Strangers and Pilgrims Once More: Being Disciples of Jesus in a Post-Christendom World

Hart (The Ox-Herder and the Good Shepherd) argues that it's time to adjust to life in a post-Christendom age. No longer does Christendom%E2%80%94the 4th through 21st century alignment of white European Christianity with the state%E2%80%94rule supreme. Believers can again embrace a true Christianity, which Hart delineates in broad strokes by opposing it to Christendom. True Christianity embraces dogma, not dogmatism; the Bible, not biblical literalism; evangelism, not polemics; unity, not disunity; and always stays focused on the centrality of Jesus. This book, openly rooted in the pragmatism of William James, offers a path between the corruptions of both secular society and institutional Christendom. It appears aimed at an audience seeking a humane and rational Christianity that merges Marcus Borg with Pope Francis. One might argue that setting up black and white binaries between "good" and "bad" Christianity might replicate the mistakes of the past and not be the best approach in a post-modern, post-Christian era, but the passion and sincerity of Hart's voice is likely to carry the day. (Apr.)