The Story We Find Ourselves in: Further Adventures of a New Kind of Christian

After reading The Story We Find Ourselves In, I walk away feeling that most, if not all, the reviews I read concerning it (whether in favor or against) were strangely beside the point. I encourage you to read it for yourself (starting with the Preface). It seems strange to me that folks would defend so vehemently their interpretations (whatever they are-in agreement with the character Neo or not) of this story that every human finds himself/herself in: as if it's our interpretations of life that gives life meaning or significance. It would seem to me that the most basic significance of our story is that it exists before, above and beyond any one of us individually, though we find ourselves inextricably a part of it. In the face of anything that is so indisputably greater than one's self-such as LIFE-it makes more sense to me to seek meaning from that thing than to think that one's undeniably limited perceptions of the thing can somehow add meaning it. The former is all I see McLaren doing in a most respectful way. And it is my humble opinion that in most instances McLaren's search is for the better. For those to whom it matters, McLaren's writing is substantive and full of latent meaning. The title itself, in its lack of grammatical convention, strikingly suggests that by exploring "the story we find ourselves in" we simultaneously find both personal context and meaning. Though narrative, the vehicle of choice for McLaren is almost exclusively dialogue which may take some getting use to for some, but there's nothing wrong with that. Of course the quality of his use of the narrative form could be critiqued-doesn't education teach us that all things can be improved-but such critique would be better reserved for a truly artistic work of fiction. McLaren's work is more along the lines of "creative nonfiction" (a more accurate categorization that a reader of the first book in this series gave him). Besides I get the impression that McLaren's purpose is more parable and less art. The content is not heretical in the least. McLaren only asks you to re-examine the assumptions upon which beliefs about creation, evolution and God's interaction with humanity are based. That which is worth believing should hold up to examination. Whether Evolutionist or Creationist or Intelligent Design Advocate or Christian or not, I hope you read The Story We Find Ourselves In. I hope you enjoy and are inspired by it. If not, I hope it at least challenges you to reconsider for your own benefit why you believe what you believe.

A great work that is bound to stretch your thinking and challenge the things that you have believed since childhood (in many cases). I have always had trouble with the idea that it has to be either Creation or Evolution, but that there can be no middle ground. I loved the way that evolution plays a part in 'the story' as well as the way the author introduces Jesus into the story. I thoroughly enjoyed this book - deeply.

I enjoyed meeting Pastor Dan Poole and his friend, Neo in the pages of A New Kind of Christian, and highly recommend it as a starting point for those interested in exploring the new cultural paradigm facing Christianity in the 21st century.Brian McLaren's second book, in what is likely to be a multi-book series, spends less time talking about the modern-postmodern shift and spends more time unpacking the new theology that flows from it. Once again, a fictional setting is used to provide the stage. In the preface to The Story We Find Ourselves In McLaren writes: "The more I have written about postmodernity (and so on), the more I have wanted to get to the point where it no longer needed to be written about so much. I wanted to start writing about the Christian gospel itself, from a vantage point within the emerging culture, without always having to defend the vantage point." In this work, McLaren begins the process of describing the "new" ideas, theological frameworks and viewpoints that paint the backdrop for the unfolding drama we are living.The Galapagos Islands provide the setting for a discussion of creation and evolution and the origins of the universe. Once again, Neo is the prime expositor of the "new" ideas. In this case, his conversations with Kerry Ellison, a biologist working on the islands to study and preserve wildlife, allow Neo to unpack ideas about a Christian's concern and care for the planet.Other areas of discussion are the authenticity of miracles and Christ's work on the cross. Neo's leadership of a weekly gathering on the yacht, La Ventura, sounds like the kind of church that I would like to join. The unfolding relationship between Neo and Kerry mirrors Kerry's unfolding relationship with God.I liked the storytelling in Story a little better than the first volume. In New Kind of Christian I sometimes felt that the essay overpowered the story. In Story I think McLaren's skills as an author have given us a book that is as interesting for its plot as it is for its information.I have a big appetite for stories that tell of the beauty and mystery that moves people toward faith. And for that reason, I recommend The Story We Find Ourselves In. Be prepared to expand your ideas about the Story that God has written for each of our lives.

It's interesting that the tone of some reviews of McLaren's work stands in bold relief compared to humility brought by McLaren to his works, and the humility that he insists upon from people who agree with him. There is alot in this book to engage as a reader, and thoughtful readers will refrain, as McLaren does, from wholesale endorsements or rejections of complex works such as this. In fact, the only basis for wholesale rejection is the rejection of storytelling, which McLaren clearly stands behind. So allow me to defend McLaren's craft of creative nonfiction below.Many writers in the postmodern Christian "tradition" call for a turn from abstract theology to theology as story, from the apologetics of argument to the apologetics of storytelling. Few, chief among them McLaren in this book and John Eldredge in Sacred Romance, are actually telling stories. Stories are by there very nature disarming. Perhaps that's why Plato wrote in stories, to be able to say exactly what Socrates was saying, but without being persecuted for it. Stories also enable the storyteller to experiment with ideas without offering endless caveats and "quotation marks" to properly distance himself from his proposal. Finally, stories reflect our day-to-day interior worlds, our thought lives, and are thus much better able to engage us than abstract claims of the Kantian or Schleiermachian ilk.The most intriguing episodes in The Story We Find Ourselves in are, to me, the creation account given by McLaren and the break that occurs with the medieval synthesis of Christianity with Greek philosophy. It is indeed difficult to think of the creation story without the extraBiblical dualism of material vs. spiritual.Finally, I think an interesting result of this book, or of the 3rd in the series, would be for others to continue the story that McLaren has begun. I think many would love to work through their questions via the medium of Neo, Dan and the rest.