Brian McLaren (Part 1): Trumpism, Church & Culture and Faith After Doubt

A conversation with Brian McLaren about Trumpism, Church and Culture, and Brian's new book Faith after Doubt. To purchase a copy of Brian McLaren's book see link below:
Part Two: • Brian McLaren (Part 2)...
Faith After Doubt: www.amazon.com/Faith-After-Do...

[@lillizajane100]

I am presently reading Faith After Doubt. I can hardly put it down. I have been so dismayed at my doubts in matters of faith the past few years. This book is a God-send because McLaren is telling my own life story in this book. I think I am in the Perplexity stage now, but looking very forward to reading about the Harmony stage, in hopes of getting there.

[@laurimuse1390]

What if we said As a LDS member I see something is very wrong in our church and we need to repent? Can you speak to that?

[@unenlightenment2815]

I am not a member of the LDS so I am not familiar with that church's polity. I would always encourage people to find a leader they trust to express their concerns to. I think if it is as bad as you say, you have an obligation, in good conscience, to report it to someone. With that said, I would not get your hopes up. Unfortunately, when an institution has been around as long as the LDS church has, they often have protective measures built in so that when leadership is accused of something they simply get a slap on the wrist. Good Luck Lauri!

[@kevinguffey3068]

It’s time for Christian Church to put on the sackcloth and move toward repentance! The world is in suffering and we can be the hands and feet to bring healing. How can we bring in Billions in tithes but still have hunger and homelessness!! It’s time we love our neighbors ! Our God is Love It’s time for a revolution of peace!

[@laurimuse1390]

I just popped on this.. weird. I’m LDS.. it seems this authority trap you describe in Evangelical churches exists in ours. We have it set up exactly to be authoritative We don’t have to get off track like you describe they did. We have a prophet not a pope.

[@janedoe6704]

Agreed, we are actually led by The Lord not by a human. I would say we are authoritative because we have authority, we are not superseding it, which is where most humans go wrong.

[@galaxiaspenjhonson9170]

Im reading "Faith Undone" by Roger Oakland. Im concerned theyre trading spiritualiry with "group think faith" which basically changes church to an AA meeting.

[@unenlightenment2815]

@Galaxias Thanks for your comment. First, I should say that the book "Faith Undone" is way out of date for this conversation. The Emerging Church does not exist anymore. It was replaced by progressive Christianity. The fact that Oakland is talking about how concerned he is about it shows how out of touch with Chruch culture he is. I would stop reading it and read someone who has a proper understanding of church culture. I trace the history of the Emerging Church in my book's introduction (UNenlightenment). Second, I'm not sure where the idea of groupthink came from in the context of this conversation. I say something about groupthink but that is in the context of White Christian Nationalists.

[@galaxiaspenjhonson9170]

@@unenlightenment2815 group think was the jist i got from Chapter 1. You are correct, its more or less irrelevant here.

[@galaxiaspenjhonson9170]

@@unenlightenment2815 progressive christianity.....is this an American only thing currently?

[@unenlightenment2815]

@@galaxiaspenjhonson9170 I would say that it started in America, but has spread throughout the UK and Australia as well. I briefly explore the history of progressive Christianity in my book UNenlightenment. I think that section is viewable for free on Amazon.

[@galaxiaspenjhonson9170]

@@unenlightenment2815 if its on audio ill be glad to pick it up.

[@UTEXTRACK]

I personally do not agree with Brian Mclaren’s judgmental comments about the Catholic faith. Some of my closest friends are Catholics and they are far removed from being right wing evangelicals. I can totally understand why Catholics would be offended with Brian’s offensive comments.

[@webphilosopher1]

Which part? Can you be more specific?

[@UTEXTRACK]

Listen from the 17 minute and 10 second mark where he lumps evangelicals and Catholics. Very judgmental.

[@webphilosopher1]

@@UTEXTRACK Yea, I don't know why he lumps Catholics in there. He doesn't actually explain why and he doesn't distinguish between different kinds of Catholics as you point out.

[@UTEXTRACK]

@@webphilosopher1 I wonder what his friend Father Richard Rohr would say about the derogatory comments about Catholics? Seems that his success might have inflated his ego.

[@unenlightenment2815]

@@UTEXTRACK I personally know Brian and he is a very humble individual. I would not judge him based on a single vague statement. I am sure he would agree that at the very least he should have been a little more clear about who he was speaking about.

[@scottharrison812]

“We’ve got a whole lot of pretending going on”. Yep. Finally Christianity as farce became my exit point. Dissembling pastors and teachers… Christianity as nightmare, as magic show..

[@unenlightenment2815]

I would caution you to make a distinction between God and the Church. The two need not be exclusive to one another. Good luck with your journey!

[@scottharrison812]

@@unenlightenment2815 Thanks for this. An important caution indeed - for it seems God - and Jesus - are both vaguely revealed in and horribly obscured by the church. Bonhoeffer’s religionless Christianity was attractive to me once (what does it matter what is attractive to me?). Seems once the church, and the Bible as inerrant word of God (that fantasy has been shot to pieces) are removed from the jenga tower the whole edifice comes crashing down. Well this is how I look at it: Bart Ehrman makes his decision against belief look like a brave and noble stance against suffering and untruth- a sort of anti-theodicy and hyper-criticism. My departure point was simply disillusionment and exhaustion: exhausted by God, the church with it’s pettiness and unkindness, theology with its ever morphing contradictions. The idea of journey too seems a noble idea, like a pilgrimage, to an exotic land, new discoveries, blah blah… but perhaps it is more like being lost in a parking garage where everything is brutalist concrete and only the floor numbers change. I’m even weary and wary of the voices of wisdom - Qoheleth even suggests wisdom’s fate as dark as foolishness. Still. Things are what they are. In a way the church was a hot and stuffy boiler room in the car park - at least I’m out now, in the strange and alienated spaces of the car park itself…🙏🙌🍀

[@unenlightenment2815]

@@scottharrison812 I get it! I never felt the need to eliminate the whole thing in my journey. With that said, I am told, that abandoning the entire thing is somewhat freeing. However, I still feel that God exists and my search for him has really been the search for truth. Despite the fact that I have a lot of disdain toward the Church, I do not towards God. I have had undeniable experiences with him and I just cannot ignore those. In the end, I don't think people confuse their "relief" of abandoning the whole thing as "relief" from the Church, but not God. If you are interested I have written on a lot of this stuff and published it in my new book called UNenlightenment. Not a shameless plug, but you might find some benefit from it. www.amazon.com/UNenlightenment-Theological-Foundation-Deconstructing-Reconstructing/dp/1957007303 Cheers.

[@ephall63]

I listen to your hate speech, it sickens me

[@markboland1181]

The bigger lie is that the rectum is a sex organ!?