Christless christianity, the alternative gospel of the american church

The church in America has been willingly 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 with it. We are 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.

Publisher: Baker
Type: Paperback
ISBN: 9780801072215

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Michael Horton (PhD, University of Coventry and Wycliffe Hall, Oxford) is J. Gresham Machen Professor of Systematic Theology and Apologetics at Westminster Seminary California. He hosts The White Horse Inn radio broadcast and is editor-in-chief of Modern Reformation magazine. He is the author/editor of more than twenty books, including Christless Christianity, The Gospel-Driven Life, and The Gospel Commission.

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I don’t think I’ve ever highlighted a book as much as I did Christless Christianity. Other reviewers are correct that Horton gets repetitive in some sections, but it’s so counterintuitive to the typical views in evangelicalism that it bears repeating to ensure the message sinks in. I want to pass out copies of this book to everyone I know in the seeker-sensitive, self-help churches that abound on every corner. LMS1115