WP: Evangelical Author Puts Progressive Spin On Traditional Faith

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/09/AR2006090901155.html

Lyndsay Moseley was no longer inspired by the evangelical Christian faith of her youth. As an environmental activist, she believed that it offered little spiritual support for her work and was overly focused on opposing abortion and gay marriage.

Then the 27-year-old District resident discovered Brian D. McLaren of Laurel, one of contemporary Christianity's hottest authors and founding pastor of Cedar Ridge Community Church in upper Montgomery County.

"He always talks about the environment as a priority when he talks about the church being relevant to the world," Moseley said. "He's leading a conversation that needs to happen," one that "I've been hungry for."

McLaren has emerged as one of the most prominent voices in an increasingly active group of progressive evangelicals who are challenging the theological orthodoxy and political dominance of the religious right. He also is an intellectual guru of "emerging church," a grass-roots movement among young evangelicals exploring new models of living out their Christian faith.

Progressives, who range from 11 to 36 percent of all evangelicals, according to various polls, are still overshadowed by the Christian right among evangelicals. But the steady popularity of McLaren's books over the past eight years signals an expanding diversity of thought in this important political constituency.

[Kutjara]

1. "Progressive evangelicals"?

Sounds like an oxymoron to me, but anything that blunts the mindless perversity of the far right is a good thing, I guess. Like the old cliche says, "the enemy of my enemy is my friend...for now."

[w4rma]

3. "evangelical" just means to aggressively spread the religion.

That word describes in no way what that religion believes, except in that one aspect.

Its the fundamentalists that should be worried about.

[Kutjara]

4. Understood but, for me, it is the evangelical nature...

...of many believers that makes them dangerous. By all means, they should be free to believe whatever they like, but when they start aggressively spreading the message and seeking converts, that's where we part company. Christianity and Islam, two religions that place a premium on evangelism and expansion, are unsurprisingly the two religions that are causing the greatest conflict in the world today.

[w4rma]

5. You should change the way you think about these good folks then. (nt)

[greenman3610]

2. there are plenty of progressive Catholics as well