A Living Alternative

During the holidays, while staying in Brisbane’s West End with Kim’s Aunt & Uncle, I wandered down the street to a great local book, Avid Reader Bookshop. As I browsed, I came across a copy of Dave Andrew’s book “Christi-Anarchy: Discovering A Radical Spirituality Of Compassion” (the Tafina Press edition) which I had been wanting to read for some time. Buying the book, I stepped out and sat on the front step and began to read. This was in the preface:

“Believe it or not, ‘Christi-Anarchy’ has been displayed as best seller in… Avid Books, a local West End book store, whose manager reported that it was so popular that people were stealing it off the shelves!”

Of course, I immediately slipped the receipt in the top pages of the book for all to see. What were the odds? (As it turned out, I was staying less than a block from where Dave Andrew’s home, which I walked by daily).

Before I get into the review, here is the write up on the back of the book:

Jesus Christ preached a gospel of love and peace with justice. But the history of the Christian religion is littered with every kind of evil.

What went wrong? How have we become a generation that is seeking God but rejecting organised religion? How can we rediscover the authentic message of Jesus?

This challenging book explores the reasons behind the atrocities committed in the name of Christ. It offers the vision of Jesus as a source of radical renewal of individuals and societies.

Author of ‘Can You Hear The Heartbeat?’ and ‘Building A Better World’, Dave Andrews show how we can be inspired by the model of Jesus’ compassion, and his hunger for justice, to work with marginal groups for real transformation in our world.

Prologue:

This book is particularly difficult to review for me as, while an excellent book, the prologue retells Dave’s unfortunate history of being kicked out of YWAM many years ago. During a time where YWAM was particularly drawn to sheparding movement, Dave was confronted by top YWAM leadership who saw their leadership and his submission in a dangerously hierachal, divinely appointed perspective. Dave acknowledges his own failures in the process, but the truth is that YWAM genuinely failed and wounded him (and others). This lays the foundation for the rest of the book- a grave injustice done in the name of Christ.

Chapter 1 - A History of Christianity: A History of Cruelty

Andrew’s begins by introducing us to a brief history of Christianity, with focus on the failures of our faith. It is broken into four historical eras:

-Councils, Creeds & Coercian: ca. AD 100-500
-Emperors, Popes & Power: ca. AD 500-1000
-Crusades, Inquisitions & Control: ca. AD 1000-1500
-Worldwide Evangelism, Witch Hunts & Genocide: ca. 1500-2000

From these captions, it is easy to discern the legitimate faults Andrew’s cites in his concise overview of Christian history. He makes valid critiques of the abuse of power and position, shifting the intent of Christ into something far more institutional, political and self-serving. It is an indictment of the way in which our faith has been embodied for centuries and for which we still pay a steep price.

Because the history is so brief with such a clear intention is hopes to realize, the chapter is also guilty of over simplication, unhelpful generalizations and unqualified judgments. For example, like many such histories, Constantine become culprit number one- the whipping boy for Christian failure. While he contributed to many negative aspects of Christian development, it is too easy to pin so much on him, all the while ignore any good he might have done (however little it may have been).

In the fourth and largest portion of the chapter, Andrew’s focuses on the last few centuries in greater detail. Again, most of his criticisms are fair. However, the same problem occurs here in respect to fair qualification. For example, in relating YWAM’s connection to Rios Montt, it would be difficult for readers not to assume that YWAM supported the man in his ruthless, state-sanctioned killing of thousands. In truth, while YWAM did support Montt’s rise to power after he became a “born again” Christian. However, this was long before any of his murderous actions had taken place- after which YWAM had nothing to do with him. Without question it is an embarressing point in YWAM’s history. However, the chapter fails to represent this aspect at all, again almost seeming to suggest quite the opposite.

I will acknowledge that, as a member of YWAM, these defences may sound like lame excuses. However, as much as love the community of YWAM worldwide, I am not blind to our failures, past and present. Most of Andrew’s critiques are fair. I correct them less out of an attempt to defend YWAM, but rather to argue that Andrew’s important points would have greater credibility without these points.

Be that as it may, the core content of the chapter is an important reminder of the history which accompanies Christianity. Andrew’s rightly reminds us that we can no more deny the significance of these events throughout history than we can their real and direct impact on our expressions of faith today. (Interestingly, Brian McLaren’s references this book as a good example of a constructively critical look at Church history in “A Generous Orthodoxy”, chpt. 1, pg. 53, footnote 22).

In my next post, I will look at Chapters Two (Christianity On Trial: Guilty As Charged?) and Three (Christianity Is Dead: Long Live Christi-Anarchy!)

Christi-Anarchy Book Review Dave Andrews YWAM Rios Montt History Christianity