Donna E. Lane, Ph.D. and Hayden J. Lane, M.A. Restored Christianity. Inkwater Press, 2007.
Restored Christianity, by Donna and Hayden Lane, will challenge your Christianity. The clearly state their purpose for writing this book in the introduction.
This book is a project of hope, written with the goal of restoring the Christian church to the foundational beliefs of the teachings and truth of Jesus Christ, based on what we know from the earliest writings following Jesus’ resurrection. Our desire is to challenge the children of God to return to a renewed and completely relational knowledge of God. [Page ix].
At first, I was excited about this book, believing it would guide us back to the Christian faith as it existed after Christ’s resurrection. After reading the first chapter, containing the explanation of the approach these authors would take, I was very disappointed. One of the key points is that the authors do NOT consider the Bible to be error free. They seriously question the stories presented in the Gospels about Christ’s life. They did choose to use Paul’s teachings as the foundation for the Christian faith. They say that they want us to use “critical thinking” in regards to the Bible the same way we use critical thinking in other aspects of our life. According to them, failure to do so, keeps us from living our lives in the presence of Christ. Their purpose is to move us towards Christianity as it was experienced in Paul’s time.
Chapters 2 through 11 each consider a question such as “Does God Make Sense?” Then they describe the current state of that issue in today’s church. This is followed with an in-depth historical analysis. The chapter concludes with the author’s viewpoint of what this issue would be if it were restored back to the origins of Christianity.
The final chapter attempts to bring all the issues together in their restored state. He describes an intimate relationship with Christ, similar to, but far better than the relationship we share with each other.
My Reaction to Restored Christianity
I have to confess – I don’t totally understand the ideas presented by these authors regarding a restored Christianity. Like so many that have been Christians for many years or even decades, I have a fairly set idea of what Christianity is all about. Of course, those ideas are also colored by what the many “denominations” I’ve belonged to over the years has taught. I accepted Christ as my savior in a church that taught more social gospel than Biblical truth. Over the past 40 years of being a Christian, I’ve moved from this rather liberal thinking to churches that at least taught the Bible as the Word of God.
Now, I belong to a “Restoration Movement” church that claims to be trying to do all things in the way it was done in the New Testament. We are genuinely seeking to govern our church the way Paul teaches – pastors, elders, etc. We understand that denominations are wrong because they impose man-made traditions on the church rather than following the earliest church’s pattern. We also understand that “worshipping God” and practicing the lifestyle Jesus taught is what Christianity is supposed to be like.
Here come the Lanes, saying that we worship the Bible instead of seeking an intimate relationship with God. Even though I have a little understanding of their perspective, I can hear the teachers and pastors in my church telling us to study the Bible to KNOW God and to know how to live. Frankly, I feel like my brains have been scrambled.
Recommendation
Don’t give this book to a new Christian. It is only suitable for someone with the ability to look at what the Bible says, read the Lane’s interpretation, and through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, come to their own conclusion about this book’s accurate understanding of Biblical Christianity. Unfortunately, too many so-called Christians today have little knowledge of what being a Christian even means.
This is a book to be studied carefully. No Christian should casually accept what the Lane’s have to say. Every one of us is responsible to study the Bible and live the life Christ taught. For those of us willing to examine our beliefs, Restored Christianity will be one step alone the pathway to living the holy life God intends.
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