I think I might have liked this book more if...
No, I'm not sure anything could make me like this book. Roger Wolsey has written a book called Kissing Fish; Christianity for People who Don't Like Christianity. Granted, I like Christianity, so that was probably one strike against it from the start. Perhaps if it had read less defensively it might have helped.
On the one hand, I get it. In order to clarify what something is, you oftentimes have to contrast it with something else that people are very familiar with. In this case, that would be conservative Christianity, although it more often felt like Roger was attacking the Christians, not the Christianity. It is hard to separate the two, but I felt part of what was missing was asking what conservative Christianity would look like if it were lived out correctly. But who has time for details?
On the other hand, if you are trying to attract followers, perhaps sounding like the smart kid who has everything figured out while at the same time condemning everyone in the opposing viewpoint as unintelligent and guarded against truth is probably not the best way to go.
Roger did a good job of breaking down the chapters. He neatly sections off subjects like God, Jesus and Salvation. He does a good job of stating conservative Christianity's view, albeit in a way that shows his criticism before he even gets to his criticism.
I couldn't shake the feeling that this was less a book to introduce people to a new brand of Christianity, one Roger calls progressive, and more like an attack on every bad thing Roger sees in conservative Christianity. This would include the theological teaching and his second grade Sunday School teacher sneering at him. (Note: I have no idea what his second grade Sunday School teacher did or didn't do.)
The complications in this book would be too many to list here. From how we view God and how He operates to how (or if) we acknowledge sin, our disagreements would be many. In its most basic sense, I find it difficult to see how progressive Christians hold anything to be true, since so much of the interpretation of Scripture is seen as up to the individual. Although even saying that would seem to be the start of a circle, since the progressive Christian would argue that conservative Christians hold too literally to the Bible.
It's enough to make this blog's head spin. It would make a much better conversation and debate than it does a blog post. Alas, some other time.
I received this ebook from Mike Morrell and my friends at SpeakEasy. They don't make me write a positive review, which was really helpful in this case.
Should you choose to want to know more of what goes on in the mind of someone calling themselves a progressive Christian, check out the links below.
Roger's helpful companion site: http://www.progressivechristianitybook.com/
Kissing Fish’s active Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kissing-Fish-christianity-for-people-who-dont-like-christianity/188533647842714
Roger on Twitter: @RogerWolsey
Roger’s column in Elephant Journal: http://www.elephantjournal.com/author/roger-wolsey/
#SpeakEasyKissingFish
Comments
As you put it, "perhaps if you had read it less defensively it would have helped." I suppose I can see why you may've felt defensive. I was a bit robust in my remarks in the Introduction - but my aim there was to demonstrate to the intended audience (people who have been burned by Christianity) that I get it; i.e., that I fully appreciate and understand the many very valid and compelling reasons that they have been put-off by our faith. Clearly, you aren't part of the "intended audience."
With only one other exception, all of the other reviews of Kissing Fish have been quite favorable. And that other one was far less damning of my book than yours was.
I guess you did your job. I'm doing mine, seeking to reach out to folks on the margins and who have been disgusted with judgmental Christians = and invite them into the Kingdom.
Peace.
Roger Wolsey, author, Kissing Fish: christianity for people who don't like christianity
What that doesn't do for me is erase the overall tone I felt from the rest of your book. I couldn't escape the feeling that conservative Christianity was presented as an option for those who live under rocks or stick their heads in the sand.
I'm not faulting you at all for presenting your viewpoint as one that is better. To do otherwise would be pointless. But, at least for me, it felt like it came with the air of superiority an older kid would look at a kindergartner with.
In the end, I am content to agree to disagree. I don't want you to think that my comments were meant to devalue you as a person. I realize that it can be as easy for you to feel like I was attacking you in my blog as it was for me to feel likewise in your book.
I thank you for taking the time to respond and comment.
Having had painful and alienating experiences with some of the theological views that Roger names in Kissing Fish, I appreciated his voice adding more vocabulary, clarity and understanding to the conversation. I believe, and continue to experience, a growing group of people who are turned off, shutdown, and alienated from what they know of Christianity. This not to say that churches and movements of this nature do not deeply serve some people, and my blessings to those that find God’s presence in a more conservative or evangelical outlook on Christianity.
The group that Roger states his intention to engage in a conversation are those that are NOT feeling served by the view of Christianity they have been given, and yet are still looking for something within the broader Christian family to connect with. (Which, is a phenomena that I believe speaks to the deep power and nature at the heart of all Christianity, that there is something in the Christian path that draws people and that people seek—even when they have been burned by those who profess Christ-following. And it speaks to me of the largeness, the grace and the variety of God that, even within the Christian family, there are many approaches and applications of the path). It is this group of people that I find Kissing Fish to reach out to, walk beside, and present a framework and context to engage in. I found this book proclaiming a vision of the Christian conversation and dialog that embodies the core of the gospel message and some of the best of what the global church can be. It brought me hope and inspiration and has been added to my bookshelf of voices that speak to a Christianity that I can wholeheartedly engage in and a view of a God and humanity that I can wake up to each morning and be glad to strive to live as a follower of Christ.
Thanks for stopping by. I'm glad your experience was a good one. I think how you frame thats enetence actually represents one of my problems in the book.
I saw Roger define certain terms in a way that left them feeling somewhat muddled. It was a feeling of there being many paths to one place type of teaching as we laugh at the ancient conservaive belief system that holds to one truth for all.
If I were to present a Christianity for those who don't like Christianity (and I'm not saying I would be better equipped than Roger to do so), I would present Christianity as it was supposed to be.
Instead of changing Biblical Truth to be something (or Someone) it's not, I would think that pointing people to The Truth would yield a far better result.
The problem down through the centuries hasn't been the God-given truth, but the imperfect way the Christians, myself included, have lived it out.
I agree with you (and Roger) on who the intended audience is, but I have to wonder if even more disunity will create a Christianity that they would be willing to live and die for.