In a recent article by the voice of the Emerging church, Brian McLaren ponders the question of why Evangelicals do not like him. You can read the fine article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brian-d-mclaren/why-do-evangelicals-disli_b_517094.html
I could save Mr. McLaren some time by telling him why Evangelicals do not like him. The reason why they do not like him is because he claims to be one but he is not. No group likes to be misrepresented. And what Mr. McLaren does is misrepresent Evangelical Christianity. The things that he stands for and believes in according to his new book A New Kind of Christianity: Ten Questions that are Transforming the Faith (HarperOne, 2010), are in reality nothing new. The “Ten Questions” that are to transform Christianity are really not new. And I believe that is why Mr. McLaren is whinning about Evangelicals not liking him.
Instead of asking me first, Brian McLaren believes that he is the object of scorn because he is questioning authority. The authorities have spoken and we are not to question them. First of all, who are the authorities? The biblical writers? The early Church Fathers? The Roman Catholic church? The modern leaders of Evangelicalism? Why whine and complain about the enigmatic figure called “Evangelical Leader?” Instead, Mr. McLaren should simply state what he believes and then let the people decide if he represents Evangelicalism. Because judging from the surface, he certainly falls more in line with classic Liberalism, though he would probably deny that.
It seems that perhaps he may just have an axe to grind. He tries to caricature Evangelical Christianity in such a way so as to suggest that they all unilaterally support Israel over against the Palestinians. Can one be an Evangelical and be pro-Palestine/ Anti- Israel? Certainly no Christian should be against any particular nation. A nation may invade your nation and you have the right to defend your freedom and homeland. But are Christians supporting one nation against another nation based on race alone? True that many conservative Evangelicals unilaterally support the nation of Israel with regards to its policy against the Palestinians. But I would hesitate to say that supporting Israel is a fundamental tenet of what it means to be Evangelical.
Perhaps Mr. McLaren would be better off just enjoying himself among his friends in the Moderate camp and quit thinking of himself as the target of conservative Evangelicalism. If you are going to try to reinvent Christianity and redefine what it means to be a Christian, you are going to make alot of enemies along the way. But your enemies are enemies because you claim to speak for them. Then you pretend that they are upset with you because their authority is being questioned and they are defensive. But there have been many who have sought to redefine Christianity. In the end, how much Mr. McLaren represents historic Christianity will be determined by other Christians of whom he is accountable to. If he does not like their scorn, then perhaps he should keep his thoughts to himself. If however, he wants to continue to redefine historic Christianity, his thoughts will be held up to sever criticism and he will make many enemies. It simply comes with the territory and has been happening since the beginning. So my advice, if anyone cares is to “man up” and stick by what you say and believe. If you can’t run with the big dogs, stay on the porch. But please stop crying.