A Generous Orthodoxy....

Brian McLaren has turned my views on life upside down. With a title like that, you may think Generous Orthodoxy would be a stuffy intellectual excercise in Ivory Tower writing, but it's anything but.

Brian's warm and freindly style is complemented by his intelligent grasp of different traditions and denominations, and General Othordoxy is a wide embrace of all he's learned about God and the Church through his Christian walk.

Using the idea of G.K. Chesterton's original book as a framework of reference, he cleverly sets out what he believes to be the marks of a 21st century Christian, and indeed the original point of G.K. Chesterton's book; namely that Orthodoxy isn't a rigid set of doctrines to adhere to in a slavish manner so as to browbeat anyone who deviates from them; but rather, it is a response of relationship to a loving and merciful God who reveals Himself through our world and our many traditions of this thing called Christianity.

The point is not Christianity, the point is being like Christ.

This book has really challenged alot of my views lately, and I like the fact that Brian picks out the positives he's learned from many different traditions of Christianity, not just his own. Indeed he finds it hard to pin down exactly what label he fits, as the cover of the book demonstrates.

Coming from a Protestant/Baptist/Non-Conformist background to reading this book has been like stepping out from a world of grey, dullish shadows into the Light. It presents me with a view of God and His work, that frees me to accept others for who they are, and recognise our similarities, and not what divides us. I think that's the point.

If you're gonna buy a book this week to challenge you in your faith, get this one.