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Christian values

Book Review, Book Reviews

Book Review: NuChristian

As part of Judson Press’ blog tour for Russell Rathbun’s new book, nuChristian: finding faith in a new generation, I have had the wonderful opportunity to preview and review this insightful book.  In addition, Wednesday of this week, I will feature a Q & A with Russell about his new book.  On Friday, Russell will be featured as a guest blogger.

nuChristian begins with a very brief forward by author and activist Shane Claiborne (fellow Eastern University alum), of the Simple Way.  Claiborne, known for being a radical voice and champion for the poor, harmonizes with Rathbun’s message of how Christianity must shape “nuChristians”.  That is, Christians who are no longer identified by hypocritical actions, scandal, and hot button issues.

In the preface, Rathbun lays out that the purpose of this book is to join the conversation of David Kinnamen’s book UnChristian.  Back in 1996, Kinnamen’s Barna Group, found that 83% of Americans identified themselves as Christians, and that fewer than 20% of non-Christians held an unfavorable view of Christianity.  Between 2004 and 2007, nine out of ten non-Christians between the ages of 16-29 found Christians to be too anti-homosexual.  In addition, almost as many saw Christianity as it as “hypocritical” and “judgmental.” Seventy-five percent of non-Christians thought Christians were too involved in politics. UnChristian used these statistics and made the case that non-Christian resentment is focused on perceived Christian attitudes. Kinnaman used these statistics to form a bleak picture of Western Christianity.

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Cross

When is a Cross not a Cross?

Be sure to vote in the poll at the end of this post.

Is the cross just a cross?  Is there a way that a cross cannot be a religious symbol?  In the interest of separation of church and state, the Supreme court will rule on an upcoming case that could redefine the boundaries of how religion can play a role in governmental life: Salazar v. Buono

The story goes like this:

A white cross erected on a rock outcropping on federal land in California’s Mojave Desert is at the heart of a Supreme Court case about the government’s display of religious symbols. The Veterans of Foreign Wars’ Death Valley post first built the cross at Sunrise Rock in 1934 to honor Americans who died in combat in World War I.

Neither the VFW nor Sandoz ever owned the land where the cross is located — nor did they have permission to build on the land.

But in 1999, a Buddhist asked the National Park Service for permission to erect a Buddhist shrine on federal land near the cross. The agency refused, setting in motion a series of events in the courts and Congress, culminating in Wednesday’s Supreme Court hearing.

Is it possible that a cross could be refined by the federal government as a non-religious symbol?  If you think that is impossible, then consider this:

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Weddings

Christian "Wedding Crashers"

(I use the term “Christian Wedding Crashers” as a tongue and cheek way of referring to those people who are not typical church member seeking marriage.  Please do not be offended.  This is a light hearted term that some Christians have used for this situation. I do not believe these people are really crashing a wedding.   Please keep reading. )

“What an awesome wedding!  You did a great job.  You opened new doors for us into Christianity.” – is the comment that I heard from a wedding I once officiated.  Over the years, I have been conflicted by couples who come into my office asking me to officiate their wedding.  Normally, I have no problem doing a wedding for a church member or Christians who do not have a church home.  What has been a growing trend for a number of pastors, including myself, is what to do with non-Christian weddings?

Many Christians have been troubled with what to do with Christian “wedding crashers”, which are those people (who some Christians deem to be conflictual) who do not meet the “typical Christian” engagement period.  The typical Christian premarital situation looks like this:

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christians

Three Things You Need to Know About Evangelicals

There is a developing movement within literature to chronicle an outsider’s perspective on the strange land of Evangelical Christianity.  It seems that the world sees all Evangelical Christians as fervent, ignorant, and misguided by a holy book.  Being an Evangelical myself, I can see how the outside world can group all Evangelicals into this stereotype.  The media tends to pick up on the extremes of any group, ideology, or religion and usually tries gives us the most radical angle.   You would think that I would NOT recommend books about non-Christians views on Christianity, but there are two books that are worthy of your consideration about strangers in a strange land that yield some surprising insights.

In the first book,  A Jew Among the Evangelicals, by Mark Pinsky, he provides a brief introduction: a religion reporter for the Orlando Sentinel, uses his unique position as a Jew covering evangelical Christianity to help nonevangelicals understand the hopes, fears, and motivations of this growing subculture and breaks down some of the stereotypes that nonevangelicals have of evangelicals.  “I hope you’ll find laughter, perhaps puzzlement, and heartfelt interest in how people just like you wrestle with feelings, values, and beliefs that touch the core of their beings. And I hope you’ll catch a glimpse of someone learning to understand and get along with folks whose convictions differ from his own,” Pinsky writes in the introduction.

The second book, The Unlikely Disciple is by Kevin Roose.  Roose leaves his Ivy League setting to spend a semester at Liberty University, a conservative Christian college. The book gives this description: “His journey takes him from an evangelical hip-hop concert to choir practice at Falwell’s legendary Thomas Road Baptist Church.  He experiments with prayer, participates in a spring break mission trip to Daytona Beach (where he learns to preach the gospel to partying coeds)… He meets pastors’ kids, closet doubters, Christian rebels, and conducts what would be the last print interview of Rev. Falwell’s life.”

Both of these books provide 3 things you should consider before judging Evangelical Christianity:

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politics

Politics, Christians, and Scandals

I try to be non-political on this blog, but I could not help but notice the recent scandals that are occurring for several Republicans.  Now, do not get me wrong here.  The Democrats have had theirs too (Bill Clinton).  Maureen Down from the New York Times wrote a scathing piece about Christian/conservative Republicans.   In her article entitled, “Pharisees on the Potomac” she points out that the party of morality has hardly been moral.  The hypocrisy of some in the Republication party, she feels, has been obvious, but no one is making waves about it.    She points out:

Who can forget the glory years, when the Gipper invoked God but never went to church?…When Newt Gingrich and other conservatives indulged in affairs with young Washington peaches as they pushed to impeach Bill Clinton?

There has always been a push by some Christians to articulate their undying support of the Republican party, but if those Christians dug deeper they will find some embarrassing facts.  Down continues the article by mentioning the Christian “C Street house“, where Christian law makers go for support during tough spiritual times:

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