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Pagan Christianity, the book [message #7960]

Thu, 23 June 2011 18:52

william
Messages: 1464
Registered: January 2006

Senior Member
Administrator

Why put it here? Why not! The whole book deals with things most have taken for granted in the functioning of the Church; those things that need to be totally reexamined if we are to claim that we are 'following the Bible'!

The book points out the inconsistencies of those who say "the Bible is our only guide in the practice of our faith" when many of those practices can be traced back, not to the Bible, but to paganism.

The examples the authors used to get across these inconsistencies are sometimes a bit contrived and hokey, but overall they make their point.

The first chapter --Have we really been doing it by the Book? sets the stage for their premise:

Quote:

"As startling as it may sound, almost everything that is done in our contemporary churches has no basis in the Bible. As pastors preach from their pulpits about being "biblical" and following the "pure Word of God," their words betray them. The truth is that precious little that is observed today in contemporary Christianity maps to anything found in the New Testament church."

Frank Viola;George Barna. Pagan Christianity?: Exploring the Roots of Our Church Practices (Kindle Locations 255-257). Kindle Edition.

The second chapter --The Church Building: Inheriting the Edifice Complex, deals with the unscriptural notion that the building equates to 'the Church'. Most of us already know this but it is nice to see the underlying reasons for this mind-set. The authors give a lot of background information showing exactly how this church/building mentality came to dominate Christianity.

They point out that both the Jews and the pagan religions had three elements: A temple, a priesthood, and sacrifices. The Church of Jesus Christ had no temple, no clergy, and our Sacrifice was a 'once for all' sacrifice. This fact distinguished the early Church from any other contemporary religion. It was a radical departure, founded upon the Rock --Jesus Christ.

I'll try to post more later as time allows but feel free to jump in with any comments or thoughts.

Blessings,
William

I want to believe!

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