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The Grand Paradox by Ken Wytsma

By Jeremy Myers
21 Comments

The Grand Paradox by Ken Wytsma

The Grand Paradox

Ken Wytsma recently sent me his new book, The Grand Paradox, for review. I really, really wanted to like this book, since it came so highly recommended by numerous authors and scholars that I deeply respect.

Yet I must confess that as I read the book, I had trouble understanding what the book was about. And after having read the book, I am still not sure I know what “the grand paradox” is. I failed to see how one chapter led to another, or how each chapter contributed to an overall big picture theme or idea.

Don’t get me wrong, Ken Wytsma is a good writer with great ideas. Each chapter individually (except for one … more on that in a bit) is a good on a particular topic. I really enjoyed the chapters on justice and doubt. I just didn’t see how the chapters moved the reader toward any sort of cohesive idea, decision, insight, or new understanding.

There were several insights and ideas I found inspiring throughout the book, such as this one on love and justice:

For those who truly care about love and justice, one of the most disappointing experiences in religion is when it becomes a man-made system of conformity and standardization that we use to judge each other. (p. 95)

On the other hand, I disagreed with much of he wrote in chapter 12, titled “Mother Kirk.” Like many Christian leaders today, Wytsma is aware that countless Christians around the world are seeking to follow Jesus outside the four walls of institutional Christianity. That is, they want to follow Jesus without doing the “church thing” on Sunday morning.

Being a pastor of a megachurch himself, Wytsma naturally tries to discredit this way of following Jesus. But in doing so, he reveals that he doesn’t understand the heart or motives of these people, and even resorts to demeaning them with the derogatory label “terminal Christians” (p. 136). He goes on to make this absolutely shocking statement:

When I see someone in the church who is beginning to develop a critical view of church, … I know I am looking at a “terminal Christian.” That individual might not be dead yet, but she is on a trajectory that leads to separation from the people of God, and separation from the people God has identified with will ultimately mean separation from God himself. And separation from God is death (p. 137)

So according to Wytsma, if you decide to stop attending church, or if you are critical of various aspects or elements of the church, you are on your way to becoming separated from God Himself.

As the institutional church continues to suffer a slow and agonizing death, this is the sort of rhetoric we can expect to hear more of from those whose income and notoriety depend upon the institutional church.

I imagine that in Wytsma’s mind, I might be one of those he labels as a “terminal Christian.” But if he were to sit down and talk with me and my wife, or with almost anyone who is on this same journey with God, I think he would discover that we are not falling away from God, but are drawing closer to Him and His people in ways that we never before thought possible–in ways we had only dreamed of when we were part of the institutional church.

Yes, it is true that people who leave the institutional church are often critical of what they left behind. I have contributed to that criticism myself. But this is not criticism of “the church” as much as it is the forms of church which we believe are keeping people from experiencing all that God has for them.

But watch this… if we who no longer sit in a pew on Sunday morning are also part of the family of God through our faith in Jesus, our commitment to follow Him, and our regular fellowship with other travelers on this road, then we too are part of the local and universal church, which means that when Wytsma criticizes us, he is criticizing “the church,” which means that according to his definition, he too is a terminal Christian and headed toward separation from God.

Look, I don’t believe in terminal Christians. I don’t think Wytsma is a terminal Christian. I am just pointing out that when Christians in institutional churches criticize Christians who are not in institutional churches for criticizing the institutional churches, many of their own criticism fall back upon their own heads, just as it does upon us who have left. I am not saying we shouldn’t criticize. We can and we should, for this how we learn. But we must remember what we all learned in kindergarten: “Whenever you point the finger at someone else, three fingers point back at you.”

What am I saying? If you read this book, maybe just skip chapter 12, or if you do read it, just recognize that Wytsma is circling the wagons in an attempt to prop up a dying institution.

If you are part of a fellowship where they say that if you leave their church, or if you question or challenge what the church does or what the pastor says, that you are leaving God or challenging God’s ways, recognize that this is the guilt-based, fear-based, control-based system that forms the foundation of much of the modern “church,” and does not reflect the heart of Jesus for His Bride.

So what can I say about this book? Well, many of the chapters are insightful and helpful. I LOVED his chapter on justice. And if you want to read some thought-provoking s on various Christian topics from a leading church communicator, this might be a good book to try. Just be careful with chapter 12…

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: books, Books I'm Reading, church

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The Greatest PROOF of Christian Truth I have EVER read!

By Jeremy Myers
44 Comments

The Greatest PROOF of Christian Truth I have EVER read!

I was reading the book reviews of a certain Christian book on Amazon yesterday, and stumbled upon the most astounding argument for the truth of Christianity I have ever read.

One reviewer of this book (which will go unnamed) left a fairly negative and critical review. As you may know, Amazon allows you to comment on other people’s reviews. So a Christian who was a fan of this book (and the author) commented that this was the stupidest review they had ever read… Another Christian weighed in and said that the commenter was stupid as well for just using cut-and-paste attacks upon people who write critical reviews.

Then I read this…

amazon review

I laughed and laughed and laughed! It reminded me a bit of my post from a few weeks ago about Christian hate speech.

