The Last Word and the Word after That: A Tale of Faith, Doubt, and a New Kind of Christianity [Paperback]

Brian D. McLaren (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 18, 2008

For all those seeking more authentic ways to hold and practice Christian faith, Brian McLaren has been an inspiring, compassionate—and provocative—voice. Starting with the award-winning A New Kind of Christian, McLaren offered a lively, wide-ranging fictional conversation between Pastor Dan Poole and his friend Neil Oliver as they reflected about faith, doubt, reason, mission, leadership, and spiritual practice in the emerging postmodern world. That conversation widened to include several intriguing new characters in the sequel, The Story We Find Ourselves In, as Dan and friends continued to explore faith-stretching themes from evolution to evangelism, from death to the meaning of life. Now, in this third installment of their adventures, Dan and his widening circle of friends grapple with conventional Christian teachings about hell and judgment and what they mean for our relationship with God and each other. Is there an alternative to the usual polar views of a just God short on mercy or a merciful God short on justice?  Could our conflicted views of hell be symptoms of a deeper set of problems – misunderstandings about what God’s justice and mercy are about, misconceptions about God’s purpose in creating the world, deep misgivings about what kind of character God is and what the Christian gospel is for?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Pastor Dan Poole returns with another personal and theological crisis in this final installment of McLaren's A New Kind of Christian trilogy, which again features fictional characters engaged in nonfictionish theological dialogue. This time around, Poole has been granted an extended leave of absence from his conservative church as it investigates what it believes to be his liberal theological leanings, especially regarding the doctrine of hell and salvation. In rather predictable fashion, Poole finds himself questioning his own beliefs about hell and God's goodness, and just as predictably, Poole's friend Neo gently shepherds Poole away from the traditional doctrine of hell by pointing out that salvation is not just an individual matter but a communal one as well. Once Poole reaches some personal level of understanding about these doctrines through his reading, the church committee miraculously clears him of all charges and, after some emotional meetings, asks him to return to the pulpit. In the end, Poole finds comfort God's goodness and love, but by then readers may have been disappointed by the book's flimsy characters and simplistic insights. Although McLaren has justly earned a reputation for provocative postmodern theological observations, this doesn't live up to his standard. (Apr.) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

Pastor Dan Poole returns with another personal and theological crisis in this final installment of McLaren's A New Kind of Christian trilogy, which again features fictional characters engaged in nonfictionish theological dialogue. This time around, Poole has been granted an extended leave of absence from his conservative church as it investigates what it believes to be his liberal theological leanings, especially regarding the doctrine of hell and salvation. In rather predictable fashion, Poole finds himself questioning his own beliefs about hell and God's goodness, and just as predictably, Poole's friend Neo gently shepherds Poole away from the traditional doctrine of hell by pointing out that salvation is not just an individual matter but a communal one as well. Once Poole reaches some personal level of understanding about these doctrines through his reading, the church committee miraculously clears him of all charges and, after some emotional meetings, asks him to return to the pulpit. In the end, Poole finds comfort God's goodness and love, but by then readers may have been disappointed by the book's flimsy characters and simplistic insights. Although McLaren has justly earned a reputation for provocative postmodern theological observations, this doesn't live up to his standard. "(Apr.)" ("Publishers Weekly," March 28, 2005)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass; 1 edition (April 18, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470248424
• ISBN-13: 978-0470248423
• Product Dimensions: 5.7 x 0.9 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (120 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #76,253 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Brian D. McLaren is an author, speaker, pastor, and networker among innovative Christian leaders, thinkers, and activists. His groundbreaking books include A New Kind of Christian, A Generous Orthodoxy, The Secret Message of Jesus, and Everything Must Change. Named by Time magazine as one of America's top twenty-five evangelicals, McLaren has appeared on Nightline and Larry King Live, and has been covered by The Washington Post and the New York Times.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

139 of 148 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars We Report, You Decide November 13, 2005

By Robert W. Kellemen

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

In "The Last Word and the Word After That," Brian McLaren completes his "New Kind of Christian" trilogy. Since McLaren describes his writing as "creative non-fiction" readers of this review are hereby warned--if you don't want to know how his narrative ends, stop reading now. I'd hate to spoil the plot for you. . .

"The Last Word" arrived today after lunch. I fully intended to return to my sabbatical Church history research, but couldn't resist reading the back jacket, then skimming the book, then reading the introduction. The next thing I knew, the afternoon was over and so was the book. In other words, agree with him or not, McLaren can write. His narrative is compelling and gripping.

I found myself hunting for tissues when reading about Pastor Dan, his wife Carol, and the spiritual abuse that they suffered at the hands of their church board. I also found myself hunting for scissors at the biased portrayal of those who believe in a literal hell (more on this to come). And I found myself searching in vain for any closure to the discussion (I know, that's his point and his style, but still . . .).

If you want permission to think deeply about God, life, judgment, grace, and doctrine, then "The Last Word" will be a breath of fresh air. If you want to be given the research and resources necessary to intelligently ponder the doctrine of hell, then "The Last Word" will leave you wanting.

