Progressives Wrestle with Evangelicals

A lot of people know that most of us here at Mod-Blog - a place dedicated to giving both sides of the issue - lean to the Right. How can a MODERATE blog be populated by people on one side of the spectrum? The answer has always been that we respect both sides, and try to tell both sides of the story. And not let either side get away with unexamined foolishness. And one area where a lot more engagement is needed is in the foolish "Red State vs Blue State" mentality in politics right now.

That is why it was nice to see this blog written by a Progressive Christian trying to reach out and understand Evangelicals. If those terms are unfamiliar to you, let me try and boil down the difference to its essentials. Progressives focus their faith around social action - especially around helping the poor. If anything gets in the way of that, it can be laid aside. Evangelicals focus their faith around the Bible, and its inerrancy and inspiration. If anything disagrees with the Bible, it can be laid aside. Now, both groups love Jesus, view the Bible as important, and want to help the poor and needy. But their different emphases lead to radically different priorities, methods, and allies. And perhaps most importantly, different cultures with different jargon. Ask an Evangelical and a Progressive what "God's Word" means, and you'll get a very different answer.

Click here for the blog author's attempt to lay out why he built the blog. He is a Progressive Christian who previously had been dismissing the Evangelical movement. I think his goal is the same as ours - to understand both sides and as much as possible bring them together... no matter what our own political leaning may be.