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Summary: No bathwater, no baby, and all this guy can say is, "Ooops!"
Review: Ah, postmoderism. An odd concept. Certainly are a lot of confused people pounding the P-M drum. Somehow, in the excitement -- something new and different this way comes! -- they overlook the fact that dividing history into recognizable and distinct periods is an awfully Modernist thing to do. Postmodernism, then, is to Modernism as Y2K was to the problems that were anticipated with our computers on 12/31/2000. Shorthand was the problem, but we couldn't help ourselves and used shorthand to name it. Like that, insistence that truth is always relative to the times one lives in -- changed and determined by us and by our whims and fashions, not by God, and certainly not by anything so old-fashioned and embarrassing as the Bible! The philosophy of postmodernism -- and it is a philosophy, not a desciptive of history or era, don't let them fool you -- comes out of an old, pre-modernist mindset, and has no more validity now than it did in the Age of Enlightenment. It is also not unlike the selling of indulgences. And is seeks to deinstitutionalize by setting up institutions as quickly as it can get the email out and call for the committee to meet! Will p-m have an impact? Yes. It is to be hoped that it will have the same impact in Jesus' Church as Y2K did. As to execution -- my, but the book is poorly written! I don't know who told McLaren that he could write fiction, but it was embarrassing to read it. Think of it this way -- it is the CELESTINE PROPHECY of Christianity. Setting up ill-defined or even unidentified problems (ain't we got angst?) and a crisis of faith that seems to have no origin, then bringing along a mysterious Neo (wasn't he in THE MATRIX?) to solve everything, not forgetting to make him a martyr and a saint lest we look too closely at his criticism and rejection of western culture as well as the influence of Christianity on it. Full of glitches, like criticizing the "us and them" quality of Evangelicals (and not unfairly, either -- lets admit it), all the while maintaining the "right us," the postmodernists, v. the "wrong them," the modernists. What this guy means by modernists is traditional Christians. Don't let him fool you with his supposed earnestness -- he is another Jack Spong, aiming, not for reformation, but deconstruction -- as in the ending -- of the Church. Fortunately, Christ promised that the gates of hell wouldn't prevail, and so far He's been right. He said nothing, however, about whether the Church could prevail against itself. Shades of Pogo! There are some important questions, though, so the book shouldn't be dismissed out of hand, no matter how sophomorically written. Evangelism in our day is different, calls for different approaches and as loving an attitude as ever in Christian history -- to say nothing of missions. Reading of scripture in depth, learning as much about the culture that produced it as we learn about our own when we hold it up to the light found there -- no argument there, Mr. McL. And I happen to agree with him about the televangelists, and would go farther and say that tearing down the strongholds of TBN and similar would do more to advance the Kingdom of Heaven than anything else, except maybe purging the word "tract," from our dictionaries. I give it an extra star because it does, in the midst of its inanity, bring up some important questions that every person that loves Jesus Christ and calls him- or her-self after His name would do well to consider. But I won't bother with the sequel -- don't want to encourage him. Of the making of books, there is no end...
Rating: 
Summary: A Life Changer
Review: This book along with some amazing encouragement by friends has changed my life. The way that the book takes issues that plague modern churches and flashes a completely unconventaional spin is utterly amazing. The ideas are radical but not impossible or out of reach. McLaren presents complex theological ideas through fiction which makes it easier to understand...but you still must be ready to concentrate on the material. The book is amazing and I can't stop talking about it and urging people to read it...McLaren and his cohorts like Rick Warren, Dan Kimball, and of course Leonard Sweet are leading a revolution in the church and this book is a great introduction to these ideas. A must read for anyone...be ready to be challenged and changed.
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Summary: Get ready to change your fundamentalist thinking!
Review: This was an outstanding, easy-to-read book that will change the way you think---especially if you are a narrow-minded fundamentalist--like I was. This book will begin propel you on a journel to see Christ in a new, broader-minded way. Get ready to be challenged and changed. I can't wait to read McLaren's other books and to visit his church.
