The "Essence" of Christianity

For some years I've been reading a blog by Roger E. Olson, a Professor of Religion at Baylor University. While he is a believing Christian and practices in a particular branch, he is also active in the field of what I will call "idea combat." 

This notion of "idea combat" can perhaps be illustrated by something that has been repeated in faculty lounges at universities for decades. It is that the best person to teach introductory courses to students, in many fields, is a young and less experienced person with a master's degree instead of one with a Ph. D. This is because at the Master's Degree level a person may not have been in the war of ideas which points to all the weaknesses of commonly held ideas in a field. Of course this is a broad generalization that does not apply to all people, places or fields of study. 

In my field, economics, it's like this. In an introductory class in macro economics a novice professor might tell students, "There is an inverse relationship between federal government spending and the rate of unemployment" (spending goes up, unemployment goes down). Students write this down. They enjoy having mastered it. The professor with more training and experience in debates about the topic would feel guilty if he/she did not go on the mention the relationship does not always hold true, just the majority of the time. And then, other variables may affect the outcome. Students are left confused.

Professor Olson, now retiring, is writing a series about the "essence" of Christianity. That is, he is searching for something in the faith that can be called true Christianity or the core of the entire religion. He knows how difficult it is to come up with such a concept. Scholars have been trying for centuries. This past year he has often expressed his frustration with the many directions of the faith. He said in introducing this series, "I have to conclude that 'Christianity' seems to be a blooming, buzzing confusion."

His search is limited to the scholarly branch of the faith and not to the sociology of believers. This latter is what I refer to what believers think Christianity is about. It is also restricted to Protestantism. 

Professor Olson, then, is trying to find that thread which links the many branches of Protestantism. It is a task for someone who has participated in the highest levels of debate within the faith for a long period of time and not for the person who studied long ago or is newly minted. 

I don't have space here to start into his conclusions but am looking forward to learning if he has found what he is looking for.