From the category archives:

Pagan Christianity?

Reimagining Church

November 12, 2008

I reviewed a book by Frank Viola and George Barna called “Pagan Christianity” some months ago. There is a companion book to it that is out now called “Reimagining Church,” by Frank Viola.
Some great reviews of the book can be found at http://www.ReimaginingChurch.org – including Relevant, The Ooze, Kingdom Grace, Len Sweet, Internet Monk, and [...]

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Chapter 5 – The Senior Pastor: Is He Biblical?

June 20, 2008

I am going to jump ahead in my review of the book Pagan Christianity? by Frank Viola and George Barna, to Chapter 5 which is entitled: The Pastor: Obstacle to Every-Member Functioning. The reasons for doing this are many. The church that I attend is in the midst of a search for a “senior pastor.” [...]

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Chapter 3 – Major Influences on Worship

April 26, 2008

Continuing in Chapter 3 of Pagan Christianity?, writers Viola and Barna next tackle how the changes in early church buildings affected worship. Because Emperor Constantine was the #1 “lay person” in the church, a simple style worship service would simply not do. To honor him, much of the pomp and ritual of the imperial Roman [...]

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Chapter 2: Exploring the First “Church” Buildings

April 19, 2008

Exploring the First Church Buildings
In the book Pagan Christianity?, authors Frank Viola and George Barna continue Chapter 2 by exploring the evidence we have about the first “church buildings,” a trend started by the “Christian” Emperor, Constantine in the 3rd Century AD.
We have already learned why early church buildings were considered “sacred” places. This lead [...]

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Chapter 2: Constantine-Father of the Church Building

April 16, 2008

Constantine-Father of the Church Building
Viola and Barna now enter into the incredible story of Constantine, the founder of the concept of church as a building. In AD 324, Constantine became emperor of the Roman Empire. Constantine’s thinking was dominated by superstition and pagan magic. He never abandoned sun worship, even after his “conversion” to Christianity. [...]

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Chapter 2: The Creation of Sacred Spaces and Objects

April 13, 2008

The Creation of Sacred Spaces and Objects
Authors Frank Viola and George Barna record that a shift occurred in the late second and third centuries when Christians began reverencing their dead. Christians began to meet in two places… their homes and the cemetery. They picked up the pagan practice of having meals to honor the dead. [...]

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Chapter 2: From House Churches to Holy Cathedrals

April 13, 2008

From House Churches to Holy Cathedrals
As already stated in earlier posts, the early church believed that Jesus was the very presence of God and that the body of Christ (the church) constitutes his temple.
The authors of Pagan Christianity? point out that Jesus made some radical statements about the Temple in Jerusalem that angered the Jews [...]

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Chapter 2: Temples, Priests, and Sacrifices

April 13, 2008

Temples, Priests, and Sacrifices
Continuing in Chapter 2 of Pagan Christianity? authors Frank Viola and George Barna point out that the Old Testament Hebrews had a faith experience centered around the Temple, the priesthood and the sacrifice. But Jesus fulfilled all three of these by becoming the “Temple” made without hands, the final high priest who [...]

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Chapter 2: The Church Building – Inheriting the Edifice Complex

April 13, 2008

Well, here we go. Chapter Two of Pagan Christianity? deals with the first specific example of a pagan practice adopted by the church. That being the idea that the church is a building or a place. The authors point out the love affair we tend to have with brick and mortar. When Christians begin to [...]

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Other Blogs on “Pagan Christianity?”

April 10, 2008

I have a friend named Steve Tanner who has started reading “Pagan Christianity?” as well. Steve works for a non-profit Christian organization that equips and encourages those who are involved in Children’s ministry. He has posted about the book and “house churches” as it relates to children’s ministry online here: http://www.kidology.org/network/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=5654&TPN=1

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