You can find introductory material and the introductory/preface interaction here. Without further delay…

Chapter 1. Reimagining the Church as an Organism.

• “The church we read about in the New Testament was ‘organic.’ By that I mean it was born from and sustained by spiritual life instead of constructed by human institutions, controlled by human hierarchy, shaped by lifeless rituals, and held together by religious programs.”
  • The Christian church is most certainly organic, but the early church also shared many institutional aspects with the Jewish religion – particularly in its utilization of the temple and synagogue.
  • Rituals are meaningful or meaningless according to the assignment they receive from the individual. Communion and Baptism can be meaningless – unless they are imputed with meaning by remaining true to their inspiration in Scripture. While these rituals have a Scriptural mandate, other rituals are not necessarily evil – though they may become lifeless.
• “To put it in a sentence, organic church life is not a theater with a script; it’s a gathered community that lives by divine life.”
  • Amen! Though I think the existence of a community that lives by divine life does not remove the possibility or even necessity of script within practice. A community is intentional and can be fostered or inhibited by a good script (especially if the script is flexible to the realities of life – which are not scripted).
• “The biblical teaching of the Trinity is not an exposition about an abstract design of God. Instead, it teaches us about God’s nature and how it operates in Christian community.”
  • I do think that the Trinity is an archetype for human community, though this actually lends itself against Viola’s suggestion that church is non-hierarchical. While there is not a relationship of superiority/inferiority within the Trinity, there is a relationship of submission and roles.
• “Properly conceived, the church is the gathered community that shares God’s life and expresses it in the earth. Put another way, the church is the earthly image of the triune God (Eph. 1:22-23).”
  • No disagreement from me here…nor do I think from most others I know?
• “There’s an absence of passive spectatorship. There’s an absence of one-upmanship. And there’s an absence of religious rituals and programs.”
  • The spectator nature of traditional church and the politics of church are both disturbing realities of gathered community – they happen. We strive to live by grace in the Spirit, but we fail often, and this is the result. I agree with the removal (as far as is possible) of these elements from the church – but I do not see how the organic church has any stronger position in this battle.
  • I am hoping later on Viola will describe more of how one has an organic church without rituals and programs…and perhaps a more precise definition of what classifies something as a “ritual” or a “program.”
• Viola highlights several different church philosophies:
  • “Biblical Blueprintism” – The Scriptures contained detailed instructions as to how the church should operate, we just have to correctly find these instructions and extract them. This is not the underlying concepts, but rather particular modes of expression, program, and ritual.
  • “Cultural Adaptability” – Suggests we must make the church relevant in the cultural in which the church exists in a specific time, place, and situation.
    • Viola wisely cautions, “Overcontextualization eats up the biblical text to where it disappears entirely. And we are left to create the church after our own image.”
    • I appreciate that while Viola thinks the church is not as it should be he also cautions that, “The early church was not perfect. If you doubt that, just read 1 Corinthians. So romanticizing the early Christians as if they were flawless is a mistake.”^[1]
    • “The great difference between present-day Christianity and that of which we read in these [the New Testament letters] is that to us it is primarily a performance; to them it was a real experience. We are apt to reduce the Christian religion to a code, or at best a rule of heart and life. To these men it is quite plainly the invasion of their lives by a new life altogether.” – J.B. Phillips.
      • I want this invasion of new life altogether in my life!
  • “Postchurch Christianity” – The church as a formal entity ceases to exist, it is only spiritual and organic, it occurs over coffee in the grind of life.
    • Viola argues against this position on the basis that, “The first-century churches where locatable, identifiable, visitable communities that met regularly in a particular locale.”
  • “Organic Expression” – This is the philosophy Viola advocates.
• Viola outlines four “DNA” elements to the true church:
  • “It will always express the headship of Jesus Christ in His church as opposed to the headship of a human being.”
  • “It will always allow for and encourage the every-member functioning of the body.”
  • “It will always map to the theology that’s contained in the New Testament, giving it visible expression on the earth.”
  • “It will always be grounded in the fellowship of the triune God.”
  • I don’t particularly see any of these being an issue for me, in fact they all seem to be in line with my heart – and with most other minister’s I know…again, the implementation appears to be where the difference lies.
• “Yet despite the incredible power of God’s Word, there is one thing that can stop it dead in its tracks. That one thing is religious tradition.”
  • I could object to this, on the grounds that God is able to accomplish His will – there is nothing that can bar its advance, but this would be arguing for only one side of the coin. Better to live with the paradox of reality – God’s sovereignty and human responsibility.
• “Whenever we see the word pastor in the Bible, we typically think of a man who preaches on Sunday mornings. Whenever we see the word church, we typically think of a building or a Sunday-morning service. Whenever we see the world elder, we typically think of someone on a church board or committee.”
  • Yes, some of us think this way, but many of us do not…and our ability to think outside of “the box” is not dependent on our dedication to the particular implementation Viola proposes. Rather, I have seen “out of the box” definitions of all these terms operative within the “traditional church.”
  • The pastor is much more than a preacher, though preaching is an important responsibility of the pastor.
  • The church is certainly not the building, and while I’d love to move away from calling buildings “churches” and to something else (“meeting house” or “chapel” perhaps?) I think this is more a matter of semantics, and helping individuals with a limited view of church (as the building) understand the dual aspects of the word – as a cultural word we use to denote the building in which the organic body congregates.
• Viola highlights the use of ‘proof-texting’ as a significant issue and suggests that it allows us to read back in our current cultural traditions and rituals into the New Testament. I don’t disagree. Proof-texting is a dangerous method of Scriptural interpretation when misused…though I do think it can be utilized properly.

