Pagan Christianity? // A Book Review

From time to time I receive random boxes in the mail from Christian music labels and book publishers. These boxes will be filled with free CDs and books. In each box is usually a letter from a publicist saying that if I happen to like any of the materials in the box and if I would be so kind to mention it on my blog they would greatly appreciate it.

I'm not sure how I got on someone's free stuff list, but I am really grateful to be receiving these free materials from labels and publishers - much of the time, before they even hit the shelves of your local Christian bookstore.

I am not sure who is behind all this, but I am sure that my blog does not have incredible influence on the world of CD or book purchasing (i.e. I don't think that people swarm to amazon and Christian Book Distributors and sales go up if I recommend a book or two...)
At any rate, I don't always listen to or read the materials sent to me.
Partly its out of time, partly its because the materials don't look all that intriguing and partly because sometimes I just don't feel entirely right about it (i.e. we send you free stuff...you write good stuff about it...and we continue the relationship). If I were to do this I would feel like I am just a movie reviewer who receives perks and then robotically writes "Two thumbs up!" or says it was "five stars."
So, most of the time I just skip it.

But occasionally a book comes along that is good stuff...or at least intriguing enough to mention. This book came in the mail around Christmastime with a note from a publicist saying that if you like the book please blog about it within sixty days. This such book is entitled Pagan Christianity? Exploring the Roots of Our Church Practices by Frank Viola and George Barna. Normally I don't read much by George Barna (because he just discourages the snot out of me each time I read another one of his studies on how the Church isn't living up to its potential) so I cringed as I turned to the first page.

And while I didn't fully agree with this book it was intriguing and was healthily controversial...maybe even a bit "in your face."
It messed with me.
It did make me think a great deal and ask good, tough questions that I think we should all be asking. The back cover says this: "

Are we really doing church 'by the book'? Why does the pastor preach a sermon at every service? Why do church services seem so similar week to week? Why does the congregation sit passively in pews? Not sure? This book makes an unsettling proposal: most of what present-day Christians do in church each Sunday is rooted not in the New Testament, but in pagan culture and rituals developed long after the death of the Apostles..."

So, here are my off-the-cuff, spontaneous thoughts, insights, praises, critiques and responses after I read the book, jotted down on the inside cover of the book. Remember, I didn't agree with everything in the book, but it challenged my thinking and helped me step back a bit and ask why:

-it was well researched
-controversial and intriguing (the first page is a letter from the publisher telling the reader that the publisher "does not necessarily agree with all of the authors' positions and realizes that some readers may not either). That's intriguing and gutsy.
-compelling
-at times, it seemed a bit long
-ecclesiologically thorough and broad
-a ton of information about history, chronology and etymology (all things I appreciate greatly) of the early church and its formation. Any fan of church history will enjoy this book...which doesn't read like a dry church history textbook.
-at times had a bit of an alarmist feel
-it was a good balance between a lot of information, but without feeling scholarly. It wasn't a textbook, but it wasn't fluff either.
-I appreciated the thorough look at Constantine's influence on the Church, both good and bad.
-deconstructing what we know about Church can be good to a point, but after a while it seemed a bit wearisome. At times, it even felt a little scathing (but maybe I needed that?)
-Viola is a huge champion of the house church movement (maybe a bit too much?) which can translate into over-generalizations about institutional churches and could be interpreted as indirectly implying that institutional church is altogether bad. 
-the authors relegate Tradition to a lower priority than what most evangelicals would place it (and I am not sure if that is beneficial or not...still thinking about that).
-I'm grateful for the courage of the authors and the publisher to put out such a book.

Here is more information about the book.
If you are a pastor, elder or church leader and you want a book to rattle your brain and mess with you a bit, this is a good one to pick up.

Comments

[David D. Flowers]

I was just surfing and found you.

I enjoyed your honest review. Have you read my review at Amazon?

I also encourage you to visit me at:
www.myspace.com/daviddflowers

Peace,
David D. Flowers

[Bill Lollar]

Hi! Thanks for your review! Perhaps you and your readers might enjoy reading a new interview with George Barna and Frank Viola. I just posted it today: "The Thin Edge hosts joint interview with Barna & Viola."

[Jill]

Check out the new spoof video for the book. Very funny.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=hslswIal9u4