The scarily brilliant Romantic poet and visionary William Blake dared to say what many of us have perhaps thought but kept to ourselves: โA good local pub has much in common with a church, except that a pub is warmer, and thereโs more conversation.
Brian D. McLarenScripture is something God had โlet be,โ and so it is at once Godโs creation and the creation of the dozens of people and communities and cultures who produced it.
Brian D. McLarenWeโre seeking โ imperfectly at every turn, no doubt โ an incarnational theology, a theology that brings radical good news of great joy for all the people, good news that God loves the world and didnโt send Jesus to condemn it but to save it, good news that Godโs wrath is not merely punitive but restorative, good news that the fire of Godโs holiness is not bent on eternal torment but always works to purify and refine, good news that where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more.
Brian D. McLarenThis is why I believe that many of our current eschatologies, intoxicated by dubious interpretations of Johnโs Apocalypse are not only ignorant and wrong, but dangerous and immoral.
Brian D. McLarenI don't think we've got the gospel right yet. What does it mean to be 'saved'? When I read the Bible, I don't see it meaning, 'I'm going to heaven after I die.' Before modern evangelicalism nobody accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, or walked down an aisle, or said the sinner's prayer.
Brian D. McLaren