Jack Good

THE DISHONEST CHURCH by Jack Good, Rising Star Press, 2003 was, for me, a very exciting read. The author's argument is that in today's mainline Protestant churches (Methodist, Presbyterian, United Church of Christ, Anglican) there exists a gap of dishonesty between the clergy and the laity that is one of the causes of these churches losing membership. The gap finds its genesis in what the clergy learn in the academy (academic Christianity) and what they preach in the church (popular Christianity). As the educational levels and world experiences of the laity who have traditionally been attracted to these churches have increased, their level of "cognitive development" has moved from the early stage ("basic duality"/a child's faith) to a later stage ("relativism"/opinion independently developed); some continue to an even later stage of cognitive development ("commitment") in which not knowing all the answers is okay, mystery is acceptable.

Clergy, for many reasons not the least of which is the fear of offending laity who are in the early stage, tend to preach what these people are comfortable in hearing even though it may be diametrically opposed to what the latest streams of thought in theology (and even science) are saying. Members who have moved beyond the early stage become disheartened-even outright angry-when they sense they are being patronized and not respected. Rather than speaking up and trying to rectify a situation they believe to be beyond their power to influence-after all, the clergy seems unwilling to address their concerns-they simply disappear.

This book is a call to what the author calls "progressive Christianity" in which the clergy and the laity both seek to live faithfully in the modern world, not by denying that world, but by learning from it and interpreting the faith in its light. This book is not for those who yearn for that "old time religion" but for those who honestly seek to understand the world in which they live.

I would recommend that every minister, denominational official, seminary professor, and layperson who wants to see Christianity continue into the future in a vibrant, meaningful way and not wither into irrelevance read this book. They should not read it if they want to remain comfortable.… (altro)