Eliminating ‘Churchy Jargon’ and ‘Religiosity’
The author of a new book is encouraging Christians to present the gospel plainly.
Andrew Farley is a tenured professor at Texas Tech University and the author of The Naked Gospel: The Truth You May Never Hear in Church. The book deals with so-called Christian jargon, “Christianese,” and double-talk. Farley says at one time in his life he was doing all the things he believed a good Christian should be doing, yet he still felt miserable and depressed. He adds that finally he realized that as a Christian he was trying to gain God’s favor by becoming addicted to religion.
“You know, lots of people have been turned off by church, burned out by church, and yet they still have a curiosity, a sincere interest in Jesus. And that’s what this book does…it strips away the churchy jargon, it strips away the religiosity that many feel is so empty,” he notes. “And it’s an invitation to grab ahold of something — something that I call ‘Jesus plus nothing.'”
Farley says the book was an accumulation of his own 10-year journey into a closer relationship with God. The book tackles what he believes are common misconceptions within the church, such as the Ten Commandments, among other things. He contends that the Ten Commandments are not meant for the modern church.
“The fruit of the spirit replaces the work of the law in the Christian. And the presence of Christ indwelling us is the reason that we can be free from the entire law,” he explains. “We don’t even need the moral law if we have Jesus Christ, who is moral.”
Farley is also a pastor of Ecclesia, a “church without religion.”
(Source: OneNewsNow)
