Based on our reading and discussion to this point, what questions do you have for McLaren? Describe why you think these questions are important. (300-500 words)
I think the biggest thing that I would want to ask McLaren branches off of my opinion from last week's question, which would be what he thinks of a move towards secularism. Because obviously I think that it could be a positive movement, but I wonder what the author of so many books focusing on Christianity would have to say about that. For all that Christianity is supposed to stand for, I feel like it is a very exclusive group; so the importance of secularism lies in being able to accept help or cooperation from people who clearly don't share the same values. In other words, I think that it would be a big step for the Christian community to be able to work with others for the sake of a common good, without necessarily trying to convert or indoctrinate them. People helping people in general, rather than making distinctions between who's who or what they stand for.
Furthermore, I wonder how he expects to reach people outside of the Christian faith alone while writing solely from what I'll call a “Jesus standpoint,” by which I mean relating how we should act to help others to Jesus' example exclusively. How does he feel his ideas are getting across to people of other faiths (not even including those without faith yet) when the book is sold in the Christian Inspiration section of Barnes & Noble? It seems unlikely to find a Buddhist or Muslim walking down that aisle and purchasing “Everything Must Change,” much less a non-believer. Does he want to reach these people in theory or in practice, is the thought I have on this, when I think about the mere placement of the book in stores, and from what point the book is written.
The second, less-pressing question I might have is something that we have discussed in class, and I believe is probably a question that most of us share: does McLaren feel like he must tiptoe around issues or his true opinions for the sake of keeping in line with a certain standard that other people hold for him, so that he is not labeled as a “radical?” Is it so important? It seems to me that the title itself implies radically new thought, and by reading the book I would think that it is probably a bit radical; yet still at times it seems that McLaren is not saying all that he would like to say, or is phrasing himself carefully. I'm not sure if this is really a fundamentally important question, but I do think that it would bring about some more clarity if we knew for sure how he felt about the issue.
I must say I have enjoyed McLaren’s book, but I would love to ask McLaren where he is ultimately going with his book. I wonder sometimes if his aim is to address the worlds biggest problems, or to address Christianity’s biggest problems. Maybe there is a healthy mix of both in his attempt to make something better. It is rather obvious that McLaren is aware of many needs, both in the attempt to rescue our planet and the attempt to rescue the message of Jesus Christ. But does it really follow that a perspective on the message of Jesus Christ can better equip us to address the worlds biggest issues?
I would love to ask McLaren if (in his opinion) Jesus is directly or indirectly helpful. Could it be that the message of Jesus stands as inspiration only, or is Jesus somehow something/someone significantly relevant to current world issues?
There may not be any harm in attempting to find the best parts of an ancient religion and apply lessons, morals, and ideas from such a faith to help aid those who are suffering on this planet. I am not fully rejecting the positive possibilities of the aim of McLaren’s hope, but I must say I am hesitant to jump on board. This is due to a certain amount of leariness about the place of the story of Jesus in the face of systemic world problems. While there may be much that we can learn from the story of Jesus Christ, there seems to be also much we can accomplish without such a story (or narrative).
I applaud McLaren’s attempt to revisit the story of Jesus. I applaud his concern for the biggest problems that are facing the world. I am hesitant to marry the two together, as he does from the very get go.
A pressing question on my mind since I have begun reading McLaren’s book is how is he going to get this message across to other religions? This is my main concern with his book and his ideas about how we can change the future. I think back to when I bought this book at Barnes and Noble and I had to go to the inspirational Christian section to find it. It seems to me that he is only getting this information across to people that hold Christian ideals and backgrounds. If McLaren wants to change the world I want to know how he is going to appeal to the whole other half of the world that is not Christian. To make a difference there has to be a solution that applies to everyone and I am not convinced that this is going appeal to all because so many other ways of belief seemed to be marginalized. Along with this inquiry I want to know if McLaren thinks there are other narratives out there besides Jesus’ that can help make a difference? Another question I would have for McLaren is does he think that the bible should be read in a more metaphysical manner. Does he believe that most of the narratives in the bible consist of allegories? This is so important because it can change the way that every stories written in the bible is perceived. It will be hard for many Christian’s to change the way they think about the stories in the bible that were drilled in their head since bible school on Sunday mornings. He seems to almost say he believes this way but never directly states his true opinion. Is this because he is afraid he will lose a certain percentage of his crowd? Many orthodox Christians would probably not want to hear that the bible is full of abstract ideas. When reading the chapter of reframing Jesus he made a statement about humans being sinners by nature in both a conventional and emerging views. Is this something that McLaren really believes or is he just trying not to steer too far away from original Christian doctrine because his new ideas of Christianity are already so controversial among many conservatives? My last question would be does he think that we should get rid of churches all together? Or how should a new type of church be reconstructed? This is an important question because these structures have the potential to spread the right message however some reconstruction must take place for this to happen. I like what McLaren is trying to accomplish however I am not convinced that combining Jesus and resolving the world’s problems is going to be an effective solution.
