Pagan Christianity?: Exploring the Roots of Our Church Practices

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Product Description
Have you ever wondered why we Christians do what we do for church every Sunday morning? Why do we "dress up" for church? Why does the pastor preach a sermon each week? Why do we have pews, steeples, choirs, and seminaries? This volume reveals the startling truth: most of what Christians do in present-day churches is not rooted in the New Testament, but in pagan culture and rituals developed long after the death of the apostles. Coauthors Frank Viola and George Barna support their thesis with compelling historical evidence in the first-ever book to document the full story of modern Christian church practices.

Many Christians take for granted that their church's practices are rooted in Scripture. Yet those practices look very different from those of the first-century church. The New Testament is not silent on how the early church freely expressed the reality of Christ's indwelling in ways that rocked the first-century world.

Times have changed. Pagan Christianity leads us on a fascinating tour through church history, revealing this startling and unsettling truth: Many cherished church traditions embraced today originated not out of the New Testament, but out of pagan practices. One of the most troubling outcomes has been the effect on average believers: turning them from living expressions of Christ's glory and power to passive observers. If you want to see that trend reversed, turn to Pagan Christianity . . . a book that examines and challenges every aspect of our contemporary church experience.

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5 out of 5 stars

Spiritual Revolution Instead of Religious Reformation January 27, 2008
233 out of 265 found this review helpful

"Pagan Christianity? Exploring the Roots of Our Church Practices," may very well be the most important book written on the Christian church in the last two millennia. Frank Viola and George Barna team up to give their readers a critical examination of the last 1700 years of church history. Does the institutional church have any biblical and historical right to exist? "Are the practices of the institutional church (the clergy/laity system, salaried pastors, sacred buildings, the order of worship, etc.) God-approved developments to the church that the New Testament envisions? Or are they an unhealthy departure from it?"

The first edition of this book entitled, "Pagan Christianity: The Origins of Our Modern Church Practices" by Frank Viola... is the third book written in a set of five books on church restoration and organic church life. Viola and George Barna, Christian pollster and author of the book "Revolution," have co-authored the newly revised and updated "Pagan Christianity?: Exploring the Roots of Our Church Practices." Barna brings to the book a fresh look and a polished language that improves on the delivery of Viola's original work. Barna, who has caused no small stink upon his recent confessions regarding the church, makes his decision to leave the institutional church complete with the publication of this book. If it wasn't clear in his book "Revolution"... it is certainly clear now.

I enjoyed the new format of this book. At the end of each chapter, the authors give the reader a "Delving Deeper" section which lists common questions with answers in return. I felt that this helped to clarify what the authors were truly saying in order that fact might be separated from fiction. I also enjoyed the updated references and the plethora of footnotes listed at the bottom of each page. These references may be in a smaller font, but they are the entire foundation of historicity which resulted in the penning of this book. Therefore, the serious reader will not want to overlook the footnotes. The reader will also find the "Summary of Origins" and "Key Figures in Church History" in the back of the book a great help as well. The book may look like a long read... yet, you will find that your interest is peaked beyond that of any other historical book you have ever read. You will read until you are done... or until you have thrown it out the window.

The serious questions raised in this book will give the Christian reader more than enough to wrestle over. Viola traces the pagan origins of almost every church practice that institutional Christianity holds dear and holds it to the light of the New Testament. I remember first reading the original "Pagan Christianity" over a year ago. I had spent 6 years of my life in "vocational ministry" within the institutional church and I had a degree in Religion/Biblical Studies. I had just resigned from my position as Minister to Students/Education because the church's leaders were opposed to fundamental teachings of Jesus. My wife and I saw that we could no longer serve among them. It was during this time that I began to read and study like never before. I was seeking to be a senior pastor in a church somewhere in the United States. I studied church history, ecclesiology, Christology, etc. I was seeking the Lord's will for his church. I compiled a list of what the New Testament described the church looked like in fellowship and among the world. With the help of Viola's book, I quickly realized that my list did not reflect the church I knew and that that church could not be seen in the model of the traditional church. I had to rethink my understanding of it all.

