Brian McLaren offers 10 solid reasons to abandon Christianity

I often encounter people who are struggling with big questions about faith. Is God personal? Does God intervene in the world? Was Jesus divine? Do miracles occur? Is the Bible still relevant? Is it time to give up on institutional religion? I often see lurking behind these questions a bigger and more frightening question, one that many Christians ask themselves privately but are afraid to name in public: Can I remain a Christian? Brian McLaren openly and courageously asks this question in his new book.

McLaren begins by laying out ten solid reasons for abandoning Christianity. These include historic (and current) antisemitism; the church’s habit of crushing dissenters; a history of “Christian colonialism” that includes support of slavery, White supremacy, and White Christian nationalism; toxic institutionalism; financial greed; White patriarchy; rigid theology; the failure of Christianity to transform lives; an anti-intellectual streak that rejects science and encourages poisonous politics; and an aging demographic in the church that trends toward regressive views.

More reasons could be added, including the reality that traditional theistic theology no longer rings true for a growing number of people. But the section is compelling as it is, and if readers finish it with the thought, “Case closed, I’m done with Christianity,” it would be difficult to fault them. As McLaren clearly spells out, there are many good reasons for giving up on the Christian faith and the institutional church.