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Summary: An Important Conversation Starter
Review: Brian McLaren has, I think, done the Christian world a service by creating the character Neil Edward Oliver, a/k/a Neo. Much of what Neo says is perceptive and helpful. And, though some of what he says is off-target, almost all Neo's comments address matters that thoughtful Christians should think about. As a fictional character he is a useful gadfly, whose statements should provoke further necessary thought and dialogue. This book is most useful in pointing out the pitfalls of modernity, especially late modernity. It also provides an important counter to visceral, reactionary responses to postmodernism. In the modern era, while Cartesian foundationalism produced Humean empiricism and, ultimately, logical positivism, Christianity struggled for air. Postmodernity may provide a less asphyxiating atmosphere for Christianity. So postmodernism isn't all bad, and I thank Brian McLaren for helping me see that more clearly. In pointing the way forward, into the great postmodern wide open, I do not think that A New Kind of Christian is as useful a guide. Brian McLaren is better at shattering the modern idols that have infiltrated the church than he is at offering constructive proposals for the revitalization of Christianity in postmodernity. And that is fine: a lack of proposals will never keep us from Jesus. Idols will. Alas, Mr. McLaren overlooks some postmodern idols that Christians will, in love, have to confront with plain, hard truth. To that end, I wish that Mr. McLaren would have further developed the character of Neo's partner in conversation, Pastor Dan Poole. Though Dan raises thoughtful objections to Neo's points throughout A New Kind of Christian, he usually gives up too easily, almost always giving Neo the final word. He could have done much more to protect the readers of a New Kind of Christian from merely swapping modern idols for postmodern ones. Despite those reservations, I actually may have given A New Kind of Christian four or even five stars (for fulfilling its purpose as a conversation starter) were it not for its most glaring flaw: in significant ways the book uncharitably marginalizes those who wouldn't agree with it. For example, at the beginning of the chapter about Christianity and other religions, Neo makes a comment about "televangelists with erect hair" making "snide remarks about the Buddha." Neo's point that Christian maturity should lead us to think twice about needlessly insulting other religions is well-taken (see Paul's respectful speech to the Athenian philosophers in Acts 17). But did Neo have to use stereotype to drive home his point? Is that Neo's idea of Christian maturity? By the end of the chapter, Dan, having passed from frustration to agitation to rage, gets physically violent with Neo. Neo never loses his cool during the incident, but nevertheless is apologetic afterwards for perhaps provoking his friend too much. And that is typical in the book: "modern" Christians are presented as pigheaded, judgmental, and even (in the case of the residually modern Dan Poole) prone to violence, while Neo and others in the "postmodern fold" conspicuously display humility, charity, and patience. I hope that Brian McLaren will be a little fairer to his opponents (real or imaginary) in upcoming works. Not all modernists are the cardboard stereotypes that appear in A New Kind of Christian, and not all postmodernists are as good as Neo. I also hope that, as Mr. McLaren defends the postmodern movement, he will turn his obviously well-developed critical faculties toward postmodernism itself. Here he could learn from a "modernist," Jonathan Edwards, who both defended the awakenings of his day and lovingly provided careful, biblical criticisms of their excesses. Brian McLaren is in a good position to do the same for the "emerging church."
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Summary: Who ever thought of just asking questions? ---Uh...Jesus!
Review: A great and forceful book that throws you into a world of mystery where Christ's love is more personal, where God is more real and where the Holy Spirit dances daily in your heart. What a terrific way to introduce a new way of thinking about Christianity! Did I agree with everything the author wrote? Not necessarily, but is that the point? To be able to accept and validate as truth every sentence he put together? Hardly! Some people get defensive about this book claiming it destroys the modern way of thinking. I think these people are confused, close-minded and in serious need of the real character of Christ in their life. The author does not bash modernity, he only questions it, just like any practice associated with Christianity should be questioned. We need to understand why we do what we do if we're going to keep doing what we're doing in order to do what Christ has called us to do. If we don't, plain and simple, we are the ones to lose and miss out on a much bigger plan that God has in store for each and every one of us. That may sound cliche, but shoot, it's true. Read the book...challenge your postmodern mind....God is bigger than you think...don't put him in a box, please!!!
