Friday, September 26, 2008
Thoughts On Pagan Christianity (or How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love the Revolution)
So I finished reading Pagan Christianity by Frank Viola and George Barna.
Wow. What a book. Viola has been called the leader of "a new Reformation" by some, and I can definitely see why. This book is basically a giant middle finger aimed at the institutional church. Well, it's not that disrespectful - Viola really does seem like he wants to help bring about positive change, and doesn't want to force anyone to leave the institutional church unless they want to - but it's probably the best deconstruction of Christianity as an institutionalized religion I've ever read. I found it to be such a thorough and challenging read that it's really thrust me into quite the spiritual quandary.
Basically, the book looks at the history of the main tenets of modern church practice, and reveals that the vast majority of them aren't found in the New Testament (indeed, many actually contradict the Bible) but were adapted from the surrounding pagan cultures centuries after Paul. Not all of them are minor matters of tradition. Many of them are foundational concepts and structures of modern-day Christianity. For example:
The church building itself
The sermon
The pastor (or rather, all clergy)
Tithing
Seminaries and bible colleges
Like those things? Too bad. Viola and Barna argue that the vast majority of time, these are things that aren't biblical (at least not in the way they're currently practiced) and are harming Christians more than helping them.
According to the book, the New Testament concept of "church" was vastly different from what it is today. Rather than an institutionalized and hierarchical performance, it was an organic, living organism. The authors outline several key elements that defined the first-century church and made it so unique, and the point of the book is basically: if you're getting this from your current "church", fine. That's great. But if you aren't, you might want to think about why or why not, and ask yourself whether or not that's spiritually what God wants from you. God can still work through the institutional church as it is today, but that doesn't mean that it isn't broken.
Everybody should read this book. I'm going to try and get my hands on a copy of Viola's next book, Reimagining Church. Whereas this book is pretty much all about how the current state of the church is all wrong, that one is evidently the one where he focuses more on how things should be and how to get there.
In the meantime, I've got to consider how I'm going to change my current church experience, if at all. Don't get me wrong - I love Vintage21. It's an awesome place. But as much as I try to deny it, it's still very much a practitioner of modern-day church practice and culture. Though it claims it wants to be like the first-century church, like most churches it doesn't want to apply that standard to its structure and format. Why? Because that would be revolutionary. And radical. And whether it's a conscious decision or not, most churches won't go that far because being revolutionary and radical can be dangerous. Just ask that Jesus guy. If I do end up "changing churches" (though this is actually a flawed concept in and of itself), it's going to be a big one. Not just a matter of, "I like this place's music better" or "I agree with them more." More like a complete system overhaul.
As a side note: After reading this book, I now hate Constantine. Damn him and his whole "make Christianity official and mainstream" idea!
*sigh*
You'd think after 2,000 years we'd be closer to figuring out what this whole "Christianity" thing is really about. Nope. Not even close, a lot of the time. I'm just as confused as the next guy.
Wow. What a book. Viola has been called the leader of "a new Reformation" by some, and I can definitely see why. This book is basically a giant middle finger aimed at the institutional church. Well, it's not that disrespectful - Viola really does seem like he wants to help bring about positive change, and doesn't want to force anyone to leave the institutional church unless they want to - but it's probably the best deconstruction of Christianity as an institutionalized religion I've ever read. I found it to be such a thorough and challenging read that it's really thrust me into quite the spiritual quandary.
Basically, the book looks at the history of the main tenets of modern church practice, and reveals that the vast majority of them aren't found in the New Testament (indeed, many actually contradict the Bible) but were adapted from the surrounding pagan cultures centuries after Paul. Not all of them are minor matters of tradition. Many of them are foundational concepts and structures of modern-day Christianity. For example:
The church building itself
The sermon
The pastor (or rather, all clergy)
Tithing
Seminaries and bible colleges
Like those things? Too bad. Viola and Barna argue that the vast majority of time, these are things that aren't biblical (at least not in the way they're currently practiced) and are harming Christians more than helping them.
According to the book, the New Testament concept of "church" was vastly different from what it is today. Rather than an institutionalized and hierarchical performance, it was an organic, living organism. The authors outline several key elements that defined the first-century church and made it so unique, and the point of the book is basically: if you're getting this from your current "church", fine. That's great. But if you aren't, you might want to think about why or why not, and ask yourself whether or not that's spiritually what God wants from you. God can still work through the institutional church as it is today, but that doesn't mean that it isn't broken.
Everybody should read this book. I'm going to try and get my hands on a copy of Viola's next book, Reimagining Church. Whereas this book is pretty much all about how the current state of the church is all wrong, that one is evidently the one where he focuses more on how things should be and how to get there.
In the meantime, I've got to consider how I'm going to change my current church experience, if at all. Don't get me wrong - I love Vintage21. It's an awesome place. But as much as I try to deny it, it's still very much a practitioner of modern-day church practice and culture. Though it claims it wants to be like the first-century church, like most churches it doesn't want to apply that standard to its structure and format. Why? Because that would be revolutionary. And radical. And whether it's a conscious decision or not, most churches won't go that far because being revolutionary and radical can be dangerous. Just ask that Jesus guy. If I do end up "changing churches" (though this is actually a flawed concept in and of itself), it's going to be a big one. Not just a matter of, "I like this place's music better" or "I agree with them more." More like a complete system overhaul.
As a side note: After reading this book, I now hate Constantine. Damn him and his whole "make Christianity official and mainstream" idea!
*sigh*
You'd think after 2,000 years we'd be closer to figuring out what this whole "Christianity" thing is really about. Nope. Not even close, a lot of the time. I'm just as confused as the next guy.
# posted by Andrew Johnson : 9/26/2008 12:33:00 AM 