I have several questions for McLaren at this point. First of all, the title of his book, "Everything Must Change" should be entitled instead, "Everything Christian Must Change." He knows his audience and is focusing on Christians (or Neo-Christians who are getting away from organized religion)... but these people share one thing in common: Jesus.
How will the entire world become a better place by simply reframing Jesus and making a change in Christianity?
Global problems cannot be addressed if only Christians or Jesus followers better themselves. The only way this book would have a serious impact is if he intends to convert the entire world and then brand them with this new mission... I mean, he is an evangelical, right?? ha Anyways, I believe he will make a bit of a difference starting these conversations with his audience, but to say that he is intending to solve global issues is a little pretentious. He has talked about how important this mission to reframe Jesus is, and how it will change people’s perceptions for the better. But I am still a bit skeptical. After it’s all said and done, this is still an interpretation of Jesus’ message… created by man. And as we have seen in the past, these interpretations are not always beneficial to their followers and are usually very harmful to those who do not follow it in a traditional manner. So I have several more important questions:
If we reframe our religious narratives and Jesus, how stringent will the new message be?
What does this reframing entail and expect from the followers?
Will it be just as authoritative as previous "versions" of Christianity?
Do you have to accept this new version in order to promote good in the world?
Will it aim to convert all “nonbelievers” or rather work with them to better society without an underlying religious conviction?
The answers to these questions will make or break his goals. In order to get enough people behind him and into this new movement to really make a difference, he will have to extend a hand past he church, past the cross and somewhat past Jesus himself. And I don’t think he is willing to do that. So we’ll see…
I think the biggest thing that I would want to ask McLaren branches off of my opinion from last week's question, which would be what he thinks of a move towards secularism. Because obviously I think that it could be a positive movement, but I wonder what the author of so many books focusing on Christianity would have to say about that. For all that Christianity is supposed to stand for, I feel like it is a very exclusive group; so the importance of secularism lies in being able to accept help or cooperation from people who clearly don't share the same values. In other words, I think that it would be a big step for the Christian community to be able to work with others for the sake of a common good, without necessarily trying to convert or indoctrinate them. People helping people in general, rather than making distinctions between who's who or what they stand for.
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, I wonder how he expects to reach people outside of the Christian faith alone while writing solely from what I'll call a “Jesus standpoint,” by which I mean relating how we should act to help others to Jesus' example exclusively. How does he feel his ideas are getting across to people of other faiths (not even including those without faith yet) when the book is sold in the Christian Inspiration section of Barnes & Noble? It seems unlikely to find a Buddhist or Muslim walking down that aisle and purchasing “Everything Must Change,” much less a non-believer. Does he want to reach these people in theory or in practice, is the thought I have on this, when I think about the mere placement of the book in stores, and from what point the book is written.
The second, less-pressing question I might have is something that we have discussed in class, and I believe is probably a question that most of us share: does McLaren feel like he must tiptoe around issues or his true opinions for the sake of keeping in line with a certain standard that other people hold for him, so that he is not labeled as a “radical?” Is it so important? It seems to me that the title itself implies radically new thought, and by reading the book I would think that it is probably a bit radical; yet still at times it seems that McLaren is not saying all that he would like to say, or is phrasing himself carefully. I'm not sure if this is really a fundamentally important question, but I do think that it would bring about some more clarity if we knew for sure how he felt about the issue.
I must say I have enjoyed McLaren’s book, but I would love to ask McLaren where he is ultimately going with his book. I wonder sometimes if his aim is to address the worlds biggest problems, or to address Christianity’s biggest problems. Maybe there is a healthy mix of both in his attempt to make something better. It is rather obvious that McLaren is aware of many needs, both in the attempt to rescue our planet and the attempt to rescue the message of Jesus Christ. But does it really follow that a perspective on the message of Jesus Christ can better equip us to address the worlds biggest issues?
