I just started it, and I love it. I would hope it would stand alongside my book More Ready than You Realize to suggest what "a new evangelism" might look like.

Speaking of terms, I'm looking for one that would describe the philosophy of religious-political engagement evident in this speech. It isn't theocratic (faith rules politics or politics is collapsed into faith), nor is it exclusionary (politics banishes faith to the private sphere), nor is it co-optive (politics makes clever use of faith, or vice versa), nor is it anti-religious (politics demeans faith), nor is it isolationist (faith withdraws from public life). I'd say it's integrated and iterative - integrated in that it sees faith and politics as mutually enriching and enhancing and challenging, and iterative in that we must return to engage in a cyclical fashion with each in light of the other in a quest to improve both.

[The speech is included after the jump ...]

I've kind of evolved over the last couple of years toward a more Buddhist approach to the contemplative life. This doesn't create any kind of crisis for me, vis-a-vis my previous spiritual practices. There's no "throw-the-baby-out-with-the-bathwater" mentality for me, just because I'm evolving toward this other approach. I find there's much in common, and I suspect that's where you will go in the new book. At the same time I've more or less dropped theological positions. It's not that this was a conscious decision, per se. It's just that they don't seem to fit (at all) with what I am now discovering and exploring through meditation and studying the Buddhist and related concepts. I've been practicing daily meditation for about a year, in the Vipassana tradition, and it is slowly transforming my world. It is a healing practice in every sense and the depths of peace, love, acceptance, and compassion I have begun to access are truly profound. I wonder whether you have begun exploring this over the last few years and whether you will touch upon this in the new book. (I am in community now with some of the mindfulness/Vipassana practitioners here in DC and elsewhere.)

I really enjoyed your book. Thankyou. I would love to see more of your kind of Christianity. I have two problems, 1) that you still assume a belief in the reality of a God, which I can no longer affirm. Your analysis of the mistake of the Graeco-Roman version of Christianity and its basis of 'salvation' is spot on. But it still assumes a God. I seek to be a follower of Jesus of Nazareth and his vision of the kingdom on earth, what I have called in my own little books 'humanist spirituality' (www.ypd-books.com). 2) You are still, to me at least, too wedded to the Bible text as evidence for the words of Jesus, in John's gospel in particular. Don't we need to take more account of Biblical criticism?

But it's a brilliant book and I am encouraging all my Christian friends to to read it.

Of course, in the end, we may simply disagree on these matters, which makes your affirmation of the book all the more gracious - and appreciated. Thanks again.

So, let’s get this straight. The chief scientist at the top U.S. government bee-science institute completed research two years ago implicating a widely used, EPA-approved pesticide in what can plausibly be called an ecological catastrophe — the possible extinction of honeybees, which pollinate a huge portion of U.S. crops. Why are we just now hearing about this — and why are we only hearing about it through an obscure documentary filtered through a British newspaper?

Dear Mr. McLaren!
I just watched this presentation on the topic of "Christian Palistinianism".
I am reaching out to you my dear brother in Christ!
I invite you to please watch this and see if the Lord is asking you to repent of this false doctrine you and some others in "the Church" are promoting.
This is a very unbiblical and dangerous way of representing who God is and His clearly laid out plans to redeem His Chosen people.
I pray that the Holy Spirit will speak the Truth to you and will open your eyes and ears to the Word of God and the Truths written therein!

Mr Aziz was an iman (religious teacher) at our favourite mosque. He was a jovial forty something and slightly heavier than the average Asian man. In this community, where absolutely everyone knows you really can judge a book by its cover, Aziz was easily recognised as a godly man because of his distinctly Arab clothes and turban. However, his spirituality was far deeper than his attire. Unlike nearly all other local men, he was not ashamed to have marry a handicapped woman. Aziz’s wife was blind. Most men would find this embarrassing, but Aziz spoke of her with pride and joy. And this was not the only counter-cultural anomaly in his life. In this culture there is a saying, “The nail that sticks out will be hammered back down”. It takes real character to live according to your conscience if your convictions should result in you, ‘sticking out’ from those around you. Aziz happily stuck out in the most wonderful way. About once a month I would have coffee with Aziz at the training centre that had grown up around his mosque. On my first visit six months earlier, I had not been sure what to expect upon entering the heart of “them” country. To be honest, it was disturbing to see how similar (and friendly) the mosque was to my old Bible college. But the most striking thing about this community was their compassion for the disabled. Their kindness toward these social outcasts went beyond anything I had seen in my Christian experience. Forty percent of their large staff were physically handicapped. This particular day I sat waiting in the Centre's coffee shop for Aziz to arrive. On all the previous occasions when we got together he presented himself very smoothly - kind and unusually wise, a spiritual sage at peace within himself. I was however suspicious of this image Aziz projected. To me it seemed like a professional persona, polished and well practiced. He reminded me of an insecure pastor I knew back home who always tried to present a ‘victorious Christian’ image that never matched his reality. Today however, I would challenge Aziz and see what his heart was really made of. Our relationship was now strong enough for me to put before him the claims of the Gospel and see how he responded. Today I meant business. Then I saw Aziz, still some distance away, in an alley between two buildings. He was not aware I could see him and the only other people around were two garbage men collecting bins. I suppose because he was late he walked briskly, but when he reached the two men he stopped. He greeted both with a smile, shook their hands and bowed slightly, a gesture of respect. I was shocked. In this country everyone is keenly aware of their place in society’s pecking order. These men were far beneath his high and lofty station. The average poor slum dweller would look down their nose at those who collect the garbage. God knows I wouldn’t bother to stop and greet them. Yet Aziz, a highly respected iman in perhaps the most famous mosque in the biggest Muslim country in the world just bowed to them, apparently with God his only audience. It is hard for a Westerner to appreciate how radical this is. I had lived in the East long enough to be both shocked and impressed. I had no idea the best was yet to come. Minutes later he arrived. We ordered drinks and after I felt the conversation had sufficiently warmed, I steered the topic toward my mission with the question, “Aziz, if you died today do you think you would go to Heaven?” Aziz looked me in the eye and smiled graciously. “That is a very Western question” he replied. “You want me to give you a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer. So I will say ‘yes’, because that’s what you want. But, you don’t realise you’re asking me the wrong question.”

and here:
http://www.newevangelicalpartnership.org/?q=node/147

The title will be ...

Why Did Jesus, Moses, the Buddha, and Mohammed Cross the Road?
Christian Identity in a Multi-Faith World

The release date will be September 11, 2012.

We've had a number of advance readers respond to the book, and comments have ranged from "this is Brian's most important book yet" to "this is the book we have been waiting for." Stay tuned for pre-order information.