Mike Wittmer

Category: book review

  • where is Osama bin Laden?

    When I told my fourth and second grade children this morning that American troops had finally caught Osama bin Laden, I discovered that they had no idea who he was. That’s either a testament to my parenting skills, the quality of public school education, or the sheltered, peaceful lives that Americans enjoy. We must have…

  • why this is and isn’t personal

    Late last week I received my first copies of Christ Alone, and today is the first day that I’m blogging about it. Some of you have asked about Kindle and Nook versions, and I’m told that they will be available on Amazon by the end of the week. I hope that readers of Christ Alone…

  • Christ Alone

    My latest book, Christ Alone: An Evangelical Response to Rob Bell’s “Love Wins” came out late Thursday. I didn’t want to say anything then, since it was Maundy Thursday, and I don’t want to say much now, since we’re still in the middle of Easter weekend. But the Grand Rapids Press ran a story on the…

  • friends who do things

    I have two über pastor friends who are doing or have done things that I wanted to tell you about. 1. Chris Brauns, the author of the best book on forgiveness, is leading a webinar tomorrow from 11:00-12:00 AM EST at the 2010 Peacemakers conference.  Space is limited, but if you are able to participate…

  • Brian McLaren, A New Kind of Christianity, Question 10

    How can we translate our quest into action? Brian closes his book by calling us to follow his lead and evolve to a higher community which consists of “Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, atheists, and others” and “welcomes all people to mature and advance in the human quest.”  He warns that those of us who haven’t…

  • Brian McLaren, A New Kind of Christianity, Questions 8-9

    “Can we find a better way of viewing the future?” and “How should followers of Jesus relate to people of other religions?” These two questions feed one another, and for time’s sake I will take them together.  Brian’s “participatory eschatology” seems to be a version of postmillennialism.  He criticizes postmillennialism for its “triumphalistic determinism” but…

  • Brian McLaren, A New Kind of Christianity, Question 7

    Can we find a way to address human sexuality? This should not come as a surprise to anyone who has been paying attention to the trajectory of Brian’s career, but in this chapter he finally defends the rightness of homosexual practice.  He begins and ends with a couple of red herrings, describing those opposed to…

  • Brian McLaren, A New Kind of Christianity, Question 6

    What do we do about the church? After examining Brian’s unchristian biases in his first 5 theological questions, I am reconsidering my commitment to working through each of his 5 practical questions (but I will keep slogging away, as it’s almost Lent). If Brian’s theological commitments place him outside the bounds of Christian orthodoxy, why…

  • Brian McLaren, A New Kind of Christianity, Question 5, Part 2

    What is the gospel? This section illustrates the confounding and purposeful ambiguity of liberalism, which uses many of the same terms we do but means something different by them.  I’m reminded of the liberal pastor’s advice to Peter Fromm in The Flight of Peter Fromm, that liberals must learn to become “loyal liars” who use…

  • Brian McLaren, A New Kind of Christianity, Question 5, Part 1

    What is the gospel? In this section Brian reveals how liberalism grows in orthodox churches.  He says that at the beginning of their movement, he and his friends were “peace-loving people” who didn’t “want to needlessly upset anyone,” so they thought, ‘Maybe this new understanding can simply be added to what we already have, gradually,…