But do you see what this person wrote there at the end? It’s GENIUS!

He says:

Actually, it’s an example of one of my two irrefutable points that show Christianity is truth — the continued existence of the Church despite the continued behavior of the members of this Church.

He’s right, you know. We sure can be glad that Jesus said, “I will build my church,” for if He had left it up to us, we would have destroyed ourselves a long time ago… I imagine, however, that sometimes Jesus is shouting at us, “Stop destroying what I am building here!”

I asked him what his other irrefutable point was. I’ll let you know if he responds…

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: books, church, Discipleship, humor

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Only a Couple More Days to get my book on Amazon at a steep discount

By Jeremy Myers
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Only a Couple More Days to get my book on Amazon at a steep discount

Dying to Religion and EmpireLots of people are really enjoying my most recent book.

I gave away over 2000 PDF copies of the book to people on my email newsletter, and quite a few people also took advantage of the sale of the book over at Amazon.

On Monday the book was only $0.99, but Dying to Religion and Empire is still available at the steeply discounted price of $3.99.

So don’t miss out! Go download a copy for yourself.

The price goes up again tomorrow…

And while I haven’t been checking the book sales on Amazon, I did notice on Monday that it had made a few Top 10 best-seller lists on Amazon:

Dying to Religion and Empire  Giving up Our Religious Rites and Legal Rights  Jeremy Myers 7784

 

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: books, Books by Jeremy Myers, dying to religion and empire, ebooks, free books

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My Newest Book is Now Available on Amazon!

By Jeremy Myers
3 Comments

My Newest Book is Now Available on Amazon!

If you subscribe to this blog by email, check your inbox. I sent you a free PDF copy of my newest book, Dying to Religion and Empire, earlier today.

Dying to Religion and EmpireIf for some reason you have not subscribed to my email newsletter, there are two things you can do.

1. Subscribe to Get Future eBooks for Free

First, make sure you subscribe! I send out free eBooks several times a year to email subscribers, but I can only send them to you if you subscribe!

2. Get the eBook on Amazon for $0.99 (Today only!)

Second, you can still get the book for next to nothing on Amazon, but the price goes up every day, so buy the book soon!

Here is the prices for this week:

  • Sunday: $0.99
  • Monday: $1.99
  • Tuesday, $2.99
  • Wednesday, $3.99
  • Thursday, $4.99

By Saturday, the eBook will be at it’s regular price of $5.99, which is still pretty reasonable for a 178-page book.

Want a Paperback copy?

Of course, if you prefer paperback editions (like I do), Dying to Religion and Empire is also available from Amazon for less than $10.

Thanks goes to…

I also want to thank Nannette Hancock, Nelson Banuchi, and Stan Stinson for helping me find lots of typos in the book. I will be sending them a free paperback copy of Dying to Religion and Empire.

reviews of Dying to Religion and EmpireThanks as well to all the people who posted reviews of the book! Here are some of the comments they made:

Dying to Religion and Empire asks some very good and difficult questions. For that reason alone it is worth your time and investment to ponder how you would answer these questions for yourself and see if your answers agree with the author.
~Stan Stinson

If you are easily offended and don’t like to have your assumptions challenged – don’t read this book. If you want to read a book that you may love or hate, but are willing (or even eager) to examine and evaluate what and why you believe as you do, I recommend this book. ~Jack Land, MD

I really enjoyed reading this book. Like most of Myers’ writings on his blog and in his other books, this one is filled with thoughtful observations and well-researched statements regarding the traditions of “church as we know it.” ~Penny Martin

I am really enjoying reading this book. Jeremy Myers is one or the most thought provoking authors that I read, this book has really helped me to look outside the box and start thinking how can I make more sense of my relationship with Christ and how can I show others in a way that impacts them the way that Jesus’ disciples impacted their world. Great book, great author.~Brett Hotchkiss

The views expressed by Jeremy may not be popular among many professing Christians, but should be. Great work!~Nan Hancock

Buy Dying to Religion and Empire on Amazon today

Go read the rest of the reviews on Amazon, and while you’re there, get the Kindle edition for $0.99 today only! (Even if you don’t own a Kindle, you can download the free Kindle app for your phone, tablet, or computer.)

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: books, Books by Jeremy Myers, close your church, dying to religion and empire, ebooks

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My Next Book is Available on Amazon

By Jeremy Myers
5 Comments

My Next Book is Available on Amazon

My next book is available on Amazon… but don’t buy it yet! 

Here’s what the cover looks like:

Dying to Religion and Empire

Oh, and thanks to everyone who provided input on the title for this book. What are your thoughts about how it ended up?

I suppose if you really want to go buy this book now, I won’t stop you, but I am going to do something special with this book in January… So stay tuned!

Of course, if you want a free digital copy of the book, I will send one out to everyone on my mailing list when I officially release the book in January… so if you are not already subscribed, do so today and use the sharing buttons below to tell your friends about it!  Sign up below:

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: books, Books by Jeremy Myers, dying to religion and empire, ebooks, free books

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