Pagan Christianity

My First Impression

My first impression of this book was that Barna was going to play it safe and sweep it all under the rug. Maybe he would admit to some pagan roots but surely he has too much to lose with his reputation.

I am pleased to say Frank Viola and George Barna did not play it safe.

I would encourage every Pastor, Worship Leader, Elder, and Church volunteer to read this book. For some it may be shocking, for others  it’s another reinforcement that Christianity does in-fact have many pagan connection. But this time instead of coming from a atheist or an agnostic, it comes from respected christian authors.

This isn’t a new idea for me, I’ve already read several books about Christianity’s pagan roots, and watched a couple of really good documentaries on it. But what I like about Viola and Barna, is their conclusion. They didn’t decide to throw their Christianity away just because it’s not all shinny and slick.

Most research I’ve read become frustrated and just say ” well I guess all religions are worthless, So I  won’t believe in any of them.” In my opinion Viola and Barna present a more historical account of how Christianity has been hijacked. And what needs to happen in order to restore it to it’s true origins.

Hard Facts To Swallow

Don’t get me wrong there are some hard blows to the christian church in this book, and it doesn’t paint a pretty picture for the institutionalize of church, especially for Pastors. We have gone down the road of turning the church that was suppose to be a dynamic living breathing creative organism into a static, predictable, profitable business. and In my opinion thats a huge shame.

To be honest though it was so refreshing to read a book where Christian heavy weights like Barna, who is said to be the most quoted Christian alive, have the same questions and doubts about the church that I do, and yet still manage to hold on to Jesus.

I would say this is a must read for anyone in ministry or thinking about going into ministry.

What Gets Under My Skin

I’ve read some other views about this book that I have posted below, the one that really gets under my skin is the one from “A Little Leaven”, who I read all the time. they post some really good and at times funny stuff. But their whole approach was that ” this is the poorest researched book they have read in a long time”, they go on to down play the whole book and try to make Barna sound like he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

It’s the arrogant Christian response that the world has become nauseated to, and it tells me straight up that they have never done any research into the roots of Christianity. You may not like what the book says, or even agree with everything, but to belittle it shows there are some Christians who are not ready, or simply can not handle this information.

A Little Leaven

review From Howard Snyder

Articles by Frank Viola

Read a Sample Chapter Here

~ by Nic on August 12, 2008.