Summary Thus Far:

In general, I find myself agreeing with Viola’s criticisms of the institutional/traditional church, but disagreeing as to the necessity of completing revamping the church in order to achieve a truer vision of the church. I think that most leaders and ministers are on the same page with Viola – cognizant of the issues Viola is raising. Viola has proposed good ideas in theory, but I always find my theories smash to pieces when they hit the pavement of real life…but I’m looking forward to hearing and exploring Viola’s practical application of these ideal visions.

Related articles

• Top Posts for 2010 (frankviola.wordpress.com)
• Christian Post Interview: The Magnum Opus (frankviola.wordpress.com)
• Pagan Christianity – A Review (brighthub.com)
• Rethinking the Church and Culture (frankviola.wordpress.com)
• On the value of reading Thomas Aquinas (westernthm.wordpress.com)
• Daily Routines for Writers & Top Posts for November (frankviola.wordpress.com)

1. ^[1] Steve Brown has an interesting article fleshing out this concept called The Ugly Bride. ↩

The first volume, The Golden Compass introduces us to Lyra in a world parallel to our own. In this world a Catholic-like church rules all supreme and the scholars are a rebellious yet subdued group. There are witches, armoured bears, and all sorts of fantastical creatures – including the presence of daemons – visible creatures which accompany each individual throughout their life in a visible manifestation and represent the human spirit. Lyra becomes entangled in grand adventures and must liberate a friend from a secret group that is separating children from their spirits.

The second volume, The Subtle Knife brings about a grander scale to the tale and introduces our second main hero – a young lad named Will Parry. Eventually our two heros’ tales intertwine and we follow as they explore not only their own worlds but many parallel universes.

The the third volume, the tale becomes epic in scope and the story is of a grand battle between good and evil – except it is the religious, the god who is evil and the usurper who is good[3. Some comparisons to 1984 by George Orwell may be in order.]

What makes these works so amazing? First is the quality of the writing. Pullman has a way with words. He can make them sound so beautiful and describes in such vibrancy an entirely other world. But words alone do not make a story. No, the quality of his tale is deep and rich, the light of the world shines bright and one’s imagination easily pulls out the vivid pictures he draws with words. But even beyond this, it is the theories and the mysteries which he throws at the reader which draw this book above the masses of quality reads and enters it into the realm of classics. His discussion of daemons and dust and angels all are worthwhile and offer a philosophical as well as entertaining read.

With that said, some may be amazed to hear me sing the praises of Pullman. My personal belief system is Protestant Christian and yet Pullman is an outspoken agnostic[4. An agnostic believes we cannot know God (if there is one) while an atheist believes that God does not and cannot exist.]. In fact, while his first work is extremely subtle, and the second slightly more outspoken, by the third work it is evident that Pullman intends to undermine many of the basic beliefs of Christianity[5. While the attacks seem somewhat more focused on the Roman Catholic and similar hierarchical churches as compared to many of the less organized forms of Protestantism, the underlying principles attacked extend across all denominations.]. Pullman has made no attempt to hide his aims and the work is as much a work of entertaining fiction as it is a philosophical treatise.

So why would I read it? First, it is partly because it is a theological/philosophical treatise that I read it. When I speak to others about my belief systems it is with an eager desire for them to honestly consider my ways of thinking and why I believe as I do and the evidence I offer to support my beliefs. How should I offer any less to those who believe differently from me? As such, i find great value in understanding and being able to intelligently interact with Pullman’s beliefs.

Secondly, the book offers wonderful insights into the majesty of God. As Pullman discloses pictures of angelic beings, portrays the complexity of the universe, and contemplates the scientific topics that boggle the minds of modern scientists he unwittingly offers insight and wisdom which a Christian can well utilize[5. I especially think here of his portrayals of angels and dust.].

I cannot recommend these three volumes highly enough. The first two are relatively light reads, but the third becomes highly dense though still extremely readable and seems the size of at least both the previous volumes. I cannot speak to the UK volumes, I have only read the US volumes and am aware that Pullman’s works have been censored in the US editions to remove some of Lyra’s sexuality which plays a small but core role in the third volume. But, to the US editions, I give my praise…and hope that some day Pullman will willingly use the skills he has been given by God in the defense of God rather than maligning Him.

P.S. For those interested in learning more about this trilogy, take a look at Wikipedia’s article on the subject.

This is a gripping, frustrating, saddening, heart-wrenching drama about the genocide. It raises real and deep questions about the nature of the human condition and the responsibility of the world in light of localized evil.

If you haven’t seen this film yet, it is a must see. Take the time to bring others together to watch it with you and discuss the political, religious, and individual implications of the film.

Kyle Strobel writes with clarity, honesty, and wisdom I have seldom encountered except amongst the masters. I can rank him without hyperbolization alongside John Piper (Desiring God, Future Grace), C.S. Lewis (Mere Christianity, Chronicles of Narnia), and George MacDonald (Diary of an Old Soul, Unspoken Sermons). The quality of his writing is superb, the content is clear and concise, the depth of his knowledge is amazing.

Strobel is young. Very young. But his work desires the attention not only of this current generation but also of the elder generations. With the wisdom of Solomon he carefully examines the faults of the elder and younger generations. Unlike so many contemporary writers who are blinded by the faults of the other generation Strobel is careful to pull the plank each generation’s eye as he seeks to unfold a clearer vision of following Christ.

If you are looking for visionary insight into the following of Jesus. If you desire to deepen your walk with God…Or even to understand who this God is and why you should care. If you find yourself in conflict with those of other generations – or are simply looking for deep, heart-wrenching, intellectual, theological stimulation – get ready to take a wild ride.