McLaren clarifies that his book is not truly about hell, but about what kind of God we believe in and what kind of purposes this God has for His creation. Still, for the first half of the book, his characters explore the doctrine of final judgment. Through their journey, McLaren provides a fair introduction to the more commonly held views about the final judgment, as well as introducing his own provocative perspective.

McLaren offers the caveat at the beginning of the book that "The Last Word" will purposefully under-represents the "traditional" view of hell as literal and eternal. Unfortunately, it not only under-represents it, it tends to misrepresent it. Three main characters hold to the traditional view. Carol represents the, "I don't want to think too deeply about it; I just want to love God" characterization. Gil epitomizes the, "I'm a cruel fundamentalist, ignorant Bible-thumper" depiction. Chip portrays the, "I'm a recovering fundamentalist; please be gentle with me while I find my brain and soul" caricature. The reader is left to assume that for the past 2000 years of Church history no thinking, loving Christian has ever held the "traditional" view of hell.

Other characters, presented with much more color-with mind and soul, life and personality-offer a composite view of what the final judgment might really be about. In the eyes of these favored characters, "hell" is not a literal place of eternal torment, but a motivational warning about a coming final judgment in which every human being stands stark naked before God to give an account of how well or how poorly she or he loved God and others and thus contributed or not to fulfilling God's shalom kingdom purpose of reconciliation. Though the intricacies of this view are difficult to summarize, at times they seem to border on a mingling of justification by works and justification by faith. After all, McLaren says that he is "post-Protestant."

Though I, and much of Church history (majority and minority report), happen to disagree with Neo's proposal about the nature of hell, one of his insights represents brilliant philosophy, accurate theology, and practical spirituality. Neo explains that when we do stand before God, because God is timeless, His judgment of us will be based upon and integrate together every nano-second of our existence. Assuming this is to be applied to Christians who are judged, not regarding entrance into heaven, but for rewards, it is a potent caution against a believer who might think, "I can wait until near the end of my life, reform, and then God will judge that mature, final me." No. God's evaluation of our Christian pilgrimage covers the entire journey. It is required of us that we walk faithfully and lovingly (though not sinlessly) day by day, even second by second.

The second half of "The Last Word" offers "The Word After That" which reads and feels like a separate book altogether. McLaren somewhat abruptly shifts from eschatology (the "doctrine" of the last times, especially of the final judgment) to ecclesiology (the "doctrine" of the Church). His characters speak of and participate in "deep ecclesiology."

One of the greatest gifts in the entire book is found here as McLaren shares the "five queries" that his spiritual formation group ponders together. They are well worth repeating: "How is your soul? How have you seen God at work in and through your life since we last met? What are you struggling with? What are you grateful for? What God-given dream are you nurturing?" As one of his characters would say, "That dog will hunt!"

This section also includes two questions worth repeating. They are questions that arise when we look at salvation not only as individual, but corporate: "If you were to live for another fifty years, what kind of person would you like to become-and how will you become that kind of person? If Jesus doesn't return for ten thousand years or ten million years, what kind of world do we want to create?" As another of his characters would say, "That'll preach!"

Overall, for a narrative of the story of life on planet Earth, McLaren's story-line sometimes rings a little Pollyanna. Do all, or even most, church conflicts end so perfectly for the "good guys"? I understand that McLaren's final vision for history moves toward reconciliation, but in this life?

By this tidy ending, and by what happens to and is said about "the good guys" and "the bad guys," an implication seeps out: "Anyone who disagrees with the outcomes of these theological probings is a witch-hunting, Pharisaical, hyper-fundamentalist, harsh, heretic-burning, unloving, unthinking, arrogant loser." That can feel a little like reverse spiritual correctness. As with the doctrine of final judgment, is it possible that thinking, loving Christians could actually disagree with the thought processes of the book in a thinking and loving way?

The same overly positive story-telling can be found throughout the trilogy in how people respond to Neo. As some "seeker" reviewers have noted about the first two books in this series, they would love to dialogue with Neo and don't think that they would "cave" so fast, or be nearly so enthralled.

Again, there seems to be a message here, a point being made by how people fawn over Neo. "This new kind of Christian stuff is incredible. It is so intelligent, so sensitive, and so unique. Brilliant. One in a billion." That doesn't quite convey the epistemological humility that post-modernism relishes.

So what do I REALLY think? Is McLaren a breath of fresh air and a post-modern Reformer? Or is he a little leaven and a post-modern heretic. Or something in between? Or neither? Or both?"

In the genre and spirit of "The Last Word and the Word After That," I'm not telling. Develop your own interpretation. Construct, deconstruct, and reconstruct your own view of McLaren and "The Last Word and the Word After That." That's certainly what Brian would want you to do. It's also what the Bible calls each of us to be-Be Bereans who use God's Word to evaluate human words, including "The Last Word and the Word After That."

