It's true: the religious radio/TV waves are still pretty crowded with 24/7 programming that proclaims a less-than-integral understanding of the Christian gospel and its social implications. But on the bookshelves, thankfully, it's a different story.
Another recent treasure is E.J. Dionne's Souled Out: Reclaiming Faith and Politics after the Religious Right. I recently participated in an online discussion of the book at TPMCafe ... you can read part one and part two of my contributions - as well as posts by E.J., Alexia Kelley, and others. The comments are enlightening (and occasionally a little disturbing) as well.
Good books like this one and other recent releases announced on this blog ... along with associated online discussions and interactive regional gatherings - not to mention the important one-to-one conversations they stimulate at dinner tables, coffee shops, and water coolers - are waking up more and more of us churchly folk to the deeper and broader implications of the Christian gospel. Jim may be right: we may indeed soon have a great awakening on our hands, inspiring followers of Christ to "works of faith and labors of love and endurance in hope" (I Thessalonians 1:3) - all for the common good.
Brian McLaren (brianmclaren.net) is board chair for Sojourners. Click here to see some of his video blogs, and learn about his Everything Must Change tour at deepshift.org.
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