A fresh breeze …
A reader responds:
Well Brian, I read one of your first books back when the “Post-Modern” Church was just starting and got along with it fairly well. It was certainly better then most books out there at the time. I am a little over half-way through your newest book (which I love!) and just wanted to write you a note that though you bring a little more academia to it (which is interesting) you boil it down to an understandable point.
My Father was a Fundamentalist “Non-denominational” Pastor (which looked and acted suspiciously like a Southern Baptist faith) and right around the time I started going to a local Community college (around 8 years or so ago) combined with some excellent reading from authors such as Hans Kung, Bonhoeffer, Akenson, Peterson, Tillich, and Matthew, more Matthew, even MORE Matthew, they really helped me to rethink the groundwork of everything to do with my faith. I ended up redefining many concepts starting from What prayer is, to Faith vs. Belief, to Am I actually saved?!, to Should I just pitch Christianity altogether? I have to say the hardest struggle for me was and IS STILL finding a church to call home. My resolution mostly has been that church for me has become wherever I am at that point in time there I am in church. In other words I am still free to be human and still continue to require God’s love in my live. We both still have our role, God has his and I still have mine.
All THAT to say that after reading (most) of your book so far, it is a fresh breeze of contentment to know that I am not weird and out of place and alone in my reading of the Bible. I am glad God has given you the ability to think clearly and critically and with the ability to convey those thoughts in a way others can understand them.
Thanks for the encouraging words!