My faith journey has taken me from conservative Christianity, to progressive Christianity, and ultimately to having a spiritual practice outside of traditional religious structures. Even though I didn’t find a home in the church, I still think there is a lot of value in interacting with voices from across the spectrum of faith. The following are some progressive Christian authors, bloggers, and podcasters who have been a part of my journey…
Marcus Borg
Marcus Borg was a historical Jesus and New Testament scholar who taught at Oregon State University. He passed away in 2015. Borg, maybe more than any other author on this list, articulated what progressive Christianity could look like in contrast to conservative versions of the faith. Specifically he addressed how the Bible can be used in liberal Christian communities, advocating for its use as a sacrament – a means of experiencing God – not necessarily as a source for “correct theology.” His book Reading the Bible Again for the First Time is very helpful for understanding the liberal/conservative divide. He also wrote often about the historical Jesus, and presented a "wisdom Jesus," a Jesus who was primarily about dispensing general religious/ethical wisdom. Resources from Marcus Borg can be found at the Marcus Borg Foundation. For an audio recording of Borg speaking about religious pluralism, click here.
John Hick
John Hick was a religious scholar and a highly philosophical writer. He was also a religious pluralist and advocated for a progressive Christianity in which traditional Christian language such as "Jesus is Lord" could be understood in a metaphorical sense. His most well-known work is The Metaphor of God Incarnate, and here he clearly presents how Jesus can be understood from a progressive Christian perspective. Personally, I find Hick’s The Fifth Dimension to be the best summary of his thought. Reading Borg and Hick together provides a very clear paradigm for what a logical progressive Christianity could look like. Each clearly addresses how both Scripture and Jesus can be understood from a liberal perspective.
Dale Allison
Dale Allison is a historical Jesus scholar who presents Jesus primarily as an Apocalyptic Prophet. That is, Jesus expected the world as we know it to come to an end, followed by a final judgment and the inauguration of the eschatological Kingdom of God on earth. In Allison's view, Jesus was wrong about the end of the world. This picture of Jesus isn't advantageous to liberal (or conservative) Christianity and Allison knows it. But his historical studies, for better or worse, have radically changed the way he thinks about the Christian faith. Allison has written several volumes in the field of historical Jesus studies, and has also documented his own spiritual reflections in The Luminous Dusk and Night Comes. His The Historical Christ and the Theological Jesus has had more impact on my own theology than any book I have ever read. Read at your own risk. Allison teaches at Princeton Theological Seminary.
Walter Brueggemann
Walter Bruggemann is an Old Testament scholar who has written widely on themes from the Hebrew Scriptures. His most well known work is The Prophetic Imagination, in which he analyzes the prophetic Hebrew tradition from Moses to Jesus. I also really resonated with his Spirituality of the Psalms. His paradigm of Orientation, Disorientation, and New Orientation as seen in the writings of the Psalmist was helpful for me as I was going through my own deconstruction and reconstruction of faith. Brueggemann is part of the United Church of Christ and regularly speaks within that tradition and others. His content is centralized at www.walterbrueggemann.com.
Richard Rohr
Richard Rohr is a Franciscan Friar from the Roman Catholic Tradition. He runs the Center for Action and Contemplation in New Mexico. Rohr is a widely publicized author who focuses on the contemplative dimension of the gospel. Although he does not overtly deny traditional Catholic and Christian doctrine, he stretches his tradition to its limits and seems unconcerned with maintaining orthodoxy. Rohr draws heavily from the Christian mystics and the world Perennial Tradition. His What the Mystics Know is a good introduction to some major themes in Christian Mysticism. Rohr's work includes The Divine Dance, Falling Upwards, Everything Belongs, The Naked Now, and Immortal Diamond. For more on Rohr, check on the Center for Action and Contemplation.
Peter Enns
Peter Enns is a biblical scholar who created waves in the Evangelical world with his Inspiration and Incarnation in 2005. Due to this book, he was suspended from his teaching position at Westminster and eventually resigned. In most of his work, Enns emphasizes the ancient context of the biblical writings. He is unafraid to address where there are tensions and contradictions in various biblical texts and this puts him at odds with many conservative Christians. Over the years, Enns has continued to push Evangelical limits further as seen in his more recent books The Sin of Certainty and The Bible Tells Me So. Enns blogs and podcasts at peteenns.com. Another scholar who addresses very similar issues is Kenton Sparks, specifically in his God's Word in Human Words.
Richard Beck
Richard Beck teaches psychology at Abilene Christian University. He also runs a popular blog called Experimental Theology, writing about topics ranging from The Devil, to disgust psychology, to the fear of death, to the authenticity of faith in God. As the range of his book and blog topics suggests, Beck is kind of all over the place. His seeming lack need to fit his theology into any particular box can be both freeing and frustrating for his readers. Beck is orthodox enough to appeal to conservative Christians, but liberal enough to cause some significant hand-wringing. Beck has recently started to refer to himself as “post-progressive” as his thought has developed.
Rachel Held Evans
Rachel Held Evans emerged within Christian circles in 2010 with her Evolving in Monkeytown (now repackaged as Faith Unraveled) in which she documented her own journey of faith. Evans grew up within Evangelicalism but found herself questioning many of its core tenants through her ongoing life experience. Evans also more recently wrote Searching for Sunday and A Year of Biblical Womanhood before passing away unexpectedly in 2019. I don’t know that Rachel ever used the term “progressive” to describe herself, but she certainly represents a non-traditionally conservative/Evangelical voice from within the Christian tradition. Evans’ personal site is still active at rachelheldevans.com.
Rob Bell
Rob Bell was a mega-church pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church in Michigan. He's not anymore. When Bell was in the Evangelical world he was highly controversial, pushing more and more Evangelical boundaries through his books and preaching until the bubble burst with his Love Wins. Many Evangelicals distanced themselves from Bell after this book in which he seems to accept, or at least be highly open to, some type of universal salvation. Bell now blogs, speaks, and podcasts at robbell.com. His books include Love Wins, How to be Here, What We Talk About When We Talk About God, Velvet Elvis, and his upcoming What is the Bible? Bell is another thinker who doesn't seem too interested in labels. If he still considers himself Christian, he is definitely on the progressive end of the faith.
The Deconstructionists
The Deconstructionists was a new podcast in 2016. Adam Narloch and John Williamson host discussions with scholars and thinkers from across the faith spectrum including several of the authors listed above. Narloch and Williamson come from the Evangelical world, but emphasize an openness to new ideas, especially as previous understandings of the faith fall apart or become "deconstructed." Their content can be found at www.thedeconstructionists.com.
Some other popular authors on the progressive side of things include Karen Armstrong, John Shelby Spong, John Dominic Crossan, Brain McLaren, Phyllis Tickle, Diana Butler Bass, and Mike McHargue.
These writers, bloggers, and podcasters represent a diversity of thought. Some are self-consciously outside of "orthodox Christianity" while others are not. Some may even reject the label Progressive Christian or simply be done with labels altogether. But each is worth interacting with if you’re interested in exploring a wide range of views on modern Christian faith.