A New Kind of Christianity

Ten Questions That Are Transforming the Faith

By: Brian D. McLaren

Narrated by: Sean Pratt

Length: 11 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

"Wherever the willingness to rethink has been squelched, wherever that sense of quest has been buried under convention and complacency, the Christian faith in all its forms is in trouble. But even there, something is trying to be born. Even now, right here, among us, inside you, inside me. You may feel it as a curiosity, a desire for better answers than you inherited so far. You may experience it as frustration, knowing that there must be more to faith than you currently know. You may know it as hope, hope that God is seeking humble people whose hearts and lives can be the womb of a better future.... In you, your family, your faith community, and circles of friends, among people of peace and faith everywhere, something is trying to be born."

We are in the midst of a paradigm shift in the church. Not since the Reformation five centuries ago have so many Christians come together to ask whether the church is in sync with their deepest beliefs and commitments. These believers range from evangelicals to mainline Protestants to Catholics, and the person who best represents them is author and pastor Brian McLaren.

In this much anticipated book, McLaren examines 10 questions facing today's church - questions about how to articulate the faith itself, the nature of its authority, who God is, whether we have to understand Jesus through only an ancient Greco-Roman lens, what exactly the good news is that the gospel proclaims, how we understand the church and all its varieties, why we are so preoccupied with sex, how we should think of the future and people from other faiths, and the most intimidating question of all: what do we do next? Here you will find a provocative and enticing introduction to the Christian faith of tomorrow.

©2010 Brian D. McLaren (P)2011 HarperCollins Publishers

Clear, Careful, Considerate Confrontation

McLaren knows, from personal struggle, that confronting a paradigm can be a scary thing. Rethinking the central messages of faith can feel, at first, like you are abandoning your faith altogether. McLaren helps us walk this path with a sense of growing confidence. He confronts the set of beliefs and priorities that have re-framed and constrained Christianity in the last couple of centuries - frameworks that have moved us away from a focus on love of God and neighbor toward a focus on getting to heaven through correct doctrine. He helps to turn us back to the message of love - and he does so in a way that embodies that love. HIs message is clear (and clearly challenging) but also carefully grounded in scripture and wisdom and is communicated in a way that graciously invites us to join the journey.

Bad recording

I was never able to finish this book to write a review as the recording kept skipping.

Perfect for those rethinking American Christianity

Really perfect timing for me as I’ve been deconstructing for years and I’ve recently reached an exciting time in my journey. Full of dogma disappearing and curiosity, questioning and enjoying the process replacing my old seeking ways. And I’ve wondered at times am I even still a Christian? I’ve been reassured by studying the fist two centuries of Jesus followers (from Gnostics to Pauline, Petric, and Marceon etc...) and their diversity of thought encouraged me and provided much needed fearless fellowship of pure seeking. But I still wondered , am I alone ? And this book says is: no, I am not! Which was nice :) Thanks Brian !

Amazing

This book is great. McClaren gives voice to so many issues I have had with the church for many years, and he gives me hope that I may find value in Christianity again.
Sean Pratt is perfect for this reading. He does a great job at narrating.

An important perspective

McLaren brings a thoughtful and thought provoking perspective to the much needed evolution of Christianity. Listen to this and open your eyes.

Revolutionary

This book set me on a new path several years ago. I just listened to it again from the mission field where it would greatly enrich the lives of so many missionaries! Thank you Brian

An excellent thought provoking book!

Absolutely loved this book. Recently I have been struggling through a number of disturbing questions about my faith. Rather than just giving up and abandoning Christianity altogether, this book has helped me see a noble quest that I can truly and enthusiastically embrace. I still don't know if I will fit in my church or not but at least now I have a gracious and Christ-like framework in which I can proceed. Thanks for writing this book. I feel like I have hope again.

Terribly written. The book is all over the place.

The idea of the book is fine however, it is written in such a way that it alienates the non scholar reader. The ideas are scattered throughout the the book and seems to be written by a woman with ooohhh shinny... ADD.