In case you're thinking of reading George Barna & Frank Viola's recent book, let me save you the dime and the time. In my job I come across books from time to time. Mostly I just process them and push them on. Sometimes I cannot help but read their jackets, TOCs, and contents. This one I could not help. My summary of it's logic follows:
All those christians that wear clothing are children of Satan. You see, Satan brought evil into the world and Adam and Eve took it into their beings. Clothing is introduced to us because of Sin, i.e. a corruption of the way things ought to be. So since nowhere in scripture, particularly not in the New Testament, are we commanded to wear that reprehensible accretion called clothing we should NOT EVER do such a thing. To do so is Pagan. Take off your grave clothes. yuck.
Barna and Viola basically thumb their noses at all others who dare to think about Christianity, especially those clueless Church Infants [we normally call them Church Fathers], who brought every corruption from Roman society and Greek philosophy into our pure Jesusanity they could get away with. Anyone else have any ideas?...you're wrong because you're viewing it through your corrupt Demoninational lenses. You are so blinded. Thanks, I guess, for preserving the Bible [if in fact you did so without corruption] for me to learn about my private Jezuz.
5 comments:
"Barna and Viola basically thumb their noses..."
I don't recall any verse in the Bible instructing us to thumb (nor pick) our noses, either, so Baran and Viola are paradoxically heretics.
As to the clothing issue, um, er, well gee. I kind sorta find all manner of places, especially in Moses' books, where specific garments were ascribed to be worn by specific people for specific reasons. We could take Aaron, just for starters.
And there are many verses which tell us not to uncover the nakedness of others, quite obviously meaning, not to disrobe or unclothe them.
Wouldn't it be nice if self-appointed Biblical scholars actually READ the book they purport to be experts on?
I don't suppose they've yet realized that the Bible doesn't tell us to write books of commentary on the Bible, ergo they are breaking their own rule. They should find a nice Temple someplace and verbally profess their lack of Biblcal knowledge to the passing crowds.
Solomon was right...to the writing of books there is no end [quick paraphrase]
To clarify a bit, my sum-up of their logic was the clothing issue. But if we use the logic they employ for clothing...it seems silly at best.
The actual content of their book is worse than the clothing analogy. It's their method that is toxic.
My next post will point to a place where the method conversation is going on out in the open.
Chris, that is great. This book was one of the worst, most irrational, off the wall books I have ever read.
I am supposed to write a review about it, but I just don't know where to begin. It would be like righting a review of KJV Onlyism. Point by point arguments are useless since the entire approach is inhuman.
Anyway, you can see, I don't like the book much.
WARNING: Allusion to Bingham follows! Not appropriate for those who did not attend Dallas Seminary...
Why don't libs just get a new name for their version of faith.
the label 'Christianity' is already taken!
lol...that is awesome. I will have to think how to work that into a post.
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