More Lively Critique Coming Your Way!

I want to thank my friend Nate (check out his lengthy response to my “atheist” blog here (comment #37) ) who gave me a book yesterday, The Dishonest Church by Jack Good. Here’s a part of the write-up on the back cover of the book that I think presents some interest:

“Two distinct styles of faith characterize the mainline Protestant churches in the U.S. One is the faith of the academy, theologically informed but arid and intellectual. The other is popular Christianity, an energetic mixture of tradition and superstition that provides fellowship and comfort but cannot answer the challenges posed by historical and scientific knowledge. Mainline pastors tend to hold an academic faith, but, lest they scandalize the laity, they preach a popular one. Meanwhile, those who seek a faith adequate to the modern world are silently disappearing from the pews.”
Within the book, Good is more direct:
“Members of the laity fear the loss of their faith; clergy fear the loss of their jobs” (p. 4).
Ouch! I’m reading the book with interest because Good and I share a common love and concern: the church.

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