Christopher Vanhall’s book Reborn Again is a tale of a young person’s as yet incomplete  journey of faith. The story so far describes a trajectory from Southern evangelism to what he terms “progressive Christianity.” Belonging to neither of those, I can only respond as an outsider whose experience somewhat overlaps a few dimensions of his experience.

From the outset, Vanhall invites us to doubt and question his observations, for faith without doubt and questioning is “both stagnant and boring.” As his story unfolded this became easier to do. We’re told of a God who is “on our side,” who wishes to save us from “the clutches of empire.” (p.12). All that remained to be seen was which side Vanhall happened to be on himself (the progressive Christian Left, as it emerges), and from the clutches of which empire (the evil Republicans) God was going to save us might be. As fate would have it, he believes that in abandoning the faith of his youth and striking out on his own, he has come to encounter “The Real Jesus.”

At this point, I was sorely tempted to put the book down and go do something else. I was put in mind of The Jesus Project and its truth-by-vote approach, the 33,000 so-called “Christian” denominations that make up “the Church,” but really don’t, and Robert Moore’s description of the quintessential problem of humanity being “infantile narcissistic grandiosity.”

When do we stop creating God in our own image? When an author writes that the world is growing sick of worship in traditional progressive cathedrals and evangelical worship halls and that the God of the Bible would be disgusted with both by now (p.26) readers might be tempted to wonder just who the author thinks he is. Who is anyone to speak for the world, let alone God? Where’s any indication that the author respects the transcendence of God or the real and separate reality of his fellow human beings? Is Vanhall another Adam Neumann who wants to be president of the world, immortal and a trillionaire, perhaps?   

Vanhall describes his early experiences with Southern Baptist and charismatic Pentecostal churches for whom “The Jesus Show,” and commercial success seemed to be paramount features. Eventually disillusioned, he abandoned their “Six Flags Over Jesus” model of “church” and struck out on his own, finding them to be “…often detrimental and intolerant.” As the pages flew by, I wondered whether he’d simply exchanged one form of intolerance for another. I got my answer on p. 29.

I liked Vanhall’s descriptions of his friends and the evocative phrase “doing life together” that he uses. I wondered what might happen if he could see that we’re all “doing life together.” Rich and poor, Southern and Mongolian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu and Christian. Perhaps this will eventually happen as his faith journey continues. Experiences such as his encounter with Eli, which reminded me of St. Francis’ encounter with his leper, and Mr. Jackson, give me hope that such a widening of consciousness might eventually be in the offing.

Claiming a divinely mandated responsibility to correct “morally blind assholes who hijack the faith” makes me wonder how distant that horizon might be for him. Does Vanhall love his morally blind assholes? I wonder if, instead of slamming his beer down and barking at his adversaries in the bar (p. 96), he might’ve moved the ball down the court more effectively by offering to wash their feet. The real Jesus told his disciples they could be no such thing unless they did so. If popes can do it, Vanhall might want to give it a try, too, as he matures.

On p. 68, Vanhall tells us that the Gospel of Jesus call for a social revolution that must be radical, but not violent. The deficiency in this assertion is best illustrated by Lao Tzu’s poem:

“If there is to be peace in the world,
There must be peace in the nations.
If there is to be peace in the nations,
There must be peace in the cities.
If there is to be peace in the cities,
There must be peace between neighbors.
If there is to be peace between neighbors,
There must be peace in the home.
If there is to be peace in the home,
There must be peace in the heart.”[1]

The most radical change, and the only one over which we have complete control, is that which must occur in our hearts. It will never be accomplished by political action. It can only be elected by each individual, in the choice to appropriate the law of love, and more importantly, Love Himself, or not.

No one likes a bigot. On p. 93 we find that the disparaged exemplars in the parable of the good Samaritan are and evangelical minister and a Catholic priest. Not Vanhall himself certainly – nope, not him. Staggering blindness here, seems to me.

The theme continues on p. 113. Apparently Vanhall chose not to mention H-2A visas issued to migrant workers, which allows them to earn far more than they could in their native countries without the requirement that they emigrate. I wonder whether they would agree that they are being exploited. That is but one example of the many opportunities this country offers non-citizens than is suggested in this screed. If anyone’s suggesting we change the law, we clearly have to learn what it currently is, first.

In our own church we have folks who want to market Jesus. P. 122 betrayed a similar approach in Vanhall’s vision. Marketing is at some level nothing more than manipulation, catering to people’s appetites (while ignoring their deepest longings) and getting them to do your will (Vance Packard’s The Hidden Persuaders remains relevant reading). I suppose if one thinks that one is God, it makes sense to market rather than simply to manifest in our own lives the love of God. I find this Machiavellian tendency is deeply disturbing among those who minster. I’d suggest that it would be useful for Vanhall to take Scott Kaufman’s Light Triad survey[2] to see where he stands. It may be that his “church planting” is actually another quite activity altogether, with a different motivation than he might suspect.

Vanhall goes on to describe his view on gays, abortion and other such topics. His arguments would likely make abundant sense to progressives and leave conservatives angry, appalled or both. As a latitudinarian, I simply read what’s there and ask what the loving thing to do might be. Some of it I agree with and some of it I don’t.

In conclusion, I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone. It might better have been kept as a journal to which Vanhall could refer as his faith journey continues. He seems very angry, but unable to articulate the interior drivers of that anger. To the extent that anger is a reaction to frustration, I’d be inclined to think that Vanhall could benefit from counseling to help uncover the roots of his anger.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the author and/or publisher through the Speakeasy blogging book review network. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR,Part 255.

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[1] https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/125184-if-there-is-to-be-peace-in-the-world-there

[2] https://scottbarrykaufman.com/lighttriadscale/