Good News Grace   A review of Bad News Religion: the Virus that Attacks God's Grace by Greg Albrecht (© 2004, World Publishing, ISBN 0529119544)

 

Those in need of a hefty helping of grace should pick up Greg Albrecht’s Bad News Religion. Albrecht is the Executive Director of Plain Truth Ministries and editor of Plain Truth magazine. Don’t confuse it with the old Plain Truth coming out of the WorldWide Church of God, or Armstrongism as it was sometimes called, named after Herbert W. Armstrong.* In fact, since 1995 Plain Truth is no longer associated with the WCG, but has become a voice for grace under Albrecht’s direction.

 

Bad News Religion begins with Albrecht’s personal journey through Armstrongism. He is well acquainted with legalism within the WCG which, at that time, also embraced cultic teachings and practices. Yet Albrecht reminds us that legalism can be a part of any church. He explains, “Given the prevailing assumption that a little grace is good but too much can be hazardous to your spiritual health, ‘old fashioned’ holiness preaching often immediately follows a message of grace with a legalistic counterpunch that brings a congregation back to its senses” (42). Albrecht is concerned about what he refers to as “religious refugees,” those who have been burned by legalism throughout Christianity. He fully admits that grace is a scandal inside the church. He takes his readers through the Scriptures, appealing to the Bible as the recognized authority for the church, to release Christians from the burden of legalism.

 

He expresses concern for the emphasis by some on the “good ol’ days” and “taking back America” which on the surface seem like good endeavors. He reminds us that Bad News Religion “causes us to obsess about being right.” Insisting that we often desperately try to convince ourselves that we are not modern Pharisees, he tells the story of Susan and Randal who came out of a legalistic church which ironically had “grace” in its name, only to be caught in another type of legalism. The prevalence of legalism in modern Christianity should not be underestimated.

 

In the chapter “Legalism Strikes Back!” he explains how legalism taps into the fears of those caught in such a system—that the repercussions of breaking free are great. Yet he turns the tables on legalists by showing similarities between their focus and that of paganism, something they won’t want to hear. I doubt they will be convinced by this move, since they are adept at reasoning their way out of such labels, but it could give them pause.

 

Albrecht ends by reminding us of Don Quixote in Man of La Mancha who dared to dream the “impossible dream.” Albrecht is willing to be that man, dreaming of freedom for those bound in legalism, and providing support to make that happen. He has seen grace change the Worldwide Church of God, and he is personally living that dream of grace. For those thinking it is impossible to break free, take a closer look at Bad News Religion.

   by Rachel Ramer