What Does a Progressive Christian Believe?: A Guide for the Searching, the Open, and the Curious [Large Print] [Paperback]

Delwin Brown (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2008

This book came into being about two o'clock in the morning on the day after the 2004 presidential election. It arose out of the stunned realization that the historic tradition of progressive Christian thought and action had virtually disappeared from our public discourse.Progressive Christianity, writes theology professor Delwin Brown, is a family of perspectives that is united in opposing right-wing religion but also desires to go beyond "liberal" and "conservative" labels.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Seabury Books (March 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596270845
• ISBN-13: 978-1596270848
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #498,413 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars this is the book we've been waiting for!, March 15, 2008

By 

Anne Sutherland Howard "Anne" (The Beatitudes Society) - See all my reviews

This review is from: What Does a Progressive Christian Believe?: A Guide for the Searching, the Open, and the Curious (Paperback)

We need this book! It's a terrific corrective to the kind of Christianity that's dominated the airwaves in recent years.

In a brief systematic theology, Brown offers a Christianity that "charts a different course" than liberal or conservative Christianity, a course that embraces the rich diversity of the biblical narrative and the public witness of the church.

In seven points, he retrieves the value of the bible, affirms the presence of God entwined in all of creation, and breathes life into the creeds (imagine that!) He grounds a view of humanity in the Genesis story of co-creation and the twin commandments to love God and others as ourselves.

Love is the key to his treatment of sin, and he give us a refreshing correctives on centuries of bad preaching. Sin he rightly portrays as a failure to love "loving too much or too little any part of the interconnected web of life"; and sin's clever strategy of deception, subtle self-deception gives rise to the structures that plague our world: racism, consumerism, militarism, etc. But there is good news: salvation. And salvation, of course, is not located on the other side of pearly gates, but available here and now in our world where God is "working through all the processes of the creation to bring it to the fullness and health made possible by love." And we are part of the process, as the church, "the community of those who seek to serve God's healing work in the world."

One succinct way to express the value of this book is to point to a phrase that prefaces several positions descriptive of progressive Christianity: "There is a Christian reason for..." What follows is just that, the explicit Christian reason for, say, respecting diversity or working for economic justice or caring for the planet or making peace valuing the common good or or being open to other faith traditions. Brown gives us reasons by taking us into the biblical record and the early church's rendering of that narrative to offer compelling reasons that comprise a sound theology. This is what takes this book beyond one more expression of liberal ideals or a philosophical theology that would ignore the particularity of Christianity's biblical heritage.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Christianity for the New Millenium, March 13, 2008

By 

Jarrod R. Cochran "Rev. Jarrod Cochran" (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: What Does a Progressive Christian Believe?: A Guide for the Searching, the Open, and the Curious (Paperback)

Dr. Delwin Brown's latest effort, What Does a Progressive Christian Believe? is nothing short of brilliant. Brown offers Christians a third option - one that does not fall into the trappings of religious fundamentalism or religious humanism. This is an excellent introduction for anyone desiring to learn about Progressive Christianity as well as those seeking a better way to follow Jesus of Nazareth in this new post-modern era.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must-Read Guide on Progressive Christianity, April 12, 2008

By 

Linda Hodges - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: What Does a Progressive Christian Believe?: A Guide for the Searching, the Open, and the Curious (Paperback)

As a former fundamentalist Christian I wish that this book had been available to me years ago. Clear and concise as well as informative and thought-provoking, Del Brown's latest book is a must-read for those seeking to understand just what progressive Christianity is all about.

Delving into the historic roots of the Christian tradition he embraces our past and provides compelling reasons as to why the future of the faith needs to be grounded in what came before. We are formed by this tradition that, he says, "can provide insight, hope, and transformation today to the entire human family."

Chapters that talk about "the Bible as our foundational resource" and "the incarnation of God in the entire creation" will transform your perspective of progressive Christianity and give you a new hope for humanity.

"What Does a Progressive Christian Believe" is life-affirming faith-empowering, and truly educational. At the end of each chapter, Brown provides "Points for Reflection," which highlight the main points of the chapter and serve as a launching pad for further study. Adult religious education study groups would benefit greatly from their use.

Indeed, anyone who is interested in learning more about progressive Christianity, it's roots and it's future, should read this book. I highly recommend it.