Customer Reviews

The Diluted Church: Calling Believers To Live Out Of Their True Heritage

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

On the whole, Price's book is a tad bit conservative for me to fully align myself with it, but I believe--with respect to our biblical imperative and the role of the church in relation to the state, and the role of the church in today's society as a whole--it is one of the most clear-headed books about modern Christianity I've head the pleasure of reading. Price argues that we not spoon feed ourselves with the teachings of the church without considering first whether there is a sound biblical basis for these teachings. A friend of mine sent me a copy of this book a few weeks ago...and my dad, who is a Lutheran pastor, ordered of his own after I told him about it.

Tim Price in this book has written how the church needs to keep it's eye on the Lord and impacting others for him and not get caught up with the notion that political action is the answer. I'm thankful Tim has written "The Diluted Church." You may not agree with Tim on everything I don't but it still has things we need to ponder.
Timothy Price believes those on the religious right should admit something is wrong. Price has outlined why that should be done in "The Diluted Church.".
Tim says religious conseratives are going about doing things the same as they were 40 years ago even though much hasn't changed.
Price believes many Fundamentalist, Evangelical and Charismatic leaders have taken their cues from sources other than the scriptures.
"In all the current clamor to "reclaim our culture" and "bring America back to God," have we not forgotten a very important perspective? Peter noted, "For it is time for judgment to begain with the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?" (1 Pet. 4:17; cf. 1 Cor. 5:9-13). Price writes.
"The Diluted Church" says the church needs to get it own act together before going after the sinners of this world.

I've long thought that most mainline churches miss the basic points Jesus tried to teach us. When I saw a brief article here in a Nebraska newspaper about a book on the subject written by a fellow Nebraskan, I bought it (and was impressed to find it available on Amazon.com.)

The book makes two points: (1) the weakness of the church due to tie-ins with the government (2) the weakness in meeting Christian goals due to the organizational dead weight of the denominational structures themselves. There is much more emphasis on point one.

Price notes that we have had government/Christian church tie-ins since the conversion of Constantine. He's convinced that it hasn't been for the good of the religion. Too many concessions are made to religious values in order to support governments in power.

He also thinks far too many people equate their patriotic support of their country as citizens as support for God as well. But he claims that this can "feed the human mind with division, prejudice and most every kind of evil ever devised." Perhaps we can see support for this point of view when we consider the extreme views given to immigration issues or the American torture of foreigners in the name of national security. While it might be interesting that Price was a member of the US Army, his personal experiences in that time of service to America don't seem to be a source for this book.

In my view, Price makes a major detour from the purpose of his book in Chapter 1. He might likely lose many readers on this detour when he attacks evolutionary theory and even the generally accepted dating process of Carbon-14 analysis. His attack is short, weak and unsubstantiated. And it has nothing to do with politics and the church.

One can hope that in the current political era that some of those considered to be in the "religious right" might, in reading this book, see flaws in their political zeal. We Christians need to remember that in our support of the two great commandments that our neighbors also live beyond the borders of our own 50 states.

Tom Stover
Gering, NE

The Diluted Church is a fairly good book. It is not as polished as it could be, a few typos... but the content is very good. This guy really looked at things long and hard. He askes tough questions, which if we were honest it will put many of us religious conservatives on the ropes.

This book will be tough on the person who is a dyed in the wool religious conservative. The author lays things between the lines but the point is very understandable.

The authors has many points but the core issue is that the religious conservative does not corner the market in representing God in public. In fact the author does a good job of showing how poor they represent Him. Additionally, the author speaks in terms of alternative to the political left and right as well as ambassadorship of the believer. These will be welcome thoughts to some but a very upsetting concepts for many others.

This book will polarize people and make them think. It is simple enough but complex too. It will be loved and hate all at the same time.

I bought this book on the strength of earlier reviews, and because I too am concerned about the dangers of evangelical Christianity becoming too tied to "conservative" political positions. However, this presentation is too weak and poorly organized to provide a credible source for any discussion. There are too many broad generalizations that are hard to believe, and the most outrageous of these are the ones that have no attribution included. Probably the best part of the book is the use of quotes from more established authors; these are so few and far between, however, that you would be far better off reading those authors directly rather than wasting time on this frustrating work.

The Diluted Church is an example of why self-publishing (or "semi-self-publishing") does not serve many authors well. Perhaps Mr. Price will be able to find a professional with whom he can work on any future projects, making sure his thesis is clear and delivered in a more credible way. For now--DON'T waste your money on this one.