This week's Jym Shorts comes to us as a book review from one of our sitting elders. Enjoy!
Childers, Alisa. Another Gospel? A Lifelong Christian Seeks Truth in Response to Progressive Christianity. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale Momentum, 2020.
- Review by David Denny (LifePoint Elder)
Utilizing the postmodern principle of deconstructing everything and being skeptical of all knowledge claims, so-called Progressive Christians are sowing seeds of doubt in the hearts and minds of many Christ-followers today. Whether exposure comes from the internet, school, or perhaps even churches, great barriers of doubt are being raised. The good news is that there are reasonable and biblical answers to questions that are raised by these skeptics.
In her book, Another Gospel: A Lifelong Christian Seeks Truth in Response to Progressive Christianity, Alisa Childers wisely provides a great example of how to apply Proverbs 18:17 (“The first to plead his case seems right, until another comes and examines him”) when faced with the skeptical claims of the Progressive Christian.
Growing up in a Christian home, Mrs. Childers trusted in Christ at a young age. As a young adult, she spent the first few years of the 2000’s as a member of the contemporary Christian band, ZOEgirl. She traveled the country and even parts of the world on music tours leading Christian worship. However, after her touring days were over, the foundations of her faith were nearly shattered by a Bible study in which the pastor of her new church questioned the very heart of Christianity. She became aware of a new movement that many other young Christians had discovered (Progressive Christianity), and what she learned rocked her to the core. She writes, “I remember almost nothing about that day. I was driving somewhere for some reason, but I recall only two things about that trip: sunshine and that voice on the radio. It might have been just weeks before that I’d sung those hymns into the thick of darkness and cried into the silent void, asking God to show himself. Maybe it had been months. Was it autumn? I think so, but I don’t really know. When you’re drowning, you don’t tend to look at the calendar. So many details about those months never made their way into my stored memories. The earliest weeks of my son’s life. A body left broken from childbirth. A broken soul. Exhaustion.”
Mrs. Childers walks us through her journey of investigating the faith she held and answering the objections that had been placed in her way. She does an outstanding job of clearly and succinctly showing hurting Christians, whose faith has been undermined, responding to genuine truth. How a wise person will not simply believe the first to plead their case but will examine carefully the claims laid before her. By assessing the main criticisms of Progressive Christians, she beautifully reconstructs her faith based on an examined and solid foundation. In this book, Mrs. Childers covers topics such as the reliability of Scripture and its authority. She critiques the use of familiar words and phrases which Progressive Christians often utilize to ease a believer’s concerns, yet are filled with different meanings. The topic of hell (a concept that is anathema to many Progressive Christians) is looked at through a biblical lens, as well as the atonement view of Jesus’ death on the cross. Coming out stronger on the other side of doubt she writes, “I can look back on the class now and smile. Sure, there is still the tender sting of remembrance. There is a touch of sadness of the innocence I lost. When I walk now, I limp a little. When I read the Bible, I no longer read with innocent eyes not yet clouded by skepticism and doubt. But I’d rather walk with a limp on solid ground than run strong legs on breaking ice. My song has changed, too, as I have found beauty in the struggle.”
I highly recommend Another Gospel, both to those who are wrestling with doubt and those who know others who are. If you are looking for a thorough defense of the faith, with rationale refutations of many of the most prevalent claims espoused by Progressive Christianity (in less than 250 pages), this is the book for you. Mrs. Childers provides a great service to the church by offering to us a very readable defense of our faith.