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Summary: Capitulation to postmodernism
Review: Through a story, McLaren distills ideas from "postmodern" Christians who want to junk propositional truth (the only kind there is), deemphasize theology, dump on "modernism," and shunt biblical authority to the side if not deny it entirely. This book may end up as a kind of manifesto for the "emerging church" movement or "Gen X meets postmodernism and likes it." Leonard Sweet is essentially in the same category. (See my review on Amazon of "Carpe Manana.") McLaren is right that the ways of evangelism need revision, but his way is no better; in fact, it is much worse. There is no emphasis on the heart of the gospel--justification by faith through grace--or on the cruciality of defending objective truth in a time when postmodernists reject it (for no good reason, it turns out). McLaren's hero, "Neo," embraces evolution (just when the intelligent design movement is making headway against it!), wonders if heaven and hell are really places (see Matthew 25:46), and says the Bible is not an "answer book" (see 2 Timothy 3:15-17). And so it goes. Those want a biblical and bracing critique of evangelism's weaknesses along with positive proposals are better off reading David Wells, Francis Schaeffer, Os Guinness, and Ken Myers.(I have a longer review of this book in "The Christian Research Journal," Vo. 25, No. 3.) Douglas Groothuis
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Summary: mcclaren - the master
Review: i highly recommend this one for anyone who wonders how christianity and post-modernism are going to get along in the years ahead. very intelligent, but down to earth writing. the fictional 'frame' makes a very approachable venue for readers to assimilate mcclaren's ideas on where christianity is headed. i also recommend 'the next christendom' by philip jenkins if you liked this one.
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Summary: Challenging and Compelling
Review: A burnt-out evangelical pastor (Daniel) learns about God from a Jamaican ex-Presbyterian pastor and now Episcopalian science teacher (Neo). For many readers, this might be enough information to justify throwing out the book as "liberal" right away. However, I hope the curious will read on, because this book is hardly liberal...but nor is it conservative. The book is about postmodern Christianity, something beyond modernist labels. The book is a dialogue, and much like the ancient dialogues of Plato and the early Christians, the fictional stories are meant to teach some truth. The characters deal with many issues, including the Bible, science, other faiths, other cultures, and pastoral responsibility. Neo is the voice of postmodern Christianity, while Daniel is the conservative modernist holder-on. The dialogues will seem very controversial for many readers. For instance, Neo suggests that a nation can be culturally Muslim, yet transformed by Christ, and therefore Christian. He says that the new birth is not about "accepting Jesus as personal Lord and Savior," which of course is not mentioned in the Bible, but more mysterious, even including good non-Christians. Neo criticizes our view of salvation as "getting in" and then trying to get others "in," without being concerned about being like Jesus. Neo asks why a popular college Christian group does not have fellowship with the more mainline Churches, the Catholics, or more liberal groups? He then compares "contemporary" churches to the Roman Catholic Church on the verge of the Reformation, at their height, but ready to fall. He says that modernist mechanical understandings of God's providence betray the ancient notion of sovereignty. The controversial postmodern responses are many. To me, many of these ideas are not revolutionary. Some I am uncomfortable with, but by confronting them, I do learn something new. I found myself highlighting quite a bit of the text, because McLaren has strengthened many of my own recent conclusions about postmodernity and Christianity. For many people, his ideas will seem very dangerous, and a matter of concern. The problem for those calling him "liberal," is that McLaren does not throw out historical Christianity. He quotes many quite traditional Christians, such as C.S. Lewis, to support his arguments. He never wants to "change Christianity or else it will die" as some modernist writers wish to do. He is simply trying to take Christianity out of modernity. Let's face it, most people today have been raised in Churches whose doctrines and practices are thoroughly enmeshed with modernism. Modernism's rationalism, legalism, imperialism, and exclusivism (and a great number of other "isms") are dying. Perhaps entering the new era of postmodernity is scary, but many young people are already postmodern without knowing it, so the book will probably be a breath of fresh air for these individuals. Overall, this book is controversial, challenging, compelling, and at times, will make us all feel uncomfortable, which is what makes it such a great book.
