PAGAN CHRISTIANITY (Revised and Expanded)

by Frank Viola and George Barna (Tyndale, 2008)

Pagan Christianity

Listen to the new interview with George and Frank. This is a follow up to their first interview where they discuss the history behind the book. Click here for other interviews. The sequel to "Pagan Christianity" releases in August. Subscribe to our newsletter and you will be notified when it's available.

Register for the 2008 NATIONAL HOUSE CHURCH CONFERENCE. Speakers include William Paul Young (author of "The Shack"), Wolfgang Simpson, Frank Viola, Tony & Felicity Dale, etc.

Order Now

Present Testimony Ministry is dedicated to the restoration of the pristine simplicity of New Testament Christianity. Our goal is to recover the centrality of Jesus Christ, the Christian mindset, and the organic expression of the church.

All material on this site is copyrighted by Present Testimony Ministry. It may not be distributed, printed, placed on the web, or published without the author's permission. However, permission is granted to those wishing to link to any page on this site.

 

Special Announcement

PAGAN CHRISTIANTY (REVISED AND EXPANDED) IS NOW AVAILABLE.

Order the Book.

Book Description
Have you ever wondered why we Christians do what we do for church every Sunday morning? Why do we "dress up" for church? Why does the pastor preach a sermon each week? Why do we have pews, steeples, choirs, and seminaries? This volume reveals the startling truth: most of what Christians do in present-day churches is not rooted in the New Testament, but in pagan culture and rituals developed long after the death of the apostles.

Coauthors Frank Viola and George Barna support their thesis with compelling historical evidence in the first-ever book to document the full story of modern Christian church practices.

Sorting Out Truth From Tradition
Many Christians take for granted that their church's practices are rooted in Scripture. Yet those practices look very different from those of the first-century church. The New Testament is not silent on how the early church freely expressed the reality of Christ's indwelling in ways that rocked the first-century world.

Times have changed. Pagan Christianity leads us on a fascinating tour through church history, revealing this startling and unsettling truth: Many cherished church traditions embraced today originated not out of the New Testament, but out of pagan practices. One of the most troubling outcomes has been the effect on average believers: turning them from living expressions of Christ's glory and power to passive observers. If you want to see that trend reversed, turn to Pagan Christianity . . . a book that examines and challenges every aspect of our contemporary church experience.

Are We Really Doing Church "By the Book?"
Why does the pastor preach a sermon at every service? Why do our church services seem so similar week after week? Why does the congregation sit passively in pews?

Not sure? Pagan Christianity makes an unsettling proposal: Most of what present-day Christians do in church each Sunday is rooted not in the New Testament, but in pagan culture and rituals developed long after the death of the apostles. Authors Frank Viola and George Barna support their thesis with compelling historical evidence and extensive footnotes that document the origins of our modern Christian church practices.

In the process, the authors uncover the problems that emerge when the church functions like a business organization rather than the living organism it was created to be. As you reconsider Christ's revolutionary plan for His church-to be the head of a fully functioning body in which all believers play an active role-you'll be challenged to decide whether you can ever do church the same way again.