Too Christian, Too Pagan: How to Love the World Without Falling for It
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(out of 10 reviews)
List Price: CDN$ 23.99
Price: CDN$ 46.66
[wprebay kw=”pagan+rites” num=”16″ ebcat=”all”] [wprebay kw=”pagan+rites” num=”17″ ebcat=”all”]
Rating: (out of 10 reviews)
List Price: CDN$ 23.99
Price: CDN$ 46.66
[wprebay kw=”pagan+rites” num=”16″ ebcat=”all”] [wprebay kw=”pagan+rites” num=”17″ ebcat=”all”]
Review by David T. Wayne for Too Christian, Too Pagan: How to Love the World Without Falling for It
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Dick Staub encourages Christians to enter the world of non-beleivers, lovingly and winsomely. He says that as we do this we will have to have a genuine love for those we meet, while at the same time holding firm to our commitments to Christ. In doing so, he says that we will often seem too Christian to those outside of Christ. Because of our commitment to Christ, we will rub many outside of Christ the wrong way. On the other hand, to many Christians we will seem too pagan. Many Christians see the non-Christian world as something to be avoided. We cluster and cloister in our closed Christian communities and never venture out for fear of contaminating ourselves. If a Christians genuinely loves the people outside of the world, he will seem too pagan to many Christians. They will think he must be compromising his faith. The first nine chapters of the book deal with resolving the tensions involved in this too Christian/too pagan motif. The rest of the book deals with practical advice for entering the world for Christ. From chapter 10 on the chapters are short pieces of advice. For instance, he spends two chapters on exhorting us to experience and live the gospel as the foundation for entering the world of the non-Christian. He then encourages us to learn how to see, think and feel Christianly. And he follows this up with exhortations to see the movies, read the books and listen to the music the world is listening to. All of this is done from the perspective of being able to relate to the world. What is absent here is critical engagement with the world. For instance, his encouragement is to use movies as a kind of window into the worldview of non-Christians. He doesn’t encourage us to critically interact with the worldviews of the movies themselves. This is not to say that he offers a blanket commendation of non-Christian worldviews. On the contrary, part of the reason we read the books, see the movies etc., is to discern the errors and give a proper Christian response. So, what he is basically doing is saying that we engage these things first to understand and build bridges, not to go on the defensive or the attack. This book is written in a popular style. I would not call it meaty in the sense that he doesn’t delve deeply into philosophical or theological issues. But, maybe that can be considered a strength – this book doesn’t encourage one to sit comfortably in an ivory tower, but to get out into the highways and byways of life.
Review by L. kargol for Too Christian, Too Pagan: How to Love the World Without Falling for It
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awesome book; i highly recommend it
Review by Timothy Kieran for Too Christian, Too Pagan: How to Love the World Without Falling for It
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I love to explore the Christian/Pagan viewpoints. Recently I read a sweet collection from a great Irish writer, Bridget Horan O’Mahony, called Pagan Dances from Caherbarnagh and it reminded me of the awful magic calamity that we pagans who have been exposed to the Christian life must endure as we try to straddle both worlds. thank you for this wonderful addition.
Tim
Review by for Too Christian, Too Pagan: How to Love the World Without Falling for It
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Dick Staub’s insights go against the grain of what Christians are usually taught about evangelism. Often it appears that we are encouraged to shout out the Gospel message from our safe Christian subculture across the great divide to the rest of the world. We talk to people in our language, from a perspective that has little to do with the way most people think and act and then we wonder why their hearts are “hardened” to our message. Staub poses an interesting theory. Maybe it’s we who need to change. Maybe we need to start seeing God in places we didn’t think he would appear, such as popular movies and music. Instead of separating ourselves from the rest of the world, maybe it’s time to find commonalitites and go from there. He uses numerous antecdotes and stories, many from his own life, which help prove his point. I highly recommend this book. You may not like everything you hear and you may feel that a lot of Staub’s suggestions are downright dangerous, but perhaps it’s time for a little danger! Staub encourages the Church to come out of hiding and participate in our world and present culture without compromising who we are as believers. This is a delicate balance but the author navigates through this tough task deftly and wisely. Check it out!
Review by W.D. Peckenpaugh for Too Christian, Too Pagan: How to Love the World Without Falling for It
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Dick Staub has set down in print what I have tried to express for a long time within my diocese — and he does it in a very readable and accessible way.Staub lays out the most common objections Christians voice about mixing with non-Christians, and then, one by one, he completely rebuts them. As the book’s title implies, a Christian going into the world following Jesus’ example will be seen as “too Christian” by nonbelievers, and “too pagan” by Christians who isolate themselves from the rest of humanity. Staub gives good, practical advice on how to perform this balancing act, as well as scriptural support for his advice and opinions. I think the chapter in which Staub reviews the inherent worth of every person, and every human pursuit, should be required reading. For every Christian!An excellent book for Christians who are trying to do the evangelism balancing act!