A Progressive Christian Primer, Part 1: Introduction
I’m writing a book, an attempt at a primer on progressive Christian faith, a synopsis of my own view on Christian faith, but also as an attempted distillation of what I believe is the core of the movement known colloquially as “exvangelicalism,” or, more positively, “progressive evangelicalism.” As a test run, I’m going to work it out first as blog posts. I would deeply value any and all feedback.
Introduction
In October of 2017, at 29 years old, I set out on a pilgrimage to commemorate the 500 year anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, the year Martin Luther famously challenged the authority and teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, igniting a reform movement known as the Reformation that would change the trajectory of Christianity forever. Luther and his 16th century fellows, known to history as “the Reformers,” spearheaded what was probably the single most powerful historical moment in 1200 years, since the Roman Emperor Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the Empire.
I started in Rome and traced the lives of the Reformers through Geneva, Wartburg, and eventually landed in Wittenberg on October 31, the small German town where Luther famously nailed his “Ninety-Five Theses” challenging core teachings of the Church to the door of the local cathedral.
