I too have not read Pagan Christianity although I have a copy. I have read several of Viola's other books. I agreed with some of his points, disagreed with most, and generally didn't benefit a lot from the time invested. But with that, I haven't grown to hate the man. In his Facebook profile page he links to this funny video. I like that he did that and I benefited from some of the thinking the video promoted.
2 comments:
Well, yeah.
I suppose I'd have to (a) read the book to (b) understand the context of the video to (c) grasp why this is really funny.
It's a book like all others - makes claims, has some evidence. Based on what I read, it reiterates some common thoughts and illustrates the idea of the reformed church ever reforming.
I'm skeptical of any book that claims to have discovered - at last! - what's been missing in the church for 2000 years. God can't keep his church in check until the 3rd millennium?
There are a bazillion models of church practice in the world. Christians have been trying for years to figure out how to do their faith. This book can lead to interesting discussion. But it's a book, not a marketing concept.
The NT has hints of how the church operates, but the information isn't exhaustive. I get the feeling a lot of what the NT describes is just happening, ad hoc. Some structure is hinted at or described, but it's an outline, not a 3D model. (The NT doesn't say "Start church by 11:00 am so you're done by noon," for example. Yeah, I know. But it also doesn't say "Be sure you don't fall into a pattern of weekly meetings with predictable times for the convenience of your congregation. That would be wrong."
11 till noon? What are you, some kind of fanatic? Or perhaps you were including the coffee time?
:-)
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