To Come: Assessing the Theology of Brian McLaren’s “A New Kind of Christianity”

Because of some fancy footwork by my wonderful wife, Melinda, HarperOne is sending me a free copy of Brian McLaren’s new book, A New Kind of Christianity. As promised I will begin reviewing it in the next few weeks, because I believe what he is saying in this book theologically is important enough to address.

Several people have already reviewed this work, and another has offered his own theological assessment. I hope to offer mine. While apparently Brian has come out in support of the Apostles and Nicene Creeds, I am not convinced. He appears to be as Multiple-Personalitied as he is duplicitous (bad word choice) disingenuous, which is why I plan to take each of Brian’s 10 questions and theologically critique them. From what I have already read and others have said, his theology is a large departure from the historic Rule of Faith, which deeply saddens me. What I am looking for specifically is this:

1. Is the Holy Scripture our authoritative revelation for understanding Christian (let alone Human) life, practice, and belief?
2. Does God exist in Trinitarian form (i.e. Does Brian believe in the Trinity)?
3. Is God the Creator intimately involved in Creation and above/outside/separate from it?
4. Is Humanity as a whole rebelliously fallen and individually sinful?
5. Is Jesus very Human and very God?
6. Did Jesus Christ die/suffer in our place on the Cross in order to do something with our sin nature?
7. Did God physically resurrect Jesus from the dead?
8. Is Jesus Christ exclusively both Lord and Messiah?
9. Will Jesus Christ come again as Judge, to judge the living and the dead?

In a review, Tim Challies bittingly writes:

Here, in A New Kind of Christianity it’s as if McLaren is screaming “I hate God!” at the top of his lungs. (I wish I wouldn’t have included this part of the quotation, because I think this “I hate God!” charge goes too far…)And swarms of Christians are looking at him with admiration and saying, “See how that guy loves God?” I don’t know what McLaren could do to make the situation more clear. In fact, his book is nearly indistinguishable from many of the de-conversion narratives that are all the rage today. Compare it with Bart Ehrman’s God’s Problem and you’ll see many of the same arguments and the same misgivings; you’ll find, though, that Ehrman is at least more honest. He at least has the integrity to walk away from faith altogether rather than reinventing God in his own image.

This “admiration” is why I am writing my own assessment. Thousands are admiring Brian and others for the “different” and “new” Christianity they are constructing. Like we are seeing in Doug Pagitt’s own theological endeavour, Brian’s “new kind of Christianity” is really an old one. As I said last week : The Christian faith that authors like Brian within Emergent believe is “new” and fresh and vibrant is really forms of faith from other days. They combine other forms of faith that both the Communion of Saints and Spirit of God have deemed foreign to the Holy Scriptures, Rule of Faith, and gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the history of Christ’s Bride, the Church.

Hopefully I can shed as much light on this construction effort as others are.

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