Further Proof That Brian McLaren Is Out To Lunch
Posted By Paul on January 4, 2007
There was a time when I actually admired Brian McLaren. Back when his version of “Christianity” still had some connection to the actual Word of God. But as time has gone on, he has become so enamored of being ‘radically left’ that he now picks and chooses what parts of Christianity he wants to ‘use’ while deeming the parts he doesn’t like as irrelevant or “misunderstood”.
The further he departs from the inerrant Word, the less use I’ve had for his writings. And now there’s this:
Brian McLaren, chief guru of the “emerging church” movement, feels “dirty”
over the execution of Saddam Hussein.
…In his latest column for Sojourners, McLaren claimed he is not opining about capital punishment. Instead, he is simply sharing “in personal terms” with “those who support executions” how he reacted to Saddam’s hanging.
“The best word to describe my feeling: dirty,” McLaren wrote, no doubt with a sigh. But the post-modern pastor seems more perturbed by the U.S. presence in Iraq than by Saddam’s execution, per se.
The fact that Saddam was an evil man, despised as much by most of his own countrymen doesn’t seem to matter to McLaren.
As with most modern pacifist absolutists of the Religious Left, McLaren seems to believe, like his colleague Wallis, that all “violence” is essentially morally equal, and therefore equally meriting condemnation. Hence, though they are usually reluctant to say it directly, there is essentially little moral difference for them between the war-making government of the United States and the now deposed regime of Saddam Hussein.
It makes you wonder…
Will McLaren ever write a column for Sojourners over how “dirty” he feels when fellow Christians are judicially murdered by Islamists, usually arousing only silence and apathy from Western governments and churches?
Read the whole article by Mark D. Tooley, it raises some good points, and further confirms, to me anyways, just how far out to lunch Brian McLaren has gone.
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Hi Paul,
Funnily enough I do remember reading some stuff from Brian around the murder and crimes of Sadamm and his government, - though of course that’s not the topic of the moment, which is why I would guess it wasn’t commented on.
I read Brian’s colum as a comment on the reaction of many in the US and UK to the hanging - one of celebration. I find it hard to undrstand how anyone cannot feel perturbed by the situation in Iraq, - it’s certainly neither a good or a simple situation, and far from black and white.
I’m really curious, becasue I don’t think I’m undersdtanding this. Aside from a disagreement over foreign policy and troops in Iraq, what is it precisly that disturbs you about this?
Warmly
Steve
Hi Paul,
I noticed you hadn’t replied, and wondered whether my comment felt like an attack, or something else?
Cheers - Steve
Hi Steve,
No, didn’t feel like an attack, but it made me realize that I’m not what could be best termed a “good thinker“.
In other words, I really can’t explain why I thought that was good, or perhaps defend why I thought it was worth sharing.
I find that true of a lot of things lately. I like something, and it catches my fancy, but I can’t really explain the why of it.
I’m just as likely to be enthralled tomorrow by something else that Brian wrote or said, and I’ll think it is just fantabulous.
It’s just part of me being weird, I think. I’m way too left-leaning to be comfortable with the “Christian-Right”, but at the same time, I’m way too right-leaning to fit in with the “Christian-Left” crowd.
Of course, the copious amounts of foreign substances ingested during the 1970’s probably has as much to do with my “thinking problem” as anything…
Hi Paul,
Thnkas for the reponse. I often feel the same way about many of the hot topics others get so excited about.
Steve
I think that is part of what first attracted me to the Vineyard and John Wimber. Wimber always had that vision for the “Radical Middle” and that’s kind of where I fit…
I think that puts a finger on it for me as well. For a little while I’ve been wondering about miving on from my current vineyard, as we seem to be divering in our vision, and I’m been having trouble figuring out where else I might fit in.
I think radical middle puts it very well… Thanks!
Steve