Christless Christianity: The Alternative Gospel of the American Church
Overview
The church in America has willingly been taken captive. The captors are American culture and ideals: consumerism, pragmatism, self-sufficiency, individualism, positive thinking, personal prosperity, and nationalism. These are antithetical to the Gospel, but we have nevertheless made them part and parcel of it. We’re well on our way to a Christless Christianity.
The result? A faith that is—in Michael Horton’s prophetic words—“trivial, sentimental, affirming, and irrelevant.” This alternative “Gospel” is a message of moralism, personal comfort, self-help, self-improvement, and individualistic religion. It trivializes God, making him a means to our selfish ends.
In this critically acclaimed book, Horton skillfully diagnoses the problem and points to the solution: a return to the unadulterated Gospel of salvation. Here is a must-read for anyone concerned about the state and future of Christianity and the church in America.
The Logos Bible Software edition of Christless Christianity: The Alternative Gospel of the American Church is designed to encourage and stimulate your study of the Bible. Scripture passages link directly to your preferred translation and important theological concepts link to dictionaries, encyclopedias, and a wealth of other resources in your digital library. In addition, you can perform powerful searches by topic and find what other authors, scholars, and theologians have to say about the subject matter, making this collection ideal for studying and interpreting the Bible.
Key Features
- Addresses the problems facing Christianity in America
- Encourages readers to return to the unadulterated Gospel of salvation
- Helps readers in the path for change
Praise for the Print Edition
A more important and timely volume could not have been written.
—Parker T. Williamson, editor emeritus and senior correspondent, The Presbyterian Layman
Horton’s brush is broad—expect loud lamentation from the evangelical camp—but the picture he paints is largely accurate.
—Thabiti M. Anyabwile, senior pastor, First Baptist Church, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
Christless Christianity establishes Michael Horton as the outstanding protagonist for classical Protestant orthodoxy. His wide-ranging and carefully researched examples show how our churches and megachurches have pandered to the culture with Gnostic, Pelagian, moralistic, and self-help heresies bereft of the saving action of Jesus Christ. He leaves us with a profound trust and a sure confidence in our biblical faith. What could be more important?
—C. FitzSimons Allison, retired Episcopal bishop, Diocese of South Carolina
Product Details
- Title: Christless Christianity: The Alternative Gospel of the American Church
- Author: Michael Horton
- Publisher: Baker
- Publication Date: 2012
- Pages: 256
About Michael Horton
Michael Horton is the J. Gresham Machen Professor of Systematic Theology at Westminster Seminary California. He is the main host of the White Horse Inn radio broadcast and the editor-in-chief of Modern Reformation magazine. He is the author or editor of more than 20 books.
Top Highlights
“It is easy to become distracted from Christ as the only hope for sinners. Where everything is measured by our happiness rather than by God’s holiness, the sense of our being sinners becomes secondary, if not offensive. If we are good people who have lost our way but with the proper instructions and motivation can become a better person, we need only a life coach, not a redeemer.” (Pages 15–16)
“Unable to preach Christ and him crucified, we preach humanity and it improved.4” (Page 25)
“ God and Jesus are still important, but more as part of the supporting cast in our own show” (Page 20)
“How can I, a sinner, be right before a holy God?’ is simply off the radar in a therapeutic mind-set. Once the self is enthroned as the source, judge, and goal of all of life, the gospel need not be denied because it’s beside the point. But people need to see—for their own good—that self-realization, self-fulfillment, and self-help are all contemporary twists on an old heresy, which Paul identified as works-righteousness.” (Page 40)
“When the focus becomes ‘What would Jesus do?’ instead of ‘What has Jesus done?’ the labels no longer matter. Conservatives have been just as prone to focus on the former rather than the latter in recent decades.” (Page 26)