Rating: 
Summary: Could this be...the Neo-Christ?
Review: Red flags started popping up for me early on in this book, even starting with the poor grammar of the title. Then, opening up the book, it commences with an e-mail from Neo (the postmodern Christian "guru") to his friend and "student" Dan, contrived with many unnecessary and irritating typos. Next, with the visit of an Australian woman, dying of cancer, who became acquainted with Neo, we find out what Neo has been doing during his extended time away. By way of explanation, the first book in the series touched briefly on Neo's belief in Darwin's theory of evolution. This book hits you right in the face with it, as Neo's adventures in the birthplace of Darwin's theory, the Galapagos Islands, and at the Charles Darwin Institute, no less, are presented in detail, including a rather graphic scene of two giant tortoises copulating. What fun!Personally, I have always questioned the theory of evolution, not just for religious reasons, but because it has never made a lot of sense to me. A certain amount of evolution does go on (microevolution), but a lot of the details of macroevolution are unconvincing to me. Basically, I'm an old-earth creationist, along the lines of Hugh Ross. Neo doesn't just accept the theory, he loves it. He calls it "brilliant", "important", and "one of God's greatest creations." Even being aware of the holes in the theory and the challenges to it (getting in a little dig in at "Darwin's Black Box"), he ignores the problems. Why? Because his system of theology (oops, I mean the "Story"!) would suffer without it. See, creationism relies on too many miracles, and too many miracles makes for an unreal world, and after all, we live in the real world. As he unfolds the Story before various listeners, I started picking up on something that I'm unsure the author intended. Most of the characters in the book are totally in awe of Neo's teaching. Frankly, it's wearying reading of people's jaw-dropping amazement as Neo unfolds the Story before them. The one person on the island that rejects it is a conservative religious type (a Pharisee?), and, indeed, those who are already of the faith have a harder time than those previously hostile to the gospel. Later, in a discussion of various atonement theories of Jesus, Neo shares a very personal story of betrayal that affected him physically, much like...a crucifixion? Let's see, they were amazed at his teaching, he gets resistance from the religious establishment, he shares a theory of atonement from a personal betrayal...is Neo being set up as a new Jesus? What really bothers me about the whole thing is that this Story is coming from the pen and the mind of the book's author, as is the amazement of the listeners, so even if Neo isn't the Neo-Christ, the author seems to communicating that this is pretty brilliant stuff if he does say so himself. There are all kinds of other issues, like Christianity vs. other religions (all religion, at one point, is lumped together as part of man's God-given creativity), and there are unanswered questions lingering about salvation by faith or by works, but I'm sure we'll hear more about that in the third book of the promised trilogy. That, and, I fear, we may see Neo going through some resurrection and ascension to sit on the right hand of the Post-Modern God.
Rating: 
Summary: Intelligent, thought provoking, & moving
Review: This book and its predecessor, A New Kind of Christian, are excellent reads for anyone feeling frustrated with the current Christian church. The Story We Find Ourselves In, is a moving tale about Christians and non-Christians alike, struggling to understand how the gospel should be interpretted in our post-modern world. I could not put the book down, I read it in a day and a half. It caused me to question some aspects of my worldview, it caused me at times to be angry with the text, and it also moved me to tears in several sections. It is a story about a journey we all find ourselves on and it is definitely worth reading!
Rating:
Summary: Great, but not as shocking as A New Kind of Christian.
Review: This was a very enjoyable read. It did not have as many shocking moments as ANKOC did, but was still a good story to be a part of. You must read it as if you are in the story. I think many who do not understand the concepts of Brian Mclaren's ANKOC books is that they don't leap into them. As for me when I read his books, I have experienced many of the things that Dan goes through. It was as if I was Dan in the story, it was my story, it is my story and many others that have been hurt by the church. Very Freeing and Uplifting that you can be a christian without all the fluff. You can be who your are and not have to put on a show.
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