Red Pill Chronicles

Well, it came yesterday.  The doorbell rang, the dog went crazy, I retrieved the Amazon box from the sidewalk, and I immediately began reading Pagan Christianity by George Barna and Frank Viola.  At around 10:30 last night Lynn asked, "Are you going to read that whole book before you go to sleep?"  I was making rapid progress and found it difficult to put down.

My first inclination was to do a chapter-by-chapter review of the book.  But after spending some time orbiting in the blogosphere I find that there are multitudes of well-written reviews being compiled.  I see no need for another.  However I do feel a need to share with you bullet points of what I'm reading.  Therefore, I will be writing a series of posts called, "Red Pill Chronicles."  Each post will come from portions of the book I've underlined while reading and will be a brief "Did you know" statement.  I'll likely make several of these per week until I finish reading the book.

I'll begin the series with this piece of information:

Did you know...

Ancient Judaism was centered on three elements: the Temple, the priesthood, and the sacrifice.  When Jesus came, He ended all three, fulfilling them in Himself.  In Greco-Roman paganism, these three elements were also present: Pagans had their temples, their priests, and their sacrifices.  It was only the Christians of the first three centuries who had done away with all of these elements.

When Roman Catholicism evolved in the fourth to the sixth centuries, it absorbed many of the religious practices of both paganism and Judaism.  It set up a professional priesthood.  It erected sacred buildings.  And it turned the Lord's Supper into a mysterious sacrifice.  Added to these things were the pagan uses of incense and vestal (sacred) virgins.  The Protestants dropped the sacrificial use of the Lord's Supper, the burning of incense, and the vestal virgins.  But they retained the priestly caste (clergy) as well as the sacred building.

Comments

[Bill Lollar]

Hey, brother. Just thought you and your readers might enjoy reading a new interview with George Barna and Frank Viola. I just posted it today: The Thin Edge hosts joint interview with Barna & Viola. Thanks for your coverage of this great book!

[the analyst]

I look forward to reading more of your "Red Pill Chronicles", keep them coming!

[Bill Huffhine]

Hey brother!

I commend your courage! The loudest railings against this book are coming from pastors whose livliehoods depend upon doing church the way we've been doing it for 1,700 years. Imagine my shock when I read yesterday that there is not one shred of scripture to support my "ordination."

This book is shaking my world. There's a point in "The Matrix" when Morpheus apologizes to Neo saying, "I feel I owe you an apology. We have a policy to never free a mind past a certain age."

There are multitudes who will read this book and never get it because their mind is too far entrenched. Then there are some like you and me who are ready to figure out what this "splinter in our minds" is.

I'll be looking forward to reading your thoughts as you read.

If you begin to read this with an open heart and mind, you will begin to feel very lonely. Know that I am with you and Christ is with us!

[islandpastor]

I ordred my copy yesterday. I am guessing that it will stretch my thinking on how and why we do church the way we do. I need that stretching right now! :)