DebC

I've long know that Christianity borrowed or absorbed much of its practices from the pagan religions it also absorbed, so I was curious about what the author had to say. The book starts off, however, with an erroneous assumption of what "pagan" is and the first chapter is littered with easily editable typos and commas in odd places.

Although the premise is interesting, I found the structure of the book - a history lesson followed by a Q&A that repeats the history lessen in confusing terms - to be annoying. This structure appears at the end of each chapter like a summary.

The author, Frank Viola, uses the premise that the contemporary church employs methods of worship that are NOT found in the Bible to totally deconstruct and effectually discredit everything about modern Christian worship... including the way we read and interpret the Bible itself. He finds fault with everything: building church buildings, tithing, having bishops/priests/pastors, sermons, songs, and yes, even how we read the Bible.

Sadly, it's this last one that's the most ironic. Viola states that because of a faulty "chapter and verse" format which was imposed upon the Bible, believers erroneously cut and paste verses to fit their needs instead of looking at the "whole, bigger story" in which they are set.

I agree with the need for seeing/knowing the historical and social context of what we as believers are reading, but no offense, Mr. Viola, you did the same cut and paste job when you wrote this book.

In short, an interesting premise, an interesting history lesson, but a lot of hypocrisy from the author. I will give it kudos for offering an intriguing alternative to the traditional church service. A "house church" meeting sounds like a lot of fun and something I wouldn't mind trying once.