Oshkosh Public Library

The great spiritual migration, how the world's largest religion is seeking a better way to be Christian, Brian D. McLaren

eng

Includes bibliographical references (p. [229]-260) and index

index present

non fiction

The great spiritual migration

951854669

Brian D. McLaren

how the world's largest religion is seeking a better way to be Christian

Brian McLaren, a leading voice in contemporary religion, argues that -- notwithstanding the dire headlines about the demise of faith and drop in church attendance -- Christian faith is not dying. Rather, it is embarking on a once-in-an-era spiritual shift. For millions, the journey has already begun. Drawing from his work as global activist, pastor, and public theologian, McLaren challenges readers to stop worrying, waiting, and indulging in nostalgia, and instead, to embrace the powerful new understandings that are reshaping the church. In The Great Spiritual Migration, he explores three profound shifts that define the change: Spiritually, growing numbers of Christians are moving away from defining themselves by lists of beliefs and toward a way of life defined by love ; Theologically, believers are increasingly rejecting the image of God as a violent Supreme Being and embracing the image of God as the renewing Spirit at work in our world for the common good ; Missionally, the faithful are identifying less with organized religion and more with organizing religion -- spiritual activists dedicated to healing the planet, building peace, overcoming poverty and injustice, and collaborating with other faiths to ensure a better future for all of us. With his trademark brilliance and compassion, McLaren invites readers to seize the moment and set out on the most significant spiritual pilgrimage of our time: to help Christianity become more Christian

Preface : Swallow-tailed kite -- Introduction : Coke and the can -- The spiritual migration : from a system of beliefs to a way of life. Crisis by the palo verde tree ; A deeper loyalty ; Learning how to love -- The theological migration : from a violent God of domination to a non-violent God of liberation. The genocide card in your back pocket ; God 5.0 ; The Bible in labor -- The missional migration : from organized religion to organizing religion. That beautiful romance ; Salvation from the suicide machine ; You are social poets ; The broken-open heart -- Afterword : We stepped forth : the waters parted -- Appendices. Charter for a just and generous Christianity ; Fourteen precepts of just and generous Christianity ; More on beliefs