I know how hard this read will be for many people, especially clergy members. "Pagan Christianity?" will, no doubt, be a most uncomfortable read for all those who believe the Body of Christ is an institution. For the clergy member, the read will almost be impossible. At every turn of the page... the flesh will flare up in a horrible display of arrogance and pride. Many will scoff at its claims and discourage others from reading it before an honest examination can be made. If the reader is not prepared to reexamine his faith and practice for a paradigm shift... he or she might as well leave this book well alone. If the reader is not yet at the end of their rope in frustration against the church practices and shallow conception of Christ that is believed and taught within the institutional church... this book will only breed anger and confusion. But, if you were like me a year ago... you are tired and want answers... and you want more of Christ... then please read this book and allow yourself to be moved by it. I encourage you to have an honest conversation with the Lord as you read. And listen to his still small voice.

To the rabid opponents of this book, I strongly recommend you speak to no one before you have done truthful research concerning these matters AND have had an honest conversation with Jesus first. Many will argue that this book only proposes another "form" or method of church. This book is not about forms, but about principles. To argue forms... is to miss the point of this book. Many will make preposterous claims that this book seeks to tear down the church of Jesus Christ, when in all reality... this book exalts Jesus Christ of Nazareth and submits that we return to simple community gathered around his headship free from the inventions of man and religion that hinders the Body from every-member functioning. This book does not propose we mimic the model of first-century Christianity, but that we mimic our Lord. Out of our Lord's commands and the principles of his person and work (i.e. life and teachings) will come normal Christian church life!

Why has this book been written? The authors write, "we have written this book for one reason: to make room for the absolute centrality, supremacy, and headship of Christ in His church." (p.250) This statement alone should be enough for any true follower of Christ to pick up and read. But unfortunately, many people, for whatever reason, will choose to accept slander about the authors (even from trusted pastors) as enough reason to discredit and discount them as credible voices of truth in mainline Christianity. This is an incredible action considering that many institutional churches in the last decade have built their entire plan of attack off the statistical findings of pollster George Barna. On top of that... both of these men boldly proclaim Christ in way that is undeniably and unmistakably from a spirit of love and edification. The premature responses of the majority prove how mankind is driven by mere human emotions and tradition... instead of biblical truth discovered through a consistent and verifiable method of biblical interpretation that seeks to exalt Christ above all things.

This reviewer and ex-clergy member challenges you to consider the message of these men. Compare the claims of this book with the Christ and the church of the New Testament before you decide who and what are truly following and being a reflection of pagan Christianity. All of us must choose between spiritual revolution (i.e. return to Christ) or religious reformation (i.e. tweaking the old pagan systems). One of these will release the church from her chains and free her from the bondage of man's religion to experience the natural faith of Christ. The other will only prolong God's people from beholding Christ in majesty and splendor to the world. There is only one life to live. Choose wisely.

I also recommend reading:
The Centrality of Jesus Christ (Works of T. Austin-Sparks)
Going to the Root: Nine Proposals for Radical Church Renewal
God's Ultimate Passion: Unveiling the Purpose Behind Everything
Christ the Sum of All Spiritual Things
The Release of the Spirit
Paul's Idea of Community: The Early House Churches in Their Cultural Setting, Revised Edition

3 out of 5 stars

Some valid issues, but wrong (or at least insufficient) solution January 7, 2008
212 out of 241 found this review helpful

This is a controversial book with tons of valid points, and ultimately, at least for me, an unsatisfying conclusion.

Here, in a nutshell, is the argument of the book:

1. The origin of many of our church practices (examples: church buildings, orders of worship, sermons, pastors, tithing, clergy salaries) is non-biblical and inconsistent with the practice of the early church.

2. Just because something does not appear in the Bible does not mean it is wrong. However, our non-biblical church practices often hinder the development of our faith and keep us from encountering the living God.

3. "The church in its contemporary, institutional form has neither a biblical nor a historical right to function as it does." (p. xx)

4. The church must return to its biblical roots. At a personal level, we must ask questions of church as we know it and pray seriously about what our response should be.

