This book and its message do a great disservice to Christ, his purpose & His church.
I would not recommend this book to anyone, not a single person. The mission of these writers appears to be to discredit the entirety of Christianity and organized religion after Constantine. And what help is this?
But as noted by another, they might have spent more time getting educated instead of simply bashing Theology. Their grasp of church history is shallow and distorted. For instance they state that as concerns the early Christians they "...were spreading like a virus...and spilling out into the streets." This is far from history since we know that the Christians were neither befriended by the Jews or the Romans, and suffered intense persecution by both parties. It was in fact this persecution that caused the spreading of the Gospel message outside of Jerusalem and Israel. Further, you cannot simply throw out doctrine - you can only replace it, as these authors do. They decry church doctrine and words, yet create and use their own peculiar versions of the same. We as Christians are not modern islands of truth, somehow divorced from our history, from the labors of dedicated servants of God who carefully examined and explained Scripture for all of us who followed (these 2 authors included).
These authors in their insistence upon condemning the Church claim that "...it really isn't easier to start a church with Christians. They are generally more opinionated, more critical..." Put aside that amazing blanket statement, these authors once again forget that the Ecclesia, were very simply "the called-out ones". The early church was made-up of Christians called out of their culture, and called together - these were not atheists gathered together, but Christians. The authors once again place blame upon the Church an insist that "...most of the Church is stuck, and has been for 1700 years." Another grandiose claim that does not get evaluated or described. If anything we might point to this "fact" as demonstrating that the truth that is and has been present in Church, has survived the passing of time. A gross and unfair generalization.
This book show open contempt for the Church as a whole, as a building and all its tradition: placing "sanctuary" in quotes as some questionable relic. Worse though in all this is their improper view of Scripture. Since these authors show their dislike of Christian education "We need to care for the poor & oppressed, the hurting and confused, instead of systematic theology..." it should come as no surprise that they reinterpret Scripture to suit their ideals. These authors miss the point of Jesus and instead claim "...what drew people to Jesus, surprisingly, was not his message. It was him. His face, the softness of his voice, the whimsical look he gave children, how he laughed, and how he lived." Following this characterization of God incarnate, they even suggest that Jesus was "...drawing a smiley face" in the dirt while confronting the Pharisees and woman caught in adultery.
But this is false, blatantly false. I'm sorry if you follow Rick Warren's theology, but Jesus did not come to heal, to comfort and laugh with people. Jesus came to save sinners, to offer them life everlasting. Jesus came to offer an alternative to everlasting Hell, to separation from the all-Holy God. Miracles and cures He could have worked through anyone - but to truly remove the offence of sin against an eternal God, He Himself had to come and offer an eternal sacrifice for sin. That is why He came!
That He did perform miracles and did heal many cannot change his message and purpose. It is sad that these authors would diminish both the Holy requirements of an all-Holy God, and his true purpose, and instead replace this with dreamy speculations about how he looked and laughed.
As a final note of contention against the message of this book, God's truth and the Gospel message has always been relevant. We are no different, nor more special or afflicted with "modern" issues than those destroyed by the Flood. The message is still the same and needs no revision on our part. While we should be attentive to proper delivery, we can never suggest it is not relevant. We are still sinners separated from God, in need of a Savior - who alone gives eternal life.
Get more detail about The Tangible Kingdom: Creating Incarnational Community (Jossey-Bass Leadership Network Series).
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