Tag Archives: Hipster Christians

Why We Are Not Emergent by Two Guys Who Should Be by Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck

Posted on by
Reply

Synopsis:
An overview of the emerging church movement from two critics, a pastor and a sportswriter.

Review:
I have been a fan of Kevin DeYoung for a while based on his appearances on the White Horse Inn, a favorite podcast of mine. And my interest in the emergent movement stems from my days as Managing Editor for a now defunct webzine covering Christianity and culture. I was there when Relevant Magazine launched and when The Ooze had only a few members. We were one of the first to publish a critic of Brian McLaren. I wish I could link but we had no funds to keep our archive up and running.

I loved Why We’re Not Emergent as much for what it taught me about historical Christianity as for its critique of the emergent movement, which I believe will die out as a fad. Many of its critics worry that its passing will leave many bereft and alienated from Christianity, but I think that historical Christianity, rooted as it is in the gospel and the Holy Spirit, will win many back with the truth. All the same, I am angered by these false prophets who distort God’s good word in the name of a “love” that is ultimately empty and death-dealing. I loved how the book ends with an exposition of the letters to the churches in the book of Revelations, calling all Christians on all sides to repentance. They make sure to take seriously those critiques of the emergent church that hit the mark in a spirit of real humility–as opposed to the false humility that the emergent voices espouse.

Fall to Grace by Jay Bakker

Posted on by
1

Synopsis:
Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker’s son Jay, a pastor of a hipster church that meets in a Brooklyn bar, gives an exegesis of the book of Galatians and urges the church to return to grace-centered theology.

Review:
I found much to admire in Fall to Grace, most notably Bakker’s firm grasp of the freedom that grace offers the believer in Christ. However, I just couldn’t get past his round dismissal of the book of James. Bakker would have us believe that the book was only included in the canon of Scripture in order to show us what not to do–and to offer up Christ’s own brother as an example of the leveling power of sin.

At no point does Bakker explain why James is in the book at all, or attempt to reconcile that book’s teachings with those found in the book of Galatians. That’s just sloppy writing. You can’t wish away the hard sayings of Scripture.

Even more frustrating is when he pits James against Jesus, without any acknowledgement of a commonly held view that the book of James is actually a collection of the sayings of Jesus himself!

If Bakker had actually wrestled with the paradox of “faith without works is dead” vs. “[salvation] is a free gift of God that none should boast,” perhaps he would have found more to agree with than not. At one point Bakker says that he quit drinking because he realized it was keeping him from knowing God in a deeper way. God’s grace in his life brought him to freedom from the bondage of sin.

In the same way, God’s grace in the believer’s life prompts us to perform works that attest to the presence of grace in our lives. Our works do not save us; our salvation gives us good works to do. A faith that does not inspire good works is no faith at all.

I went into this book with an open mind, but at the end of the day I am just too Reformed to let Bakker’s superficial theology off the hook.

Many thanks to NetGalley and FaithWords for the review e-copy.

Christless Christianity by Michael Horton

Posted on by
5

Synopsis:
An examination and critique of the current state of Christianity in America, which shows the pervasive influences of Pelagianism and Gnosticism–these heresies are closer than you think.

Review:
Michael Horton had me at “Joel Osteen.” I was blown away by the incisiveness of Christless Christianity, a stunning work that made me so, so thankful to be attending a church deeply rooted in Reformation orthopraxis.

The first section of the book deals with the prosperity gospel, looking at Osteen and others of his ilk who preach that God wants good things for you, but who never mention Jesus or the cross in any of their sermons. Horton shows that the “easy” road that these teachers proclaim is actually just another form of legalism. All you have to do to live the good life is to follow God and be a good person. God helps those who help themselves. The onus of salvation rests squarely on our shoulders. God does not come down to us; we build a stairway to him. This is Pelagianism, which says that we must play a part in our own redemption. The reformers (Calvin and Luther, etcetera) countered this heresy by preaching that salvation is by grace alone–we do nothing.

The second section of the book delves into the Emergent church and public spokesmen like Jim Wallis and Rick Warren, those who preach that churches are to take up where Jesus left off, and continue to redeem the world. This is the “living gospel” or “deed without creed.” Horton explains how these teachings betray Gnostic tendencies that elevate human beings above God.

Even more important in this section was Horton’s depiction of the church as a place where believers come to be served by God through the sacraments and the Word. Too often the modern church becomes another workplace, with believers encouraged to throw themselves into ministry. In fact, church itself is hardly necessary at all. Just go and “live the gospel.” The sacraments become “means of commitment” rather than “means of grace.” Here again, we find a legalistic gospel that says that our works are the most important thing in the salvation equation.

Horton emphatically states that believers need to receive the Word and the sacraments, out of which will flow worship and service. Too many churches get it the wrong way round, saying that we need to get our hearts right with God on our own. He writes,

The church has a very narrow commission. It is not called to be an alternative neighborhood, circle of friends, political action committee, or public service agency; it is called to deliver Christ so clearly and fully that believers are prepared to be salt and light in the worldly stations to which God has called them. Why should a person go through all the trouble of belonging to a church and showing up each Sunday if God is the passive receiver and we are the active giver?

…Not only once upon a time, on a hill far away, but each week the Son of God comes to serve us. We may protest. We may think that it is we who need to serve God rather than vice versa. Nevertheless, Jesus tells us as he told Peter that this is actually an insult, a form of pride. We are the ones who need to be bathed, clothed, and fed, not God.

…the main purpose of singing in church is not to express our inner experience, piety and zeal but to serve each other by making ‘the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God” (Col. 3:16)… Pastors and teachers are not cruise director who provide venues for everyone to channel all of their gifts and energies to the church, but they are deliverers of the message of Christ.