ReplyDeleteI would love to ask McLaren if (in his opinion) Jesus is directly or indirectly helpful. Could it be that the message of Jesus stands as inspiration only, or is Jesus somehow something/someone significantly relevant to current world issues?
There may not be any harm in attempting to find the best parts of an ancient religion and apply lessons, morals, and ideas from such a faith to help aid those who are suffering on this planet. I am not fully rejecting the positive possibilities of the aim of McLaren’s hope, but I must say I am hesitant to jump on board. This is due to a certain amount of leariness about the place of the story of Jesus in the face of systemic world problems. While there may be much that we can learn from the story of Jesus Christ, there seems to be also much we can accomplish without such a story (or narrative).
I applaud McLaren’s attempt to revisit the story of Jesus. I applaud his concern for the biggest problems that are facing the world. I am hesitant to marry the two together, as he does from the very get go.
A pressing question on my mind since I have begun reading McLaren’s book is how is he going to get this message across to other religions? This is my main concern with his book and his ideas about how we can change the future. I think back to when I bought this book at Barnes and Noble and I had to go to the inspirational Christian section to find it. It seems to me that he is only getting this information across to people that hold Christian ideals and backgrounds. If McLaren wants to change the world I want to know how he is going to appeal to the whole other half of the world that is not Christian. To make a difference there has to be a solution that applies to everyone and I am not convinced that this is going appeal to all because so many other ways of belief seemed to be marginalized. Along with this inquiry I want to know if McLaren thinks there are other narratives out there besides Jesus’ that can help make a difference? Another question I would have for McLaren is does he think that the bible should be read in a more metaphysical manner. Does he believe that most of the narratives in the bible consist of allegories? This is so important because it can change the way that every stories written in the bible is perceived. It will be hard for many Christian’s to change the way they think about the stories in the bible that were drilled in their head since bible school on Sunday mornings. He seems to almost say he believes this way but never directly states his true opinion. Is this because he is afraid he will lose a certain percentage of his crowd? Many orthodox Christians would probably not want to hear that the bible is full of abstract ideas. When reading the chapter of reframing Jesus he made a statement about humans being sinners by nature in both a conventional and emerging views. Is this something that McLaren really believes or is he just trying not to steer too far away from original Christian doctrine because his new ideas of Christianity are already so controversial among many conservatives? My last question would be does he think that we should get rid of churches all together? Or how should a new type of church be reconstructed? This is an important question because these structures have the potential to spread the right message however some reconstruction must take place for this to happen. I like what McLaren is trying to accomplish however I am not convinced that combining Jesus and resolving the world’s problems is going to be an effective solution.
ReplyDeleteI have several questions for McLaren at this point. First of all, the title of his book, "Everything Must Change" should be entitled instead, "Everything Christian Must Change." He knows his audience and is focusing on Christians (or Neo-Christians who are getting away from organized religion)... but these people share one thing in common: Jesus.
ReplyDeleteHow will the entire world become a better place by simply reframing Jesus and making a change in Christianity?
Global problems cannot be addressed if only Christians or Jesus followers better themselves. The only way this book would have a serious impact is if he intends to convert the entire world and then brand them with this new mission... I mean, he is an evangelical, right?? ha Anyways, I believe he will make a bit of a difference starting these conversations with his audience, but to say that he is intending to solve global issues is a little pretentious. He has talked about how important this mission to reframe Jesus is, and how it will change people’s perceptions for the better. But I am still a bit skeptical. After it’s all said and done, this is still an interpretation of Jesus’ message… created by man. And as we have seen in the past, these interpretations are not always beneficial to their followers and are usually very harmful to those who do not follow it in a traditional manner. So I have several more important questions:
If we reframe our religious narratives and Jesus, how stringent will the new message be?
What does this reframing entail and expect from the followers?
Will it be just as authoritative as previous "versions" of Christianity?
Do you have to accept this new version in order to promote good in the world?
Will it aim to convert all “nonbelievers” or rather work with them to better society without an underlying religious conviction?
The answers to these questions will make or break his goals. In order to get enough people behind him and into this new movement to really make a difference, he will have to extend a hand past he church, past the cross and somewhat past Jesus himself. And I don’t think he is willing to do that. So we’ll see…