How Can Progressive Christianity Survive Beside the Southern Baptists

After reading all week about the convention of Southern Baptists it was refreshing to read the SBC is but one branch of Christianity. While SBC it the biggest denomination of Protestants and Catholicism is also huge neither, it seems to me, is on the modern edge of Christianity. Each is treading water in place and/or slipping under to ultimately drown. 

The cutting edge of Christianity, the part that will ultimately survive I believe, is typified by the Princeton Theological Seminary. In its mission and goals statement it pledges students and faculty will approach the Bible critically. "Critically" might be paraphrased as "not literal." My version of the phrase is "suspiciously." The goals statement includes a commitment to Jesus but does not mention God. It's as if graduates who become clergy are not there to speak "the truth" but to keep looking for it.

I enjoy reading personal stories of people who were when young scripture quoting Bible thumping Christians but came to see this branch as wrong. A recent Princeton grad told his story of coming to Princeton after a young life filled with conservative Christianity. Before graduate school his favorite phrase was "Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve." He knew the six "clobber" passages well (those used to condemn homosexuality). At Princeton he took classes from faculty who are devout Christians but are gay. He became friends with many such students. He became suspicious of his earlier instruction. The full reach of the Bible, he came to believe, did not condemn homosexuality as sin.

He came to see the faith cannot remain relevant unless it continues as a dialogue among the faithful. The Bible is too vague to apply directly to modern society. It may have bits of wisdom, he concluded, to pass along but not ability to condemn traits people have like homosexuality. To understand the true Christian perspective is to assimilate many different views from among the faithful. Personal experience has always been big in Christianity. The Bible is full of it. Today's Christians are also having experiences, usually call their "journey," so why would these not be off limits as sources to understand the faith?   

While liberal denomination numbers fell most rapidly a decade or so ago, today both the liberal and conservative branches are falling. We may well see many churches unaffiliated with denominations survive along with small denominations both conservative and liberal. 

In my view, a winning intellectual argument is a powerful weapon.