So much good news here!

The Book: The New Testament (Bible Illuminated)

Posted on by
15

I am really thankful to Lisa Roe for the chance to take a look at this provocative new version of the Bible. I am really intrigued by modern attempts to make the Bible more “relevant,” mostly because I’m not sure it needs it!

From the publisher:

There is no religious mission behind The Book. We believe that its success will be driven by the fact that this is not coming from any specific faith, religion or church. We are from many faiths, backgrounds, and beliefs; ultimately we are trying to create something for the many and not just for the few. The goal is to drive an emotional reaction and get people to think, discuss and share. It’s meant to trigger bigger moral questions that will in turn help people to understand the common heritage between all religions through the Bible’s text. We hope people will find the images, design and layout intriguing–intriguing enough to talk about the actual stories in the Bible and what the morals and lessons mean to them. The more you know, the more you can participate in discussions about the world and understand the bigger picture.

“>The Book: The New Testament is laid out like a magazine, with gorgeous glossy images setting off the Good News translation, as well as mini-essays on issues of social justice. The images themselves perform a translative purpose, placing a Sojourners-type veneer onto the text. That is, everything is selected to appeal to a post-religious, politically liberal, socially conscious hipster. Contemporary, yes; orthodox… eh, not so much.

I want to talk about two of the images to give you an idea of how they impute meaning onto the verses that they connect with. The first comes from the book of Hebrews, illuminating the verse which says, “For when the priesthood changed, there also has to be a change in the law.” The accompanying photo shows “Margit Sahlin [seeing] the shroud she’s going to wear when she becomes the first female priest in Sweden.” This, obviously, is meant to endorse the progressive notion that women should be ordained into leadership over churches.

Now, if you have studied the book of Hebrews you will know that the author is not talking about church leadership. He’s talking about the transformation of the priesthood of the Levites, as ordained by God in the Pentateuch, into the priesthood of a figure called Melchizidek, who is meant to signify (or actually be) Jesus. The resurrection of Christ replaced the law of the Old Testament with the law of grace, meaning that all who repent and believe in Jesus will be saved and baptized into the priesthood of believers. In other words, under Christ’s rule of grace, all men and women who follow him are priests. The image redirects this powerful message into a poke at those denominations who take a strict interpretation of the teachings of Paul regarding the qualities of a leader. Paul’s letters are generally concerned with the foundation of church doctrine and practice. Hebrews (not written by Paul) is intended to teach the Jewish audience how Christ fulfills the law and the prophecies. So this image is clever, but not really appropriate.

The second image is one of the many celebrity images that pepper the book, and it’s of Angelina Jolie. I know that many people view Ms. Jolie as a supernaturally beautiful paragon of good works, and indeed she’s done a lot of good in the world. I personally love her for breastfeeding her twins. However, she’s also famous for her role in the public destruction of a marriage. So is she meant to represent the adulteress woman that Jesus encounters? I don’t really think that is the publisher’s intention, though it’s interesting to ponder. I don’t think that most readers will use Ms. Jolie’s picture as an occasion for contemplation.

I find this whole project quite fascinating, and I’m very curious to see how they package the New Testament. I am not really the target audience, though. I’m into Reformed theology and like the New King James version of the Bible. I just took advantage of a promotion on the website for Ligonier Ministries, where I’ve been digging RC Sproul’s “Renewing Your Mind” podcasts. Give any amount before 11/1 and they will send you the new Reformed Study Bible! I’m sooooooo excited for this to come. I haven’t used a study Bible since I wore out my Ryrie way back when, and my Bible reading needs a kickstart that The Book just didn’t give me.

Real Sex by Lauren Winner

Posted on by
Reply

Synopsis:
An exploration of the meaning of chastity in the 21st century.

Review:
Real Sex is an excellent companion piece to Anna Broadway’s Sexless in the City. Winner offers a larger cultural and historical context for Broadway’s desire to live chastely, and has some ideas about why Broadway expresses some disappointment in the way she has been taught by the church to think about sex.

Winner’s analysis is thoughtful and well-researched, and is worth reading even by those who don’t hold the same beliefs in the importance of chastity as Winner.

Sexless in the City by Anna Broadway

Posted on by
2

Synopsis:
The misadventures of a hapless twenty-something woman whose greatest fear is that she will die a virgin, and whose second greatest fear is that she’ll have sex before marriage.

Review:
I’ll let you know up front that there’s no way that I can be objective about Sexless in the City, because Anna Broadway met the woman who bought her book in my very living room. (Yes, I am Blogyenta, formerly known as Girlfriend #6.)

Reading Anna’s book was like sitting down to have a good long talk. We used to do this all the time, but then she decided that she could no longer resist the call to California, and off she went. Thankfully she’s great about keeping in touch, and made sure to come and meet Superfast Baby when she was in town a few months ago. Anna’d also honored me be asking my opinion on many a key section of the book, so there wasn’t much that was unfamiliar to me. Knowing how hard she fought to tell the truth, even when it painted her in a less than flattering light, I’m pleased to see that the end result is something of which she can be truly proud.

So congratulations, Anna! We miss you *kiss*

Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller

Posted on by
1

Synopsis:
An autobiographical collection of irreverant essays about finding Jesus in the most unlikely places, starting with super-pagan Reed College in Portland, Oregon.

Review:
I kept hearing about this book from various people whose opinion I respected, but I was a little skeptical. I am weary of efforts to make Christianity “cool” or “relevant” or “postmodern” or whatever, and I had a preconception that this book fell into that category. Continue reading →