I've finished Book Two of the A New Kind of Christian Trilogy. Thanks to Mike for getting me into the rut of Brian McLaren! I thought this book was very well thought-out, very well written, and deserving of five stars. While I don't agree with everything McLaren writes, there are a few things I agree with and love about this book:
1) I've always loved dinosaurs, and there's always been that tension between Creation and Evolution, and how incompatible evolution is with God. Walking the halls my Junior Year at High School, I was almost horrified that I believed, deep-down, that evolution was true, and I was countering this belief by digesting as much "creation science" literature as possible. It wasn't until my Senior Year, through conversations with my Astronomy teacher, that I came to understand that evolution is not incompatible with God. Brian McLaren's extensive dealings with this subject has helped me to understand--and rest easily within the knowledge--that evolution is one of God's coolest creations.
2) This book revolves around, ironically, "the story we find ourselves in." So often we forget that we're submerged in a story, and we're a part of the story, whether we're on the "good" side or the "bad" side (not to draw lines, but that's how it is: everyone is a part of the story; no one can exempt). I had never understood much of this Story until I picked up John Eldredge's EPIC or read C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia. Here is another book I would recommend to those struggling to understand where they fit in the cosmos.
3) I love McLaren's works on the Final Judgment. Nearly an entire chapter or two is dedicated to it. In one small group about a year and a half ago, we were talking about Judgment Day and Christ's Return, and someone said, "I'm scared because all of my bad sins will be revealed." I told them, "I don't think so. I think that when God looks at us, He'll see Christ, and on top of that, all the beautiful and good contributions we made to His Kingdom." McLaren expounds on this.
4) What I like the most about this book is McLaren's focus on the Kingdom and the Church, and how the two are interconnected. He returns the Church to its roots: a body of people who are living in the Kingdom, living the Kingdom together, and inviting people into the Kingdom. Sidenote: McLaren's dealings with the Kingdom of God in A New Kind of Christian, as well as Dallas Willard's outlooks on the Kingdom in The Divine Conspiracy, are great supplements to this.
5) Finally, I like the fact that one of the main characters died of cancer in the end. Not to be morose or anything, but I think that too many "Christian inspiration" books revolve around people becoming Christians and their entire lives being miraculously fixed. At 3rd Place tonight, Mike said, and I paraphrase, "Becoming a Christian does not mean that our life will suddenly become all happy and wonderful." God entered the character's lif--and redeemed her life by bringing her into His Kingdom--but the effects of life continued to wear down on her. In the end, however, God was with her through her suffering and was there beckoning her into paradise.
I know many of the people who read my blog have read this book. Any input is coveted.
1) I've always loved dinosaurs, and there's always been that tension between Creation and Evolution, and how incompatible evolution is with God. Walking the halls my Junior Year at High School, I was almost horrified that I believed, deep-down, that evolution was true, and I was countering this belief by digesting as much "creation science" literature as possible. It wasn't until my Senior Year, through conversations with my Astronomy teacher, that I came to understand that evolution is not incompatible with God. Brian McLaren's extensive dealings with this subject has helped me to understand--and rest easily within the knowledge--that evolution is one of God's coolest creations.
2) This book revolves around, ironically, "the story we find ourselves in." So often we forget that we're submerged in a story, and we're a part of the story, whether we're on the "good" side or the "bad" side (not to draw lines, but that's how it is: everyone is a part of the story; no one can exempt). I had never understood much of this Story until I picked up John Eldredge's EPIC or read C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia. Here is another book I would recommend to those struggling to understand where they fit in the cosmos.
3) I love McLaren's works on the Final Judgment. Nearly an entire chapter or two is dedicated to it. In one small group about a year and a half ago, we were talking about Judgment Day and Christ's Return, and someone said, "I'm scared because all of my bad sins will be revealed." I told them, "I don't think so. I think that when God looks at us, He'll see Christ, and on top of that, all the beautiful and good contributions we made to His Kingdom." McLaren expounds on this.
4) What I like the most about this book is McLaren's focus on the Kingdom and the Church, and how the two are interconnected. He returns the Church to its roots: a body of people who are living in the Kingdom, living the Kingdom together, and inviting people into the Kingdom. Sidenote: McLaren's dealings with the Kingdom of God in A New Kind of Christian, as well as Dallas Willard's outlooks on the Kingdom in The Divine Conspiracy, are great supplements to this.
5) Finally, I like the fact that one of the main characters died of cancer in the end. Not to be morose or anything, but I think that too many "Christian inspiration" books revolve around people becoming Christians and their entire lives being miraculously fixed. At 3rd Place tonight, Mike said, and I paraphrase, "Becoming a Christian does not mean that our life will suddenly become all happy and wonderful." God entered the character's lif--and redeemed her life by bringing her into His Kingdom--but the effects of life continued to wear down on her. In the end, however, God was with her through her suffering and was there beckoning her into paradise.
I know many of the people who read my blog have read this book. Any input is coveted.
1 comment:
I am about half-way through the last book in the series. It is quite interesting andmight be the most controversial of the three. though i don't think mclaren is a great fiction writer, he has allowed me to understand that we don't have to have it all figured out, that it is ok to doubt, and question, and that it is fine if you don't fit the cookie cutter.
mike
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