06.04.06

is that a secret?

Posted in faith at 10:36 pm by Brandon

The Secret Message of JesusAs promised, I read Brian McLaren’s latest book, The Secret Message of Jesus. My review will be neither as academic, nor as in depth as Greg’s great treatment of the book. However, I’d like to offer what thoughts I can, regardless of how elementary they might be.

So, let me say at the outset, I liked The Secret Message of Jesus (SMoJ). And yes, I’d even suggest you either buy yourselves a copy or run down to your local library and get it so you, too, can give it a read. I’d like to structure this little review by first talking about some critiques of the book. Then, moving on to what I believe are strengths.

I’ll be honest, I’m not wild about the rhetoric of SMoJ. What I mean is this, when you call something a secret, people start to think that it actually is intended as a secret, that Jesus really only wanted his message to be clear to a few, wise folks. Now, McLaren clearly demonstrates that he knows that this was not the case, yet the rhetoric of the terms “Secret Message” used throughout the book can be a bit confusing.

Another thing that sort of drove me nuts was the idea that this secret message is a totally new idea in Christianity today. I feel like the rhetorical move of calling the Jesus’ ministry a “secret message” tends to downplay those movements in Christianity that’ve really hit the Kingdom of God nail on its proverbial head. For example, the ministry of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. And, while McLaren offers nods to Dr. King, and various other executors of the social gospel, the message isn’t really a secret.

Yet, at the same time, McLaren knows his audience. Because for many people, the story of Jesus’ message as retold by McLaren, may just as well have been a secret. McLaren’s discussion of the life and meaning of Jesus (who he was, what he did, and what his message was) along with his treatment of other NT authors, was good. It reminded me quite a bit of NT Wright, Marcus Borg, or some other Jesus scholar who emphasized casting the message of Christ in the culture of a 1st century middle eastern village.

To whom is this message a secret? Well, probably to many church-goers in America. The kind that think Christianity is first and foremost about substitutionary atonement–that’s who’ll be surprised by the SMoJ. I admit, I didn’t find the SMoJ incredibly surprising. And, I think that’s okay. Instead, for me it was a reaffirmation of many things that I’ve been thinking about in my own coming to terms with church, God, and life.

If you’re a fundagelical-ish, aberchurch-goer, however, you may be in for a shock or two regarding what Christianity actually is. And, for me, this book has been good for that, helping people to understand what I think about Christianity. Because, frankly, I’ll hand it to Brian on this one, he nailed it. He said in this book, almost exactly what is in my heart. Books like that are few and far between.

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is that a secret?

Posted in faith at 10:36 pm by Brandon

The Secret Message of JesusAs promised, I read Brian McLaren’s latest book, The Secret Message of Jesus. My review will be neither as academic, nor as in depth as Greg’s great treatment of the book. However, I’d like to offer what thoughts I can, regardless of how elementary they might be.

So, let me say at the outset, I liked The Secret Message of Jesus (SMoJ). And yes, I’d even suggest you either buy yourselves a copy or run down to your local library and get it so you, too, can give it a read. I’d like to structure this little review by first talking about some critiques of the book. Then, moving on to what I believe are strengths.

I’ll be honest, I’m not wild about the rhetoric of SMoJ. What I mean is this, when you call something a secret, people start to think that it actually is intended as a secret, that Jesus really only wanted his message to be clear to a few, wise folks. Now, McLaren clearly demonstrates that he knows that this was not the case, yet the rhetoric of the terms “Secret Message” used throughout the book can be a bit confusing.

Another thing that sort of drove me nuts was the idea that this secret message is a totally new idea in Christianity today. I feel like the rhetorical move of calling the Jesus’ ministry a “secret message” tends to downplay those movements in Christianity that’ve really hit the Kingdom of God nail on its proverbial head. For example, the ministry of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. And, while McLaren offers nods to Dr. King, and various other executors of the social gospel, the message isn’t really a secret.

Yet, at the same time, McLaren knows his audience. Because for many people, the story of Jesus’ message as retold by McLaren, may just as well have been a secret. McLaren’s discussion of the life and meaning of Jesus (who he was, what he did, and what his message was) along with his treatment of other NT authors, was good. It reminded me quite a bit of NT Wright, Marcus Borg, or some other Jesus scholar who emphasized casting the message of Christ in the culture of a 1st century middle eastern village.

To whom is this message a secret? Well, probably to many church-goers in America. The kind that think Christianity is first and foremost about substitutionary atonement–that’s who’ll be surprised by the SMoJ. I admit, I didn’t find the SMoJ incredibly surprising. And, I think that’s okay. Instead, for me it was a reaffirmation of many things that I’ve been thinking about in my own coming to terms with church, God, and life.

If you’re a fundagelical-ish, aberchurch-goer, however, you may be in for a shock or two regarding what Christianity actually is. And, for me, this book has been good for that, helping people to understand what I think about Christianity. Because, frankly, I’ll hand it to Brian on this one, he nailed it. He said in this book, almost exactly what is in my heart. Books like that are few and far between.

Tags: ,