A New Kind of Christianity

Last night was the seventh in a series of study groups I have been doing on Brian McLaren's book of the above title. The book is quite simple, and attempts to help those leaving a conservative, even fundamentalist, Christianity, to settle into a new, more open and "liberal" understanding of the faith. Using it in Bible Belt Alberta is an interesting experience. Thirteen couple have taken the chance on it, along with one single woman, fresh to the Church.

I have been amazed at how "with it"most of these people are, so far as being away from fundamentalism. They find the book difficult, because it seems they read very little beyound TV and the Newspaper. The discussion have been reasonably lively and intelligent. This week, we are dealing with How to Image the Future, technically "Eschatology." That is simply the Greek word for 'the study of the end of things.'

The conservative churches focus on what they call "the end times," usually the day after tomorrow. Theere will be Armageddon, the Rapture, the Great Tribulation - you've heard the whole schtick. McLaren lays this out quite differently for people. "The end of the age" may be more related to the conclusion of a significant period in one's life, ot the nation's life. For example, after umpteen years of Liberal reign in Ottawa, a Conservative majority took over. It was CERTAINLY the end of an age. When your kidsstart leaving home, and life changes, it's the end of an age.

I learned some things from the folks last night. (I have a second group this afternoon, same topic.) Some were told as young people, not to read the Book of Revelation, because it would scare them, they wouldn't be able to sleep. We had a long and deep discussion of "day of Judgment" as a time of accountability regarding one's life -which some of us do weekly, it seems! At the end of my days, what will my life have been worth? Has it been a worthy life?

We talked about the various ways we think about the end of life and what lies beyond that. On the walk home, I began thinking that it might just be valuable to work up a 4 or 6 week study on "The Apocalypse of John" as a way of demistifying it, and giving it a place in mainstream church life. It annoys me that we leve this writing, and others as well (like Daniel, Ezekiel) to the fundos. So this morning I started looking for resources. Am I alone in wanting to see this happen? Does anyone else see this as potentially valuable to the Church, or even to the community at large? More later, I have a bee in my bonnet!