Liberalism without Illusions

"A strong argument for the appeal and relevance of a liberal theology." --Gary Dorrien, Reinhold Niebuhr Professor of Social Ethics, Union Theological Seminary ...this book makes a significant contribution to the moral life of the church and how liberal Christianity could be more authentically church and continue to speak appropriately to pressing social issues. -- James M. Brandt, Saint Paul School of Theology -- Journal for the Society for Christian Ethics ... admirably readable and [a] sustained challenge to liberal illusions that the heady days of Walter Rauschenbusch, Horace Bushnell, and Harry Emerson Fosdick are likely to return any time soon... -- John Saxbee, Haverfordwest -- Modern Believing ... a wise and learned book. -- Justus D. Doenecke, New College of Florida -- Anglican and Episcopal History Evans expertly guides us through liberal Protestantism, revealing the lost treasure of the tradition and the nuggets of power and wisdom that can and should be harvested. An antidote to the separation of piety and social action, this book levies a powerful argument that any adequate theology enables church leaders to inspire its members to love justice, seek mercy, and walk humbly in service to the world. This is a prophetic call. -- James K. Wellman Jr., author of Evangelical vs. Liberal: The Clash of Christian Cultures in the Pacific Northwest This exciting and impressively sane book is a pleasure to read. Evans raises sharp questions with his own tradition and offers wise direction for its future. It will keep you turning the pages. -- Tex Sample, Robert B. and Kathleen Rogers Professor Emeritus of Church and Society, Saint Paul School of Theology "Evans ( The Kingdom Is Always but Coming: A Life of Walter Rauschenbusch), a professor of church history at Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School, makes no pretensions about the scope of his work. This book does not include a comprehensive view or extensive history of liberal theology--that can be found elsewhere, and in much larger tomes. Instead, he sets out to reclaim and rejuvenate this misunderstood, formerly vibrant, and ostensibly weakening movement in American Christianity. To rejuvenate any school of thought, that school must be understood, and here Evans is at his finest. He begins by immediately confronting the pejorative meaning the 'culture wars' have attached to the word 'liberal' and follows by proposing a new foundation on which to build a more historical, rather than hyped, understanding of liberal Christianity. Finally, Evans transcends the limits of stereotypical 'ivory tower history' by offering more than just analysis. He offers solutions. The liberal Christian movement in America is not dead, he concludes, and history shows how to prevent it from dying. Anyone interested in 20th- and 21st-century American Christianity needs to read and consider the suggestions Evans has to offer." -- Publisher's Weekly, 2010