Frank Viola

This book discusses how the majority of "traditional" modern Christian practices are not derived from the Bible, but rather from historical, Greco-Roman paganism. The authors did a wonderful job of citing references, which I really appreciated. The logic used is consistent throughout the book, and very easy to follow. The end of each chapter contains a "Delving Deeper" section that addresses additional questions raised and emphasizes the overall point - I found this section quite helpful. I think for the majority of Christians, the message in this book will be very difficult to swallow, but that it is necessary to really wrestle with what we believe and why we do what we do. Even for those who will walk away in disagreement, I think it is a worthwhile, thought-provoking read.

Traditions discussed are:
* church buildings (vs meeting in homes)
* order of worship (vs spontaneous, organic contributions)
* sermons (vs every-member contributions)
* pastors (vs every believer as a priest serving under Christ as our High Priest, and therefore being led directly by Jesus Christ)
* dressing up for church in our "Sunday best" (vs simplicity of the early Church and its overt avoidance of social class distinctions)
* worship pastors/leaders (vs every-member bringing a psalm as evidenced in 1 Cor 14:26)
* tithing (vs Christ abolishing the law, including the tithe, and instead Christians giving generously according to their ability)
* clergy salaries (vs itinerant (traveling) ministers only being supported financially, and sometimes, as in the case of Paul, not even then)
* delayed baptism (vs being baptized immediately after conversion, as was the case in the early church)
* Lord's Supper as solemn, truncated affair (vs observing it as a full meal as a joyous celebration)
* seminary/christian education (vs church-planting itinerant workers being mentored by current leader, as Jesus taught His disciples and Paul trained workers in Ephesus)
* proof-texting (vs approaching the Bible as a whole, as it was written, rather than separating out various verses from various books and letters to support a theme/point we're trying to make)… (more)

Combining insightful commentary with moving, eye-opening storytelling, Frank and Mary make a formidable writing team. Each vignette takes the reader inside the mind and world of a woman who met Jesus of Nazareth. In an almost lyrical fashion, Mary weaves together what we know of 1st century Israel to create a plausible backstory, filling in the biblical blanks of each woman's life and showing us how their lives were changed after their encounter with Jesus. Frank follows each "diary entry" with commentary on the biblical text, guiding readers to apply the truths from each story to their own lives. He does a great job, but Mary's storytelling is by far my favorite part. What might have motivated the prostitute who anointed Jesus' feet with expensive nard? Why did Mary of Bethany leave Martha in the kitchen to sit with the disciples? How did the Samaritan woman at the well end up an outcast? And how can my story be changed if I meet Jesus?… (more)

Frank Viola tells the story of the New Testament church, beginning with the book of Acts and inserting insights from the Epistles and Revelation. He also includes historical information from the time period. While I liked the approach, he's not a very good storyteller. Sometimes the narrative seems a bit choppy. Each missionary journey was preceded by a map, helping readers visualize apostolic journeys. I'm not sure I would say this story is "untold" as most of it is written in the New Testament; however, the arrangement makes it useful for a chronological Bible study of this portion of the Bible.… (more)