Wanted to flag for everyone in the Progressive & Religious community a new book and another important contribution by Diana Butler Bass.

Gifted historian Diana Butler Bass has a knack for bringing back into focus ignored or forgotten parts of the story of Christianity. Just over two years ago, she gave us Christianity for the Rest of Us: How the Neighborhood Church Is Transforming the Faith, the story of much-ignored mainline Protestant congregations that were defying stereotypes and thriving by combining traditional worship practices with social engagement.

In her latest book, she gives us an accessible and much-needed reminder of the dynamic--and often contested--nature of lived Christianity as expressed both in the lives of its people and its institutions. In our times, when churches are wrestling with a variety of issues that challenge the orthodoxies of the past, the reminder that the traditions we take for granted today represent the outcomes of struggles from the past is invaluable. This modest but powerful insight, brought home through lively examples, has the potential to humanize current debates. It moves the question from, "What was the winning argument from the past?" to "What does faithfulness for our time require?" While seminary courses delve into the material covered here, Bass makes it accessible. The importance of these insights and the accessibility of this book make it a major contribution.

Labels: book review, Christian, church