Can Christianity Be Saved? A Response to Ross Douthat

[rug]

Posted: 07/15/2012 4:55 pm
Diana Butler Bass

In recent days, conservatives have attacked the Episcopal Church. The reason? The church has just concluded its once every three-year national meeting, and in this gathering the denomination affirmed a liturgy to bless same-sex unions. Conservatives assert that the Episcopal Church's ever-increasing social and political progressivism has led to a precipitous membership decline and ruined the denomination.

Many of the criticisms were mean-spirited or partisan, continuing a decade-long internal debate about the Episcopal Church's future. However, New York Times columnist Ross Douthat broadened the discussion, moving beyond inside-baseball ecclesial politics to ask a larger question: "Can Liberal Christianity be Saved?"

The question is a good one, for the liberal Christian tradition is an important part of American culture, from dazzling literary and intellectual achievements to great social reform movements. Mr. Douthat recognizes these contributions and rightly praises this aspect of liberal Christianity as "an immensely positive force in our national life."

Despite this history, however, Mr. Douthat insists that any denomination committed to contemporary liberalism will ultimately collapse. According to him, the Episcopal Church and its allegedly trendy faith, a faith that varies from a more worthy form of classical liberalism, is facing imminent death.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/diana-butler-bass/can-christianity-be-saved_1_b_1674807.html?utm_hp_ref=religion

[msongs]

1. without santa claus xtianity would wither away and die. bribing kids works lol nt

[rug]

2. Did you read that on a candy wrapper?

[amfortas the hippie]

3. Douthat has always been an idiod...respectfully.

This is just more Triumphalism.
It's been the Assumption on the thinking Right(sic) that "Liberalism is Dead", for some time.
USSR collapses="Liberalism id dead"
Reagan wins an election="Liberalism id Dead"
On and on.
Few of them can define "Liberalism"...they just want to declare Victory....and stop trying to defend their indefensible pseudophilosophy.
Douthat says interesting things every once in a great while.
He's just playing an "Intellectual", here.

[rug]

4. Welcome to DU!

And I agree.

[trotsky]

5. Liberal Christianity would stand a much better chance...

if all self-proclaimed liberals left their CONSERVATIVE churches and CONSERVATIVE leadership and joined the struggling liberal congregations.

[amfortas the hippie]

6. easier said

than done...as Christianity is a (it seems) inherently Authoritarian thing...at least as commonly organised.
Likely a holdover from stepping in to the vacuum left by Rome.
Exceptions prove it. Quakers, etc
What Liberals(or just not Batshit World Domination-Obsessed Crazy)there are, need our support.It can't be easy to stand up in such institutions...especially when they're dominated by such Belligerence.

[cbayer]

7. Well done and much, much better than Douthat's essay.