Liberalism without Illusions: Renewing an American Christian Tradition

by Christopher Hodge Evans

By the 1930s most mainline Protestant traditions promulgated the key tenets of liberalism, especially an embrace of modern intellectual theory along with theological and religious pluralism. In Liberalism without Illusions, Christopher Evans critiques his own tradition, focusing in particular why so many Americans today want to distance themselves from this rich and vibrant heritage. In a time when attitudes about liberal vs. conservative theology have become the focus of the culture wars, he provides a constructive discussion of how liberalism might move forward into the 21st century, which, he argues, is indispensable to the future of American Christianity itself.

211 pages, Paperback

First published January 12, 2010

Reviews

[Brad Rice]

Excellent historical review of this branch of Christian thinking up to our current situation. I hadn't realized liberalism in America dates back to Henry Ward Beecher and the post civil war. It takes a circuitous course of the development of the social gospel up through Walter Rauschenbusch and Dr. Martin Luther King and even to the present day Jeremiah Wright and the controversy he stirred during the 2008 election of Barack Obama. It also presented from that angle what it viewed as the characteristics of evangelical conservatism. It was a very interesting read and one that was light even though scholarly. It was only a couple hundred pages long.

[Leroy Seat]

This is a very well done book, and I wish I had been able to use it, and materials introduced in it, in my book on liberalism.

The main problem I had with the book is that while the definition of liberalism (on page 6) was a good one, most of the liberalism talked about in the book is far more about social/political liberalism than theological liberalism.

[Charlie]

Evans provides the American liberal theological tradition with a solid retrospect and prospect that is honest about failures and sympathetic to critics, yet hopeful.

For full review: http://sacredpage.wordpress.com/2012/...

[E.]

A quick survey of the history and influence of American Christian liberalism with particular attention to the decline of mainline Protestantism and its hopes for the future.