God must no longer be understood as the separate "omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent" Creator and cosmic Ruler (92). God must be redefined as the spirit of love flowing within everything (46). With not one mention of the Trinity, McLaren presents an entirely impersonal god. "We must become atheists in relation to the Supreme Being of violent and dominating power" (93). Christianity must "lose its monotheistic notions to embrace a grander, inclusive God who demonstrates solidarity with all" (103). We need "a bigger, non-dualistic God" (102), a God who is "in the story, not outside of time and space like a prime mover or divine watchmaker" (222). I never dreamed I would have to say of a once Evangelical, still claiming to be Christian theologian, that his god, as we would say at truthXchange, is a Oneist, pagan god--a part of creation rather than the Bible's Twoist God, who is separate from creation.

 

Interfaith

McLaren is driven to interfaith thinking and practice because he believes "Religion will not survive if we believe that our religion is the only one true religion" (102). This is why McLaren's god is surprisingly like, as he claims, the impersonal tribal deities of Africa and the gods of Hinduism, Buddhism and other Eastern religions (105). To be complete, McLaren ought to have included witchcraft, as does the Parliament of the World's Religions, where McLaren now speaks. After all, as a modern witch, skilled in interfaith parlance, now says: "A spell is very much like a prayer. It is a petition to the gods to act in your favor." McLaren's goal is to make Christianity resemble all the other religions by denying that specific "beliefs" or doctrines have anything to do with faith. Thus "inerrancy and infallibility" of Scripture is rejected as "unbelievable" (37). His new-look Christianity becomes loving actions of social justice, similar to those expressed by other religions. It must rid itself of "anti-Semitism, rejection of women, racism and religious bigotry" (198). It must work to heal climate change, and, as "reconciled people working for the common good" (168), a church should install "solar panels or a community garden" (172). This "multi-faith movement will restore the planet" (176).