Showing category "Pagan influences" (Show all posts)
Maybe one of the toughest chapters for me to review in Pagan Christianity is the one on
educating church leaders. As someone who has three degrees in theology I am
almost bound to find fault in what they say. Let me make two points straight
off, therefore, and you can judge whether I have been prejudicial or not.
Critique
To begin with it is odd to find such a strong argument against a higher
or university education in theology within a book that is so well researched
itself. Viola and Barna ha... Continue reading ...
‘The Supper has become an
empty ritual officiated by a clergyman, rather than a shared-life experience
enjoyed by the church.’ These are particularly strong words by Viola and Barna
in Pagan Christianity in a chapter
tackling both sacraments – Communion and Baptism. Let’s see how they arrive at
this conclusion.
Baptism and the sinner's prayer
Their central point about
Baptism's place in church life is that it was replaced by the ‘sinner’s prayer’
in the nineteenth century. I find ... Continue reading ...
Is tithing biblical? After
seeing Viola and Barna’s views in Pagan
Christianity on so many other subjects it will not surprise you to learn
that on this issue too they take a contrary view to most of the contemporary
church. While tithing is certainly an Old Testament principle – and an
important one at that – it does not feature in the life of the first century
church as a requirement made of the followers of Jesus.
Tithing as tax
In analysing where the practice
came from PC goes into so... Continue reading ...
'A specially attired clergy
is an affront to the spiritual principles that govern the house of God.' Well I
get the point that Viola and Barna make here in Pagan Christianity but I'm not sure this chapter deserves its place
in the book.
Dressing up
The chapter opens with a
section on why 'dressing up for church' is not a good thing and suggests three
reasons why this is the case. First, the practice assumes a 'false division
between the secular and the sacred'. To be different on a Sunday is a ... Continue reading ...
Consistently hitting nails
on the head Viola and Barna turn to the role of the pastor in the fifth chapter
of Pagan Christianity and claim,
‘There is not a single verse in the entire New Testament that supports the
existence of the modern-day pastor! He simply did not exist in the early
church.’ Once again it is a big claim and once again they take their readers
through the historical evidence showing how the role of pastor developed into
what it is today.
Early hierarchy
That there were le... Continue reading ...
‘The church needs fewer
pulpiteers and more spiritual facilitators.’ Ouch! Of all the chapters in Viola
and Barna’s Pagan Christianity it is
the one on ‘the sermon’ that makes me most uncomfortable. It isn’t because I
disagree with their conclusions, however, but because I can see how much of my
own identity has been wrapped up in my work as a preacher. And maybe there’s a
lesson for many here in that when we receive so much affirmation from our church
work any attack on that wo...
Continue reading ...
‘No matter how loudly
Pentecostals claim that they are following New Testament patterns, the typical
Pentecostal or charismatic church follows the same order of worship as do most
other Protestant bodies.’ Another stinger of a sentence by Viola and Barna in Pagan Christianity as they look at the
roots of worship in church.
Protestant roots
The Pentecostal tradition,
they claim quite correctly, has its roots in the Protestant Reformation of the
16th century but with the added ingredient of ... Continue reading ...
‘There does not exist a
shred of biblical support for the church building.’ So say Viola and Barna in Pagan Christianity. And of course they
are correct. We don’t see the early followers of Jesus as depicted in the Bible
erecting special buildings for the sole purpose of holding any kind of service
to God. In itself though, this may not be enough of a reason to say we
shouldn’t have them today. The key to PC’s
argument against having a church building is that it is ‘an architect...
Continue reading ...
As they embarked on their
quest to find where many of our church practices have originated, Viola and
Barna speak for many when they say in Pagan
Christianity that they ‘ardently want their relationship with the Lord to
be their top priority in life. They are tired of the institutions,
denominations, and routines getting in the way of a resonant connection with
Him’. If you’re mumbling to yourself right now, ‘That’s exactly how I feel’;
then welcome on the journey. You are most de...
Continue reading ...
Pagan
Christianity. The title says it all, does it not? And if
you had any doubts about the contents of Frank Viola and George Barna’s book
then their sub-title makes it even clearer – Exploring the roots of our church practices. Their central theme is
that practices not ordained by God in Jesus have entered church life; practices
first devised by pagans and introduced into the church and over the centuries have
become the accepted way of doing things.
Church practices
Viola and Barna are i... Continue reading ...
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