This book threatens a lot that pastors and churches hold dear. But it should be evaluated on the evidence, not on how much it will cost us if they're right.

Most of the book traces the origins of common church practices today. They succeed in showing what should be fairly obvious: many of our practices do not appear in the Bible, which in itself does not make them wrong. Barna and Viola argue, however, that many of these practices are harmful.

It's when you get to their solution that, in my view, the wheels fall off. Viola and Barna argue: ""the church in its contemporary, institutional form has neither a biblical nor a historical right to function as it does." (p. xx)

It could be that Viola and Barna are correct, but I don't think they've proved their case. Pointing out problems with a model means that the problems need addressing. It doesn't necessarily mean that the entire model is wrong.

It's one thing to argue that there are problems with our existing ways of doing church. I'm fully prepared to accept this. It's also OK to argue that other models of church sidesteps these issues, but it could be that they end up encountering a whole set of other issues - as is the case. But is it possible for institutional models to be redeemed? Viola and Barna say no. I'm not so sure.

I'd much prefer to ask questions that get to the heart of the concerns they raise, such as if it's possible for a church to use a building missionally consistent with its true nature. Also, how can we move beyond being pastor-driven, give more to the poor, spend less on institutional maintenance, etc. These questions may or may not lead to shutting down institutional churches, but they need to be answered.

This book, I think, gets at the right questions, but ends up writing too much off. They don't make a sufficient case for anyone to say that almost everyone has got it wrong until now.

In conclusion: Barna and Viola have raised some valid issues. Some dynamics of church life that should be present often aren't. We need to take these seriously. However, their conclusion ultimately falls short. There is room for all kinds of churches, including the institutional and the organic. What matters more than structure is the life contained within. Still, I hope institutional churches will take some of the issues they raise to heart.

5 out of 5 stars

For those willing to 'take the red pill' January 18, 2008
127 out of 131 found this review helpful

Is today's Church into a revolution that will someday be understood as greater than the 16th Century Protestant Reformation?

Pagan Christianity by Frank Viola and George Barna will certainly add fuel to the fire of those affirming so. Most evangelicals would consider such a suggestion as absurd, or at best, exaggerated. Yet, undeniably, there is a grass roots revolution taking place on a global scale in Christendom about what it means to be the Church of Jesus Christ.

Basically the authors are making three points:

1) A great deal of what we do in church today does not come from the New Testament.

2) Much of what is practiced originated out of Greco-Roman customs and traditions (paganism, not Judaism), and/or human-made inventions.

3) Many of these practices actually hinder the church from being what God designed her to be.

The over-arching question the authors seem to be asking is: Do the practices of modern institutional churches reflect a God-ordained/inspired development, or are they a departure from it?

Of course, one must read the book to understand why Viola and Barna indeed question "church" as most of us know it.

Beware, though. This book comes with a WARNING:

If you are unwilling to have your Christianity seriously examined, do not read beyond this page...Spare yourself the trouble of having your Christian life turned upside down. (pg.7)

A glance at the content chapters will suffice as to the reason for the warning!

1-Have We Really Been Doing It By The Book?
2-The Church Building: Inheriting the Edifice Complex.
3-The Order of Worship: Sunday Mornings Set In Concrete
4-The Sermon: Protestantism's Most Sacred Cow
5-The Pastor: Obstacle To Every-Member Functioning
6-Sunday Morning Costumes: Covering Up The Problem
7-Ministers of Music: Second-String Clergy
8-Tithing and Clergy Salaries: Sore Spots On The Wallet
9-Baptism and the Lord's Supper: Diluting The Sacraments
10-Christian Education: Swelling The Cranium
11-Reapproaching the New Testament: The Bible Is Not A Jigsaw Puzzle
12-A Second Glance at the Savior: Jesus The Revolutionary
-The Next Step
-Final Thoughts: Q&A with Viola and Barna

If not already offended at some of the chapter titles, I can almost guarantee you will be after reading what is actually said concerning these staples of institutional Christianity! As difficult as it is to read material that questions church as we know it, this is a well documented book, with over 1200 enlightening footnotes from church historians, theologians down through the ages, the reformers and church fathers themselves, and an extensive eleven page bibliography.

