Remedial Christianity: What Every Believer Should Know About the Faith, but Probably Doesn't

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Summary: Remedial Christianity: What Every Believer Should Know About
Review: I have been waiting for this book. Very clear, highly cogent,it provides in print what I have struggled to translate in my own terms in 25 years' worth teaching and preaching, confirmation, adult, inquirer, classes and retreats, all of which would have been so much easier with Laughlin's book as the basic text. What I believe to be of particular significance, in the context of today's religious climate, is that Laughlin lays out traditional and contemporary perspectives so clearly, thereby enabling the reader to see the available choices to be made regarding one's personal beliefs. RM is an example of that rare combination of sound scholarship and easy accessibility. This is simply an outstanding book. I am grateful for it. I am excited by it.

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Summary: Breath of Fresh Air
Review: Remedial Christianity is the type of book thinking persons need to examine, challenge and strengthen their Christian belief system. It is a breath of fresh air in the fundamentalist atmosphere in which I live. I found Dr. Laughlin's writing interesting, informative, and entertaining-- putting words and applying research to concepts I have embraced for many years. I am using the book in a Bible Study group and it has stimulated rich and exciting discussion, both positive and negative, from women of varied backgrounds, forcing us to better define what we believe and why we believe it.

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Summary: Thought-provoking, but very one-sided
Review: This book gives the reader a great deal of information about Christianity, the early church, Christian history and theology that most churchgoers have never heard. It is certain to provoke serious consideration of what it means to be a Christian and how we can be certain of the things we believe. However, (and it's a major however), this book does not provide a broad cross-section of what scholars believe about Christianity. It is heavily slanted in favor of the more extreme fringes of liberal theology. He presents many assumptions of liberal theologians (i.e. the gospels were not written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John; Paul's theology was radically different from what Jesus taught) as if they were accepted facts, and ignores the fact that many theologians, looking at the same historical facts, come to very different conclusions. Some of his contentions (e.g. miracles never happen, Jesus never referred to Himself as the son of God, the resurrection never occurred but that doesn't detract from Christianity) are rejected even by many liberal Christians. If he had been willing to give "equal time" to those who hold more traditional views this could have been an excellent book. But, while he lovingly details arguments against traditional Christian beliefs and in favor of non-traditional views, the many arguments that could be made in favor of traditional views or against non-traditional views are either ignored, brushed over, or caricatured. While this is an informative book, and both Christians and non-Christians can gain something from it, those seeking an unbiased and objective account of Christian theology and history should look elsewhere.

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Summary: Christianity R.I.P.
Review: This book is an excellent overview of the results of modern scholarship as applied to the Bible. So why only 4 stars? Because like other liberal theologians, Laughlin somehow thinks you can remove most of the orthodox beliefs of Christianity and still have a viable version of Christianity. After his deconstruction you are left with: a)a God so ill defined as to be incomprehensible and essentially meaningless b) a Jesus (if you even believe he existed as a historical person) who is an inspirational teacher even though you're not sure how much of what is attributed to him is even factual c) a Bible which is a collection of fables which nevertheless has some kind of transcendental value.
Liberal Christianity has no "meat" to it. That's why liberal congregations are with a few exceptions, dwindling away to obscurity.

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Summary: Must read
Review: This book was wonderfull and I recomend it to anyone and everyone. As a matter of fact they should use it in Sunday school!! So many of us are indoctrinated into our various christian traditions and are not aware of just how much of what we believe is due to intentional and unitentional errors of ommision and inclussion. It's time to return to the Jesus of history and learn to cherish our myths as religious truth (whith great value) and not the way things are, always were, and always must be. I only wish I had had someone like Dr. Laughlin to show me the light in my younger days.