So I am slowly making my way through Brian McLaren’s Everything Must Change and have to this point not engaged in many of the conversations about it. I’ve lurked, but wanted to have actually read the book before I engaged. As usual I am most annoyed with all the people who are upset about McLaren’s book because it is different than the type of book they want him to write. Apparently if he doesn’t feature their personal pet theology as the central aspect of every single one of his books then he is guilty of heresy, or ignoring atonement, or downplaying scripture, or whatever. Can’t people just read books for what they are for crying out loud?
But anyway, I’ve enjoyed much of what I’ve read so far (although I do admit the typos are driving me crazy) and predicably the part that has resonated with me the most has been one of the most controversial passages. McLaren at one point takes Mary’s Magnificat and rewrites it to be more in-line with the message he had been exposed to in the church. I’ve included both below, the original Bible passage and McLaren’s rewrite –
Luke 1:46 – 55
And Mary said:
“My soul glorifies the Lord
47and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name.
His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
to Abraham and his descendants forever,
even as he said to our fathers.”“My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my personal Savior, for he has been mindful of the correct saving faith of his servant. My spirit will go to heaven when my body dies for the Mighty One has provided forgiveness, assurance, and eternal security for me–holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who have correct saving faith and orthodox articulations of belief, from generation to generation. He will overcome the damning effects of original sin with his mighty arm; he will damn to hell those who believe they can be saved through their own efforts or through any religion other than the new one He is about to form. He will condemn followers of other religions to hell but bring to heaven those with correct belief. He has filled correct believers with spiritual blessings but will send those who are not elect to hell forever. He has helped those with correct doctrinal understanding, remembering to be merciful to those who believe in the correct theories of atonement, just as our preferred theologians through history have articulated.” Everything Must Change, p107, Brian McLaren
His rewrite has caused not a few people to become seriously angry at his audacity to reinterpret scripture as well as for his (perceived) caricaturizing of conventional evangelical theology. Many claim that his rewrite has no resemblance to any actual theology and so is unfair on his part to write as if it does. Brian McLaren clarified why he rewrote the Magnificat recently on Scot McKnight’s blog by saying, “My purpose is just to show the difference between the assumptions I was taught to bring to the text and what the text seems to me to actually be saying. It’s because I love the real Magnificat that I wanted to show how many of us unintentionally empty out its original meaning and then refill it with something different.”
I’m sure there are a lot of people out there who have never been exposed to the sorts of theological messages that McLaren presents in his rewrite. And I am sure that there are others who have been exposed to such theology, but who also are grounded in the revolutionary words of the real Magnificat. But I never was. I never even heard the Magnificat until 2 years ago. That part of the story was skipped over and dismissed, probably because it had to do with Mary and she was always avoided as “too Catholic.” I also was told that the Beatitudes only applied to the afterlife. These messages of hope for the oppressed were never ever part of the message I heard at church. But everything in McLaren’s rewrite came through loud and clear. His words were very representative of my reality. So while I am not naive enough to assume that everyone shares my reality, I would appreciate it if others would stop denying that my reality exists.
I have found deep spiritual insight through reading the Magnificat (the real one) over the last couple of years, but it took removing the lens I had been taught to encounter scripture with in order for that to be possible. So I think McLaren’s use of a possibly shocking rewrite is justified to help readers examine how they really do approach scripture. Or at least theoretically that would be the goal…