Reviewer: Bob Kellemen, Ph.D., is the author of "Soul Physicians," "Spiritual Friends," "Biblical Psychology," "Martin Luther's Pastoral Counseling," and "Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction."

175 of 195 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A dangerous book--in a good way May 19, 2005

By Tom Hinkle VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

This is the third book in McLaren's trilogy of narratives involving Pastor Dan and "Neo," here called by his given name Neil. Thankfully, this book drops the near-worship of Neo that was so irritating in the previous volumes.

Although not a scholarly work per se, I do appreciate the research behind it, just as I appreciate a sermon that shows solid research and is not just a bunch of half-baked ideas based on unrelated scriptures taken out of context and strung together. There is a simplified synopsis of the possible origins of the belief in hell. There is the interesting idea that Jesus was using the Pharisee's doctrine of hell and turning it on its head. There is a helpful table on scriptures from the Gospel that indicate either hell or some type of judgment that people have often contrued as hell, and boils them down to the actual point. If you think that Christianity needs the threat of hell to win converts, this might be considered a dangerous book. Even more dangerous are the hints that evangelical and reformed Christianity might have it wrong, and that the book of Romans has been misinterpreted over the years to support a concept of cheap grace while devaluing works. If there is a fourth volume to this "trilogy" (I know that's an oxymoron), that may be a fleshing out of the concept, as one character put it, that salvation is by grace but judgment is by works.

However you come down on the issue of hell (and if you read this as the narrative that it purports itself to be, you'll notice that not all characters agree, particularly the pastor's wife), it's important not to miss the main point: that the preoccupation with heaven, hell and the afterlife has resulted in an unfortunate de-emphasis of the quest for justice and God's righteousness here on earth. A serious reading of the teaching of Jesus will lead to the inescapable conclusion that his main concern was the Kingdom of God breaking in to the here and now, and not just the sweet by-and-by.

Although I consider this by far the strongest book of the trilogy, it is not perfect. There is a superfluous character named Pat early in the narrative who must have been borrowed from Julia Sweeney's character on Saturday Night Live, except Sweeney's Pat didn't write awful poetry. The issue of homosexuality in the church is not the point of this book and could be dealt with better in some of McLaren's other writings. The narrative itself has an almost unbelievably happy, sappy ending. And most irritating of all is in the chapter where McLaren quotes scholarly works on the doctrine of hell. He actually INVENTS phony sources for some of the quotes. I was scrambling trying to find the original quotation, only to read in the ending commentary that he made these up. That borders on dishonest, and is almost insulting to the serious reader.

I must add this, also. I am very distressed to notice that the watchdogs of fundamentalism are on constant alert, giving helpful votes to reviews that just give a scripture passage and don't review the book at all, and giving non-helpful votes to thoughtful, serious reviews, all based on the star rating (and actually that pretty much go unread, I suspect.) Remember that the votes are for "helpful" and "not helpful," not "I agree" or "I disagree." Keep that in mind, Einsteins.

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Still processing this book... June 14, 2005

By Nathan Eanes

Format:Hardcover

As my title says, I am not sure what to think of all the doctrinal points this book raises. Part of the confusion, of course, is that McLaren doesn't answer nearly all of the questions he asks. Therefore, it was slightly frustrating to be left with so many questions (although, on the positive side, it strengthens our analytical and research skills, rather than just spoon-feeding us readers.)

In defense of this book, I have to begin by saying that I think many of the negative reviews were based partly on the fact that readers assumed they knew McLaren's opinion just because he questioned things they (and even I) considered orthodox. In other words, it seems that many people simply assume that McLaren, by wondering whether the "orthodox" beliefs about hell are really biblical, is bashing these beliefs. You see, I'm not sure the book is that cut-and-dry. We need to take it for what it's worth: a book that gets us thinking about whether American fundamentalism (which, like it or not, is really the basis for many modern evangelical beliefs) is really as biblical as we've been brought up to believe.

This brings me to my next point, which also has to do with readers who, in my view, are reading certain incorrect things into McLaren's writing. "A new kind of Christian," which has become one of this author's catch phrases, has, I think, been radically and dangerously misunderstood by most of McLaren's critics. Nowhere in his writing does he seek to destroy the Bible or Jesus. In fact, he seeks to understand the historical and theological context of the Bible's writers and subjects. This is offensive to many conservative evangelicals, who understand the Bible as a codebook on doctrine whose every word was literally dictated by God. McLaren seems to understand the Bible as divinely inspired but also highly historically situational, which throws a wrench into the fundamentalists' works. Therefore, "A new kind of Christian" is not something that seeks to destroy the orthodox ways of being a Christian, but rather tries to do two things: First, make Christianity relevant and understandable to people in our society. And second, bring a greater understanding of what the early Christians, those before the Roman Empire's near-fatal corruption of the Church, believed and lived. Of course, many American evangelicals have little understanding of the early Church, and they seem to believe that what they've been taught is truly "orthodox." Until we're willing to accept that we may, in fact, not know the ultimate truth about everything, we'll never become as humble as Jesus clearly called us to be.