About the Book and the Author

The book previously posted here will be published, slightly revised, by Seabury Books in February with the title, What Does A Progressive Christian Believe? A Guide for the Searching, the Open, and the Curious.
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REVISED PREFACE

Progressive Christianity is a family of perspectives that vigorously rejects the “religious right” as a gross distortion of the Christian faith. Just as important, progressive Christianity criticizes and moves beyond the (other) conservatisms and the liberalisms of the immediate Christian past. In our time, it is new. This book presents one progressive Christian standpoint—introductory in character for ordinary people, not specialists.

The conviction that eventually gave rise to this book was born about two o’clock in the morning, the day after the 2004 presidential election. It grew out of the stunned realization that the long tradition of progressive Christian thought and action had virtually disappeared from the public discussion leading up to that election. The progressive Christian voice had not been silenced by others. It had stopped speaking. Or, more accurately, we who are progressive Christians had stopped speaking.

Why had we become silent? There are no doubt several reasons, but two are quite clear. First, we had assumed that progressive Christian ideas are inherently persuasive. Second, and for that very reason, we also assumed that the triumph of progressive ideas is pretty much inevitable, at least in the church and in that portion of society that is more or less culturally Christian. We could not believe that others would not recognize the inherent validity and worth of our enlightened and redemptive understanding of the Christian gospel.

Neither of our assumptions is true. It is mistaken—and arrogant—to think that progressive versions of the Christian faith are inherently persuasive. Religious claims, including ours, are never self-evidently true. It is equally mistaken—and dangerous—to assume that progressive Christian ideas will triumph inevitably. The progressive Christian witness will be taken seriously, and make a healing difference, only when and where it is effectively espoused by committed, reflective people who understand that witness, express it compellingly, and enact it together with informed intentionality.

This book seeks to contribute to one of the things now needed—a systematic understanding of progressive Christian beliefs and the reasons for them. This is by no means all that must happen to make the progressive gospel effective in our nation. It may not even be the most important thing needed now. But it is important and it is needed now. It is absolutely urgent that progressive Christians become articulate about the transforming faith that is within them. For the sake of our nation as well as the church, we must be able to say what we believe, and why, and to say so effectively.

It is the profoundly healing voice of the Christian faith that is important now, not the specific label we give it. And, in fact, there are at least three reasons for hesitating to refer to the voice now needed as a “progressive” Christian voice. First, “progress” is not always good and continuing the past is not always bad. Second, the various “progressive” movements and eras in the United States have been political in character and, though not without merit, they have left a great deal to be desired from a Christian standpoint. Finally, unlike our intention here, in current political discourse the term “progressive” is virtually synonymous with, if not a cover for, the term “liberal.”

Despite these important concerns, the label “progressive” Christian is retained in this book, partly because the best alternatives are also problematic. For example, to call it “prophetic” Christianity, as some have urged, seems more than a bit presumptuous. Whether a particular Christian voice deserves to be called “prophetic” should be left for history to decide. “Evangelical liberalism,” another alternative, seems inadequate, too. It is not a combination of the two traditions but their mutual transformation that is needed. Admittedly, however, the main reason for using “progressive Christianity” here is simply the fact that it is the term now used most often to refer to this Christian viewpoint. Sometimes it is best to accept an imperfect label and endeavor to give it a specific meaning, trusting that it will then be heard and judged fairly for what it is.

In the end labels should not determine our judgments about any point of view, Christian or otherwise. “Conservative” and “liberal” are not inherently wrong standpoints. Isn’t every person, including every Christian, in some respects “conserving” of the past and in others “liberated” from it? And surely every faithful Christian voice conveys “good news” and thus is in that sense “evangelical.” The issue is not the label; it is the message. To the extent that this book preserves what, of the Christian tradition, should be retained and frees itself from what should be left behind, it might come to the reader as truly good news. And if so, it might also contribute to the kind of “progress” we desperately need today, in the church, in the country, in the world.

Copyright © 2007 by Delwin Brown. All rights reserved. Reproduction of this material for anything other than time limited small group or personal use requires the written permission of the author.