I was at the library the other day and on a whim, I searched for books by Brian Mclaren. Normally, when I am about to critique someone or their ideas I like to read their ideas in context before I throw my words out of my mouth and a foot enters the void. I looked at The Secret Message of Jesus and I am still working on Everything Must Change, but these books explain why Mr. Mclaren advocates a social gospel. In his introduction he says that there are three kinds of people who read his books, People who are...
- Converts to his teachings.
- Curious about his teaching.
- Critics of his teachings
I would place my self in between 2 & 3. Why? I am interested in what he has to say, but I am critical of his ideas. Like a well trained debater he has pre-empted his opposition and is very kind to them throughout the entire book. Initially, he used to believe in the standard gospel, but was influenced by a friend to adopt a social gospel/kingdom dominion viewpoint.
Why is the message of Jesus a "secret?" Mainly because Jesus speaks in parables and metaphors. Such as "born again" (John 3:1-8) and "living water" (John 4: 10-15). But that is a just a small point compared to why Mclaren believes in a social gospel/kingdom dominion.
In Chapter 11: The Open Secret, Mclaren relates to a significant conversation at a restaurant. During this lunch, Brian Mclaren was asked what he believed the gospel to be by a friend who claimed that most people had the gospel wrong. He replied by quoting Paul about justification, salvation, and Christ dying for our sins. Mr. Mclaren then asks his friend what he believed the gospel to be, expecting heresy. His friend answered with,"The kingdom of God is at hand. That was Jesus' message. Don't you think we should let Jesus tell us what the gospel is?"
"Some would say that we have exchanged "Christianity" for "Paulinity." Christianity was about the kingdom of God coming to earth for everyone, they would say. Paulinity is about about a select few escaping earth and going to heaven after they die. (The Secret Message of Jesus, pg. 91)"
He goes on to say later in the chapter:
"But the question remains: if Paul doesn't use the exact same language with the similar frequency, how does he translate Jesus' message into his own, new situation?(The Secret Message of Jesus, pg. 95)"
Aaron covered a lot of the issues regarding kingdom dominion in his post on Thursday so I will not expound on the in depth issues so as not to bore you with redundancy. However, one issue begs of discussion. Paulinity vs. Christianity. In II Timothy 3: 16-17 it says, "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." The key phrase is that "all scripture is given by inspiration of God." Does it say that only certain parts of the Canon represent truth? No, the entire Bible is completely infallible.
For a detailed review, which covers a lot of Mclaren's ideas that are presented in The Secret Message of Jesus, click here.
The Bottom Line: "Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." (John 14: 7)
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2 comments:
Noah~
This post was very interesting. I too have read this book, and I wasn't exactly sure what I thought about it.
Hello again, Noah. I was just curious if you know anything about courtship, and if you could maybe write a post about it in the near future. Thank you!
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