Thursday, February 26, 2004


Two distinct styles of faith characterize the mainline Protestant churches in the U.S. One is the faith of the academy, theologically informed but arid and intellectual. The other is popular Christianity, an energetic mixture of tradition and superstition that provides fellowship and comfort but cannot answer the challenges posed by historical and scientific knowledge. Mainline pastors tend to hold an academic faith, but, lest they scandalize the laity, they preach a popular one. Meanwhile, those who seek a faith adequate to the modern world are silently disappearing from the pews.
-- The Dishonest Church, Jack Good