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Summary: Had to be written; should be read.
Review: This book is a welcome invitation for modern evangelical and fundamentalist Christians to positively re-think what it means to be a Christian in our time. Trust God and drop your guard when you read it. It won't make a 'liberal' out of you. The more liberal side of Christianity comes in for some good criticism in the book, but I don't think the book is written for them and I doubt they will be helped much by it. One doesn't have to accept all the ideas this book offers to see that many of them ring true and may represent a call from God to be a "new kind of Christian". Not so new really, but perhaps more focused on the timeless things that Jesus did and taught which matter more than the trappings of modern day Christianity that can hinder the Gospel. I suspect that many Christians will find reading this book a very liberating experience. Perhaps they have been thinking along these lines already and the book provides some validation for their views. Be careful. Resist the temptation to gloat. If this liberating experience is from God, its intended to lead to a more authentic practical faith-a transformation of your whole life-not simply a new set of 'superior' beliefs. "... truth means more than factual accuracy. It means being in sync with God."
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Summary: Thoughtful Questions
Review: I would not consider this a "must read" book. But, it may be a useful book for someone struggling with faith issues. This book will probably be difficult to read for Christians who have no doubts or - rather - who cannot face their doubts. Prior to reading this book, I had already traveled down the path of doubt, questioning, rethinking and re-defining my faith. It began when I decided to try to read the Bible without my pre-conceived, but accepted semi-Calvinistic, Conservative, Evangelical Protestant viewpoint. As a result, my own faith has changed dramatically as I came to some conclusions similar to those presented in this book. However, while I believe that the type of faith presented herein is closer to that which Jesus came to establish, it is a more dangerous and risky faith. It is a faith which requires one to be less dogmatic and less certain. It is a faith which calls one to accept and embrace people regardless of where they are and stops trying to pigeon-hole people into "saved" and "unsaved" categories. It is a faith without tidy formulas. It is a global faith and one which many conservatives will consider heretical. I am a Conservative Christian in that I accept the Bible as inspired by God and that Jesus is the Son of God, the Savior of the World. However, as this book points out, the traditional Evangelical, Protestant view is highly influenced by modern individualistic thought. As such, when we read the Bible, we read it through the "grid" (as this book calls it) with which we grew up. The grid enables us to see some things, but it obscures our view of others. The difficulty that many Conservative Evangelicals have is realizing that they read the Bible through a grid. In questioning doctrinal and practical aspects of faith, Conservatives have another problem which compounds the first: the fear of succumbing to heresy and maybe even losing their salvation. I know this from first-hand, personal experience. However, God is Light. We should all desire that the darkness and falseness be driven out of our lives. We should be open to giving up all that we hold precious for the sake of coming to know Christ better and being conformed into his likeness. If we can accept that we currently see things as through a darkened glass and that we are influenced by culture and tradition, then we should be willing to change. We can trust that God will not reject us in our questioning any more than he rejected Thomas in his doubt. I encourage people who read this book to ask themselves throughout, "Is there any truth in this?" The strength of this book is in asking important probing questions about faith and theological issues. The questions raised are questions that every Christian should consider. The weakness of this book is that the proposed answers are frequently validated by the fact that they "feel" better. In general, the "Truth" should "feel" right because of the witness of the Holy Spirit. However, "feelings" are no way to develop a theological set of beliefs. The only other criticism that I have of this book is that towards the end I began to "feel" as though a sales pitch was being made: We don't know what the future of the church will look like; that it will be a treacherous path and, therefore, churches may need a consultant to help find the way. It just so happens that the author is a consultant. I hope the people who read this book will allow the questions to rise and then research the answers for themselves. One of the issues raised in this book is salvation and hell. This has been one of my primary concerns and I have written a paper on it as a result of five years of personal research. I will gladly email this essay to anyone who asks.
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