progressive

Frank Schaeffer Is Wrong about Progressive Christianity

February 14, 2013 By Tony Jones 34 Comments

I’m glad to call Frank Schaeffer a friend (and I’m glad that he’s toned down his blog headlines from the FOX News variety that he used to publish). I’m glad to have him on the Progressive Christian channel here at Patheos. But he recently wrote a post about what’s wrong with progressive Christianity, and he’s wrong.

Actually, I agree with Frank’s premise:

We can talk about inclusiveness, diversity and making ourselves vulnerable until the cows come home but that doesn’t make religion more interesting or Christianity stronger it simply changes the labels and the shorthand jargon we talk to ourselves in.

The problem with North American Christianity is not the window-dressing– it’s the whole package.

But I wholeheartedly disagree with what he states as the main problem:

The great weakness of Protestant American Christianity across the board is that by and large it dispensed with liturgy. Having dispensed with liturgy it dispensed with the signposts that point people toward an identity that binds communities together.

To that I say [cough] bullshit! [cough].

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Filed Under: christianity in america Tagged With: frank schaeffer, liturgy, patheos, progressive 34 Comments

Picking a Label to Replace “Progressive”

August 4, 2011 By Tony Jones 33 Comments

So, yesterday’s post has generated lots of great suggestions for a label to replace “Progressive” Christian. Below is a survey in which you can vote for your favorite. But before we get there:

Yes, we need a label. Words shape us; words do things; words have power. It’s no mistake that conservatives have captured the term “evangelical.” They did that because they know that words matter.
Calling yourself a “Christian” or a “follower of Christ” is fine, but when your local paper quotes you in an article about the next presidential election, they’re going to put a qualifier on that, whether you like it or not. Trust me, the organizers of the Wild Goose Festival didn’t want it to be considered primarily a gathering of “emergent Christians,” but that’s what it said in every news report.
We can’t be “post-evangelical” or “post-conservative,” because then we’re just defining ourselves over against others.
Of the suggestions that came in, I have chosen five for a vote. I eliminated the non-theological terms (except for one), and I eliminated the theological-but-obscure (soterial, basieleia, hodosian).
I already have my favorite, but let’s see what you think.

Please vote below, and feel free to justify you vote in the comments (and rally others to your cause!):

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Filed Under: christianity in america Tagged With: evangelical, liberal, progressive 33 Comments

“Progressive” Is the Wrong Word

August 3, 2011 By Tony Jones 89 Comments

Not long ago, I participated in a symposium here at Patheos which asked, “Progressive Christianity: What Is It and Why Does It Matter?“ I’ve been thinking about it since, and I’ve had some thoughts coalesce for me.

I don’t think that “progressive” is the right term for our version of Christianity.

I happen to agree with critics who claim that “progressive” is the currently acceptable word because the word “liberal” has been tarnished and is not salvageable. (For more on that, see this.)

And, at the same time that conservatives were making “liberal” a dirty word, they were claiming the word “evangelical.” Some, like Jim Wallis, Brian McLaren, and Randy Balmer, refuse to relinquish the term “evangelical” to the conservatives. But I’m afraid that the tipping point has come and “evangelical” is the purview of conservatives.