters would say, "That dog will > >hunt!" > > > >This section also includes two questions worth repeating. They are > >questions that arise when we look at salvation not only as individual, > >but corporate: "If you were to live for another fifty years, what kind > >of person would you like to become--and how will you become that kind of > >person? If Jesus doesn't return for ten thousand years or ten million > >years, what kind of world do we want to create?" As another of his > >characters would say, "That'll preach!" > > > >Overall, for a narrative of the story of life on planet Earth, McLaren's > >story-line sometimes rings a little Pollyanna. Do all, or even most, > >church conflicts end so perfectly for the "good guys"? I understand that > >McLaren's final vision for history moves toward reconciliation, but in > >this life? > > > >By this tidy ending, and by what happens to and is said about "the good > >guys" and "the bad guys," an implication seeps out: "Anyone who > >disagrees with the outcomes of these theological probings is a > >witch-hunting, Pharisaical, hyper-fundamentalist, harsh, > >heretic-burning, unloving, unthinking, arrogant loser." That can feel a > >little like reverse spiritual correctness. As with the doctrine of final > >judgment, is it possible that thinking, loving Christians could actually > >disagree with the thought processes of the book in a thinking and loving > >way? > > > >The same overly positive story-telling can be found throughout the > >trilogy in how people respond to Neo. As some "seeker" reviewers have > >noted about the first two books in this series, they would love to > >dialogue with Neo and don't think that they would "cave" so fast, or be > >nearly so enthralled. > > > >Again, there seems to be a message here, a point being made by how > >people fawn over Neo. "This new kind of Christian stuff is incredible. > >It is so intelligent, so sensitive, and so unique. Brilliant. One in a > >billion." That doesn't quite convey the epistemological humility that > >post-modernism relishes. > > > >So what do I REALLY think? Is McLaren a breath of fresh air and a > >post-modern Reformer? Or is he a little leaven and a post-modern > >heretic. Or something in between? Or neither? Or both? In the genre and > >spirit of "The Last Word and the Word After That," I'm not telling. > >Develop your own interpretation. Construct, deconstruct, and reconstruct > >your own view of McLaren and "The Last Word and the Word After That." > >That's certainly what Brian would want you to do. > > > >====================================================================== > > > > > If someone were to write a book saying that " the Bible is true, you can > trust it", it would be a very short book. Very few people would buy it > and the author would die a pauper. But if you take a certain amount of > truth and mix it with large amounts of speculation and pure > unadulterated BS, you can peddle it at Christian book stores and the > terminally stupid will scarf it up, making the author and the store > owner a tidy profit. > > Watch for my new books about drilling in the ocean for gremlins, > followed by "Space Demons, fact or fiction?" > Terry > > ---------- > "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man." (Colossians 4:6) http://www.InnGlory.org > > If you do not want to receive posts from this list, send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and you will be unsubscribed. If you have a friend who wants to join, tell him to send an e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and he will be subscribed. ---------- "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man." (Colossians 4:6) http://www.InnGlory.org If you do not want to receive posts from this list, send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and you will be unsubscribed. If you have a friend who wants to join, tell him to send an e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and he will be subscribed.