Each of the above issues is traced back to its roots of origin and how it evolved over the years into what we have today. The traditions are then examined in the light of what the New Testament actually teaches. Each is shown--in its current form--to NOT be a New Testament practice, but rather, traditions rooted in paganism absorbed by the church down through the ages. Today, what we assume as "normal Christian practices," would have been strange aberrations for first-century believers.

Of all the chapters, the toughest for me to deal with personally was the chapter, Reapproaching the New Testament. The authors question the evangelical church's "clipboard approach" to the Bible where we cut and paste portions of text from one document into another to say "Scripture teaches..." I am still giving this whole issue some thought, but admit a lot of what they point out is true.

But I predict the most controversial chapter will be Chapter Five, "The Pastor" where the birth of the one-bishop rule is traced. Suffice it to say, this makes for some challenging reading, that will most certainly be hotly contested by many in our established church institutions.

One note of clarification: I do not hear the authors saying that because these practices are pagan, that they are wrong. Many things we do today are rooted in paganism (eg. our calendars, days of the week, etc.) What I do hear them asking is, which of these current practices/traditions actually hinder the church from being the church that God designed and ordained her to be?

For those willing to "choose to 'take the red pill' and be shown 'how deep the rabbit hole goes'...if you want to learn the true story of where your Christian practices came from...if you are willing to have the curtain pulled back on the contemporary church and its traditional presuppositions fiercely challenged...then you will find this work to be disturbing, enlightening, and possibly life changing." (PG, page 7)

5 out of 5 stars

Why Do We Put On Our Best Duds For Church? January 7, 2008
54 out of 59 found this review helpful

The answer to this question and many others of more significance will be found in Pagan Christianity. The authors have painstakingly dug into the archives of history and shown the origins of the most striking features of the institutional Christianity that emerged in post-apostolic times -- things like the church building, the order of worship, the sermon, the pastor, dressing up for church, seminaries, the altar call and tithing.

This book is a fascinating read just from a historical vantage point. For example, you learn that Christians were in the catacombs not because of persecution, but because they wanted to be near the dead. The church service in France is called "aller a sermon" (go to a sermon). There are a myriad of details drawn from church history that help one understand how certain traditions became entrenched in the way church was done.

While there are certainly allusions to organic New Testament perspecives in the course of the book, it is not ultimately about solutions. Pagan Christianity is about documenting the Greco-Roman origins of many church practices that stand in open opposition to the New Testament revelation. "The sermon" is one tradition that arose from pagan, not biblical soil. In a book to come out later in 2008, "Reimagining Church," Frank will unfold more specific pathways to practicing community that would contribute to untangling the churchy mess we find ourselves in.

Because this book challenges ecclesiastical motherhood and apple pie, it will no doubt be a hard pill for many to swallow. But it must be stressed that the major points in PC are confirmed by the historical research of scholars from all across the theological spectrum. Emil Brunner concluded in 1952:

"...what was known as ecclesia in primitive Christianity -- [is] so very different from what is to-day called the Church both in Roman and Protestant camps . . . . many theologians and Church leaders are . . . so much the more painfully aware of the disparity between the Christian fellowship of the apostolic age and our own 'churches,' and cannot escape the impression that there may perhaps be something wrong with what we now call the Church . . . . It is in fact the opinion of the author that the Church itself, in so far as it identifies itself with the Ecclesia of the New Testament, rests upon a misunderstanding" (The Misunderstanding of the Church, London: Lutterworth Press, 1952, pp.5-6).

Likewise, one of the foremost New Testament theologians of our times affirmed with clarity some of the central theses of of PC:

"Increasing institutionalism is the clearest mark of early Catholicism -- when church becomes increasingly identified with institution, when authority becomes increasingly coterminous with office, when a basic distinction between clergy and laity becomes increasingly self-evident, when grace becomes increasingly narrowed to well-defined ritual acts. We saw above that such features were absent from first generation Christianity, though in the second generaton the picture was beginning to change" (James D.G. Dunn, Unity & Diversity in the New Testament, Westminster Press, 1977, p.351).

