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A religion of love
“Author Accounts for Damaged State of Contemporary Christianity, Offers ‘Upgrade’ ” www.wjkbooks.com. February 16, 2011.
A new book from popular author Greg Garrett offers an “upgrade” to contemporary Christianity. In The Other Jesus: Rejecting a Religion of Fear for the God of Love (Westminster John Knox Press), Garrett comments on the decline in attendance at nearly every Christian denomination, attributing this decline to the negative connotations associated with the label “Christianity.” At its best, Garrett says contemporary Christianity is perceived as judgmental and irrelevant, and, at its worst, irrational and even dangerous. “Where is the Other Jesus, the one who taught and modeled love, inclusion, transformation, and a life of service? He is not to be found in many churches. Many American Christians have warped the figure of Jesus almost beyond recognition to support agendas of intolerance, imperialism, political power, and self-congratulatory salvation” (p. 5).
Rejecting fundamentalist beliefs, Garrett argues that a faith that focuses solely on personal morality and the afterlife misses much of the point of Jesus’ message. Relating his own personal experiences of growing up in—and leaving—a disapproving conservative church and then finding his way back to a different church community, Garrett ultimately offers “Christianity 2.0,” a faith that is not concerned with an array of commandments or with holding the “right” beliefs. Such a faith, Garrett argues, is centered on loving each other and loving God, or as Garrett puts it, “love, where the rubber meets the road, where faith meets the world” (p. 9).
Enjoy 1 free Sentinel article or audio program each month, including content from 1898 to today.
March 28, 2011 issue
View Issue-
Letters
J. Kelly Lester, Debra Skelton, Charlotte Miller, Susan J. Ehart, Mike Davis
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I want to take that class!
Ingrid Peschke, Managing Editor
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A heavenly ministry
Laura Figueroa
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Mary Baker Eddy honored in Lynn ceremony
Jeff Ward-Bailey
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Education reform in tough economic times
Evan Mehlenbacher
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‘Fear not’
By Brian Hall
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Prayer aboard my VW bus
By Mark Patterson
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Pray
Zoe
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Your questions about Church
John Kohler, Dawn-Marie Cornett
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An educator’s thoughts on Christian Science class instruction
By Don Griffith
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Christian Science class instruction—A commitment to God and growing spiritually
Ingrid Peschke with contributions from Tom Black, C.S.B., Olga Chaffee, C.S.B., Christiane West Little, C.S.B.
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What is class all about?
By Chris Orndorff
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Finding my teacher—How I prayed for direction
By Brad Brubaker
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Increased reliance on God
By Lillian McCall Laggart
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Class continues to change my life
By Alice Moseley
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From Iraq to the US— A story of association travel
By Jan Kielpinski
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What’s in a name?
By Andie Raffles
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‘At once, I turned to God’
Sallie Carlson
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Hospitality opens the way to healing
Kay Dalessandro
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Freed from excessive menopausal bleeding
Priscilla Tedesco
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Turn here
The Editors