They kind of miss the whole point!

Because some of you might not be aware, one of my professors, Dr. Michael Horton, has a new book coming out at the end of the month. The title is Christless Christianity: The Alternative Gospel of the American Church. It is a very provocative title, but yet sadly it is a true title in many respects. I will post more about this book in the future, but in the meantime check out the book's official homepage. It has links to other resources (including a PDF of the first chapter) as well as the opportunity to participate in the pre-order special that is exclusively being sold through The Bookstore at Westminster Seminary California for 1/2 off through the end of October. There is also a four part DVD that is available only through them as well.

Here is the link www.christlesschristianity.org

I would like to take a moment to comment on a review of the book by Publishers Weekly on September 15, 2008 (link here scroll about 2/3 of the way down). Overall the review has a negative tone, but there are a couple of things that really need to be highlighted because they are just plain wrong!

"... Horton reaches the oft-repeated conclusion that American Christianity is self-centered rather than Christ-centered..."

Really? This is "oft-repeated?" This might actually be the case in some respects, but it is not "oft-repeated" that this self-centeredness is a bad thing! Unless this reviewer listens to the White Horse Inn I really doubt that he or she is hearing this particular critique of American Evangelicalism from very many other people.

"Horton reveals his lack of theological depth when he argues that ancient Gnostics saw God no different from humans. Yet Gnosticism's entire point is this difference."

Okay this has to be attacked on two levels. The first being Horton's "lack of theological depth?!?!?!?" Is he/she serious? Apparently this person has no clue who Dr. Horton is, nor do they know about the existence of his just completed four-volume covenant systematic theology. I think after reading just a few pages of Covenant and Eschatology their mind would change! There is enough depth in those volumes for a life time of diving! Whoever this author is, I exhort you to pick up any of these volumes and find out for your self the ridiculousness of your statement. Those books can be ordered here.

The other statement that needs to be called out is this reviewer's harsh reaction to Dr. Horton's appraisal of Gnosticism, when he is completely wrong! Apparently for the reviewer Gnosticism is a difference between God and humans. Well, Mr. or Ms. Reviewer, here is a brief definition of Gnosticism that we gave a while ago in our newsletter (link here.

"[Gnosticism] Refers to secret doctrines and practices of mysticism whereby a person may come to enlightenment or realization that he or she is of the same essence as God or the Absolute. The Greek word gnosis means knowledge, though of a particular kind, namely the knowledge of one’s own divinity, acquired not by a rational exercise of the mind but by its very opposite, by mystical altered states of consciousness that seek to silence the mind."

Yeah, kind of the opposite of what the reviewer thinks to be true in his own "depth of theological knowledge."

Finally, one last quote from the review which prompted this whole post to be written in the first place:

"Horton regrettably offers no recommendation for the reformation of American Christianity beyond a simplistic call to let the church be defined by the Gospel rather than the laws of the market."

THAT IS PRECISELY THE POINT OF THE WHOLE BOOK!! Granted, I haven't read the book because it hasn't been released yet, but I am seriously beginning to wonder if the reviewer actually read an advanced manuscript. If he did then he completely missed the point of the whole argument of Dr. Horton (and by association the White Horse Inn, Modern Reformation, Ligonier, etc.). The church in America precisely needs to return to the "simplistic call" to be defined by the Gospel. That is all that we have to define who we are!! The Gospel message is simple, but yet it is the most profound news the world has ever heard and it is not being preached faithfully by many so-called preachers today! Christianity today is in many respects Christless, and it is Dr. Horton's call (and the call of all true ministers) to bring Christ back to the central position of the Christian faith and message. Without Christ and the Gospel the church ceases to be Christian and that is all there is to it. This reviewer is expecting a recommendation from Dr. Horton that comes from the marketplace and when he/she is presented with the cure being the Gospel it is utter "foolishness, folly, and a stumbling block" (1 Cor 1:18-25).