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![[ Bob Hostetler ]](http://www.bobhostetler.com/images/2003/logo2003.jpg){kind=logo}
Book ReviewsThe Last Word and the Word After ThatBesides possessing one
of my favorite book titles ever, Brian McLaren’s
The Last Word and the Word After That
is a welcome completion of the New Kind
of Christian Trilogy because with it the author returns to much of the heights and depths he achieved with the
first book in the series. The Last Word and the Word After That concludes the journey of pastor Dan Poole from an “old”
kind of Christian to McLaren’s “new”
kind of Christian, with the help of his friend and Obi-Wan, Neil Oliver. Through
the course of the book, Dan wrestles with the third major issue the author
clearly intends for the church to reconsider: hell. Though at times I
found The Last Word mildly frustrating
because neither the author nor the characters seemed to want to “just
come OUT with it,” and be specific and clear about what they really
wanted to say, the book did open new (and mostly worthy) considerations about
God’s justice, mercy, and the afterlife. On occasion I wasn’t
sure the author or characters were playing straight with me, especially in
chapter nine when it seemed to be clear that the arguments were being made
from the unstated assumption that Jesus, when he spoke on the subject of
hell, was theorizing and borrowing ideas, rather than revealing truth, and in
chapter ten when, at the very beginning, another assumption (that “similar”
= “borrowed”) was likewise unstated and unchallenged. I realize
those are assumptions that dominate influential streams of modern
scholarship, but it bothered me nonetheless. However, I did find it
delightful to hear and read the Bible in a new way, from a fresh—and, I
believe, generally fair—perspective. It brought up many lines of study
for me that have already proven fun and fruitful. In terms of its power
to persuade, it has certainly made me think, and along new lines. I may not
be on the path Pastor Dan Poole was on in the book, but then I may not have
heard the final word on the subject…and certainly not the word after
that. |
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Copyright © 2006, Bob Hostetler |