Posted: 01/27/2008 at 1:08pm | IP Logged

Viola’s Classic Gets Retooled

by Steve Eastman, OpenHeaven.com TOP News

CAROL STREAM, IL - A Christian publisher is taking a risk offering a book that disproves most of what evangelicals believe about church.  Following in the tradition of William Tyndale, who published an English language Bible that got him burned at the stake, Tyndale House is publishing a revised and expanded edition of Pagan Christianity. 

Some traditionalists see author Frank Viola as heretical, but upon closer examination what he writes is well-grounded in forgotten church history.  He quotes ancient authorities as easily as teenagers quote favorite movie lines.

This time around, Viola is joined by a co-author, Georgia Barna, whose own Tyndale bestseller, Revolution, covers some common ground.  Best known as the head of an organization that does public opinion studies, Barna is often called today’s most quoted Christian.  He contributed editorial expertise to the revision project and provided additional material.

Tyndale Houses built its reputation on more traditional authors such as Dr. James Dobson, Tim LaHaye and John F. Walvoord.  It was founded by Kenneth Taylor as a vehicle to publish what was to become The  Living Bible.