The quest for authentic, organic ekklesia must begin by an examination of the key components and pillars of what people have come to associate with church. Pagan Christianity has done a superb job of demonstrating that most of what we assume is necessary to practice church is of very suspect origin, and comes into conflict with the simplicity of Christ found in the pages of the New Testament.

I would strongly encourage anyone who hungers for the expression of Christ in his body on earth in our day to read Pagan Christianity and explore the implications for their lives. I was greatly blessed by working my way through this material.

Jon Zens, Editor, Searching Together

5 out of 5 stars

Don't read this book if you are happy in a church pew! January 17, 2008
44 out of 47 found this review helpful

Tyndale is known for publishing Christian books and has shown a daring initiative in publishing this book that questions traditional church practices. In the publisher's preface we read `Tyndale does not necessarily agree with all of the author's positions and realises that some readers may not either. At the same time, we stand united with Frank and George in our desire to see the church operate according to biblical principles and be a full expression of God's grace and truth. Furthermore, the authors raise important questions based on their careful research, study, and experiences, and we believe these questions should not be ignored. Our aim is for you to consider their conclusions and then pray seriously about your response'.

This book is a revised and expanded hard cover version of the book Frank Viola published some years ago, and he has teamed up with George Barna, well known for his research and statistics of church, and who has been hailed as "the most quoted person in the Christian church today". Barna's book `Revolution' is being widely read in home churches across the world.

Many traditional church practices are often unquestioned and regarded at least as a `given', or are thought to have had their roots in the Bible. When many of these are examined and researched as Frank has done, they are shown to be man-made traditions that the earliest church knew nothing of and in fact many hinder the church. Some practices within the following aspects of traditional church life are addressed in this book - `The Church Building', "The Order of Worship', `The Sermon', `The Pastor', `Sunday Morning Costumes', `Ministers of Music', `Tithing and Clergy Salaries', `Baptism and the Lord's Supper', and `Christian Education'. If you are happy in a traditional church pew, then don't read this book!

The actual content of the chapters is little different to the older edition, but the big advantage of this book lies in the additions Frank has made in corroboration with George Barna. There is a `Delving deeper' section at the end of each chapter, couched as a dialogue between Frank and George, tackling questions raised from the chapter just read. They have done this very well, and these could be the basis for small group discussion and sharing.

Another helpful aspect of the book is that it can be read on two levels. The copious footnotes that point to sources, further points that could be considered, extra reading or explanations, provide an opportunity for deeper study. However, a straight read through the book without a serious look at the footnotes, provides lots of information and challenges. A downside of the book is that the footnotes are in very small print unlike the earlier edition where the footnotes were much easier to read.

A very helpful part of this later edition is the Afterward. The first section is entitled `The Next Step' and calls for a response and for community. The challenges are listed as
i.A new approach to worship
ii.A new approach to spiritual growth
iii.A new approach to managing resources
iv.A new look at identity
This is followed by an excellent question and answer chapter dealing with `hot potato' issues arising from the challenges to traditional church and its practice, found in the book.
Both editions have a helpful summary of origins and dates when church traditions and practices commenced, and also a listing of key figures in church history with a brief word or two about their contribution.

A major add-on to this book is a web based download with a free discussion guide and resources for groups and individuals.

One of the difficulties home churches struggle with is the `pull' back to the old familiar ways people have come from in traditional church. It is one thing for folk to step out of the traditional way of church, but to get the traditional ways out of us is much harder, when many of us have been conditioned in these ways for a long time. Some harbaur secret, or overt fears, that they might be stepping `out of the ark' by moving to a home church. This book will be an enormous help for groups to `kill the sacred cows' that still `stick'. It brings ways and practices out into the cold light of day and exposes them for what they are - backed by thorough research. While we hang onto the past, we often remain `stuck' and fail to move forward in freedom towards the future Jesus is calling us to. I suggest that groups study this book and slaughter those `cows'!

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