R.C. Sproul has reviewed Michael Horton’s book Christless Christianity and he likes it.
here is an excerpt:
Leaning heavily upon the research of sociologists of religion such as James Davidson Hunter, and others, Horton has been able accurately to pin the tail on the evangelical donkey. This comes to the fore especially when he takes a cue from sociologist Christian Smith, who notes the pervasive presence in modern evangelicalism of a moralistic and therapeutic deism[I added a link to my post on moralistic therapeutic deism]. Smith defines the characteristics of this contemporary form of deism by listing five of its assertions. First, God created the world. Second, God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other. Third, the central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself. Fourth, God does not need to be particularly involved in one’s life, except when needed to resolve a problem. And last, good people go to heaven when they die.
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In similar fashion, many in the emergent church movement have turned their backs on classical categories of the gospel and have substituted a different kind of salvation. For certain representatives of the emergent church, such as Brian McLaren, the gospel message is that we can have peace and justice here and now. Just as David Wells disturbed the leadership of modern evangelicals with his book No Place for Truth, so Horton picks up on the idea by showing the death of truth in the substitution of experience that is so widespread in the evangelical world today. The book is well written and is one that offers great insights to those who are scratching their heads and wondering: “What in the world is going on in the church today?”
when you have emerging church leaders openly embracing heretics and questioning original sin, then you know something is definitely awry.
I tried to find Dr. Horton’s book last weekend at Lifeway, but they didn’t have it in stock. I then tried Barnes and Noble at the Domain without success.