A Response to "Pagan Christianity?" 4. Concluding Remarks   The church has long endured criticism of the kind that authors Frank Viola and George Barna present in Pagan Christianity? A great many cults and sects have been established over the centuries, on the...

A Response to "Pagan Christianity?" 3.14 Afterword Review   I want to provide some short comments on the Afterword to Pagan Christianity? Viola and Barna ask “Will you act upon what you have read, or will you simply be informed by it?” The action they want us to...

A Response to "Pagan Christianity?" 3.13 Chapter 12 Review - A Second Glance at the Saviour: Jesus, the Revolutionary   In the final chapter of the book, Viola and Barna make an argument alarmingly familiar to anyone acquainted with liberals and revisionists in...

A Response to "Pagan Christianity?" 3.12 Chapter 11 Review - Reapproaching the New Testament: The Bible is Not a Jigsaw Puzzle   Chapter 11 of Pagan Christianity? is perhaps the key to the entire book. Here, Viola and Barna lay out their approach to interpreting...

A Response to "Pagan Christianity?" 3.11 Chapter 10 Review - Christian Education: Swelling the Cranium   In chapter 10, Viola and Barna critique Christian education and, specially, the formal training of pastors for the ministry at seminaries, Bible colleges and...

A Response to "Pagan Christianity?" 3.10 Chapter 9 Review - Baptism and the Lord's Supper: Diluting the Sacraments   Not content to leave any good thing in the church uncontested, Viola and Barna next seek to attack the sacraments,[1] meaning baptism and the...

A Response to "Pagan Christianity?" 3.9 Chapter 8 Review - Tithing and Clergy Salaries: Sore Spots on the Wallet   In Chapter 8, Viola and Barna address two separate issues: tithing and the payment of pastors. On the matter of tithing, I basically agree with...

A Response to "Pagan Christianity?" 3.8 Chapter 7 Review - Ministers of Music: Clergy Set to Music   Viola and Barna next consider the practice that is common in modern churches wherein congregational singing is led by an individual or a group who select the...

A Response to "Pagan Christianity?" 3.7 Chapter 6 Review - Sunday Morning Costumes: Covering Up the Problem   In Chapter 6 of their book, Viola and Barna address the question of what clothing Christians ought to wear to church meetings, and advocate for the use...

A Response to "Pagan Christianity?" 3.6 Chapter 5 Review - The Pastor: Obstacle to Every-Member Functioning   Viola and Barna are particularly fixated on the necessity of what they call “every-member functioning”, by which they mean that every church member must...