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What Does a Progressive Christian Believe?: A Guide for the Searching, the Open, and the Curious

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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.

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.

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.

This is a small gem for our time. I don't often buy books for my adult kids, but this one is an exception. In more than 30 years of preaching to them, I've never communicated the heart of Christianity so simply, clearly and effectively as Del Brown does here in just a few pages. It belongs with Marcus Borg's "Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time" for its path-breaking significance for people seeking a fresh, credible approach to Christian belief and the life-transforming way of Jesus.

What Does a Progressive Christian Believe?: A Guide for the Searching, the Open, and the Curious

I can't count the number of meetings I've attended in which people struggle to make sense of the current broadening of the Christian climate. Liberal, conservative, moderate, fundamentalist -- many Christians know more about what they don't believe than what they do.

This book leaps right into the fray and provides some very simple reasons for a Christianity that eschews the worst of the Christian Right, while articulating some problematic assumptions of classic liberal theology.

And while labels often form the least comfort for the perplexed, Del Brown does a masterful job in getting to the heart of a serious and compassionate faith.

I don't doubt that the balanced theology in this book represents the future of major sections of evangelical and mainline Christianity. For example, when dealing with the old theodicy question, Del Brown weaves Process and Open theologies in with the traditional view of God, and uses the concept of incarnation to make a winsome case for an active faith even in the face of terrible human suffering.

If you're "not that kind of Christian," but dubious about "progressive" being anything really new, I recommend this book. It has helped me to grow in my personal faith and grounded me deeper in my Christian ideals.

One of the best books I've read that provide guidance and clarity in a religious atmosphere driven by fear and confusion and emotionalism. I am very grateful to have purchased this book and to find solace in not only the style but in the clarity of the content, and the detail provided.