“Time for another Reformation” has been a rallying cry of many Protestants since, well, the original Protestant Reformation. And in the last 20 years you’ve heard this cry from a particular group that wants a new kind of Christianity more attuned to our times.
Alisa Childers wants another Reformation, too. But not one that leaves behind historic Christianity. As she writes in her new book, Another Gospel? A Lifelong Christian Seeks Truth in Response to Progressive Christianity (Tyndale Momentum) she’s not looking for a Reformation that looks down on early believers as less enlightened and more primitive in their understanding of God. Like many other Christians before her, she’s looking to rediscover the original definition of Christianity when sometimes even our churches bear little resemblance to the Bible.
Childers is a blogger, speaker, and former member of the CCM recording group ZOEgirl. She doesn’t hold back in her critique of progressive Christianity and its denial of orthodoxy. But I also appreciate how she recognizes the challenges of growing up in the church. For example, she writes:
If more churches would welcome the honest questions of doubters and engage with the intellectual side of their faith, they would become safe places for those who experience doubt. If people don’t feel understood, they are likely to find sympathy from those in the progressive camp who thrive on reveling in doubt.
Childers joined me on Gospelbound to discuss popular progressive writers such as Richard Rohr, William Paul Young, Rachel Hollis, Jen Hatmaker, and Glennon Doyle; whether we can be more tolerant than God; and why Christians should demand more study and not invite less, among other questions.
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